A couple of weeks ago, Disney released the full listing of films and TV series coming to the streaming service Disney+ at launch. It’s an impressive listing, with everything from animated classics, forgotten children’s films, selections from the Fox library, as well as Marvel and “Star Wars” content. However, in regards to that latter franchise, there was one missing item in the “Star Wars” series, ‘The Force Awakens.’ But according to a new report, it appears that Disney is doing whatever it takes to make sure JJ Abrams’ 2015 film is streaming for subscribers on November 12.
The Verge is reporting that Disney+ and ESPN+ will feature ads for Starz during the signup process for the respective streaming services. Why on Earth would the Mouse House peddle a competitor’s network (and thus, streaming service)? Well, you see, when Disney sold the broadcast rights to ‘The Force Awakens,’ the studio didn’t think about its own streaming future and the film was licensed to Starz. Now, years later, the studio wants its film back, as it will clearly be one of the biggest draws to Disney+. And to do so, Disney is going to have to promote Starz.
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Upon signing up for Disney+ and ESPN+, customers will also be given the option to sign up for Starz, as well. This is part of the deal made to make sure some of the studio’s content that was licensed to the cable company will be available at launch. However, the Starz ads are confirmed to not be seen anywhere inside of the actual streaming services.
However, just because ‘The Force Awakens’ will be available on Day 1 of Disney+ doesn’t mean that “Star Wars” fans will have access to the entire catalog of films. 2017’s ‘The Last Jedi’ was snatched up by Netflix for exclusive streaming rights and that film won’t make its debut on Disney+ until that contract expires at the end of 2019.
So, while the Mouse House preps the launch of its streaming service on November 12, you can see that the executives behind the scenes are anxiously trying to get all the content they can, even if it means a compromise. In the end, Starz has to be happy with this.