CNBC reported on Tuesday that Disney will pull all of its movies from the Netflix streaming service, and is making preparations to launch its own streaming offerings.
The company announced during its latest earnings report on Tuesday it intends to remove its movies from Netflix.
Instead, Disney plans to launch a branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019 starting in the U.S. and expanding globally.
Disney has plans to launch an ESPN video streaming service in early 2018 that will offer over 10,000 MLB, NHL, MLS, collegiate, and tennis sporting events every year. 2019 is the year the Mickey Mouse outfit will launch a direct-to-the-customer streaming offering.
Netflix currently offers exclusive access to films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.
To power the whole thing, the studio is buying a majority stake in BAM Tech for $1.58 billion. Disney previously acquired a 33% chunk of the company, after it was spun off from digital media company MLB Advanced Media, in August 2016.
“This represents a big strategic shift for the company,” Iger said to CNBC. “We felt that having control of a platform we’ve been very impressed with after buying 33 percent of it a year ago would give us control of our destiny.”
Netflix stock dropped more than 5% upon announcement of the news.
