Disney Takes Minority WEBTOON Entertainment Stake

As part of a broader agreement to develop a digital comics platform, The Walt Disney Company is picking up a 2 percent stake in WEBTOON Entertainment.

The new digital platform will feature more than 35,000 comics from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios, all accessible via a single subscription. The new platform will expand upon Marvel Unlimited, Marvel’s current digital comics subscription service, and will be built and operated by WEBTOON Entertainment. It will deliver a mix of vertical and traditional formats for archived comics, current comic book runs and original stories. Select titles will be localized for WEBTOON’s Korean and Japanese platforms

This is a further expansion of the relationship between Disney and WEBTOON; they previously announced a multi-year collaboration featuring nearly 100 titles tailored for WEBTOON’s vertical-scroll format.

“By uniting our unparalleled collection of comics across Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and 20th Century Studios into a single digital platform, we’re giving fans unprecedented access to the adventures they love—all in one place,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences. “Through our expanded relationship with WEBTOON, the global leader in digital comics, we’re opening doors to new audiences and deepening fan engagement.”

“With a new platform that will combine our product and technical expertise with Disney’s full comic catalog, we’re giving new and longtime fans all over the world a new way to discover these legendary characters and stories,” said Junkoo Kim, founder and CEO of WEBTOON Entertainment. “Disney’s extraordinary storytelling legacy is second to none, and we’re honored to work with them to build the future of digital comics. This is a powerful next step for our growing global business, and a strong foundation for even greater collaboration with Disney in the years ahead.”