Disney+ streaming service to offer entire Disney film library, including those in Disney Vault
LOS ANGELES -- The door to the Disney Vault will open once and for all after the company launches its upcoming streaming service, Disney+.
At some point "fairly soon after launch," Disney+ will feature the studio's entire motion picture library, even films "which have traditionally been kept in a vault," CEO Bob Iger announced Thursday at the company's investor meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.
The notion of the vault refers to the company's long-held marketing strategy where films are only made available for purchase on DVD and VHS for short periods of time. Television commercials for the company's films often ended with a tag encouraging users to buy the film on DVD or VHS "before it goes back into the Disney Vault." Prior to the rise of DVD and VHS, Disney kept films "in the vault" between their initial release and a subsequent re-release in theaters.
Iger didn't specify if the vault strategy would still be utilized for home releases.
Disney+, set to launch later in 2019, will primarily feature films and television series from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm's Star Wars franchise, all of which are owned by the Walt Disney Company. Content from National Geographic will eventually be offered pending Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which operates National Geographic's cable networks as a joint venture with The National Geographic Society.
Disney's slate of 2019 theatrical releases, beginning with "Captain Marvel," will debut on Disney+ after their run in theaters, Iger said.
In addition to library content that will be offered on Disney+, Disney is also developing original films and series that will make their debut on Disney+. Projects already announced include a remake of "Lady and the Tramp," a "High School Musical" television series and "The Mandalorian," a Star Wars live-action series.
Much of Disney's film library has historically been available to stream on Netflix, but Disney announced in 2017 that it will eventually begin pulling content from Netflix as licensing deals expire in preparation for Disney+'s launch. Disney has said, though, it does not intend to rival Netflix's vast content library and will position Disney+ to focus on quality over quantity.
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