Movistar+ is Telefónica’s SVOD service in Spain. Yesterday, The Walt Disney Company Iberia announced that it has struck a deal with Telefónica in which Movistar+ will be the strategic distributor for the Disney+ launch in Spain.
Movistar+ now adds the strength of Disney’s films and original series to its line-up of original content. Movistar+ will offer the new streaming service featuring content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, as well as the highly anticipated original series, “The Mandalorian.”
RELATED: Disney+ scores multiyear deal with Sky in the U.K.
Last week, Disney and European pay TV operator Sky announced a deal that will make the Disney+ streaming service available to Sky Q customers in parts of Europe. The multiyear deal makes Disney+ available for purchase in the U.K. and Ireland on Sky Q. The SVOD will be available through Now TV in the coming months. The deal also includes first-pay window rights for 20th Century titles.
During Disney’s earnings call last month, the company said that its Disney+ streaming video service, which it launched in November, ended its fiscal first quarter with 26.5 million subscribers. Disney’s then CEO Bob Iger said subscribers had been signing up directly, through Verizon (which is offering a free year of Disney+ to some of its subscribers) and through distributors including Apple and Roku. He also said that conversions from free to pay and churn rates are better than Disney expected.
Shortly after that earnings call Disney announced that Iger was stepping down, effective immediately, and Bob Chapek had been named the new CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Iger has moved into the role of executive chairman and will direct Disney’s creative endeavors along with leading the board through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021.