Netflix Scores Premium Pay-TV Window on Disney Movies

BEVERLY HILLS/BURBANK: Netflix has become the exclusive U.S. subscription TV service for first-run feature films from The Walt Disney Studios.

The multi-year licensing deal starts with 2016 theatrically released feature films. It covers Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Disneynature. Titles will be available for Netflix members to watch instantly in the pay-TV window on multiple platforms. The pact also includes Disney direct-to-video releases, which will become available on Netflix starting in 2013.

Separately, the two companies have reached a multi-year catalogue deal that brings U.S. Netflix members such classics as Dumbo, Pocahontas and Alice in Wonderland.

"Disney and Netflix have shared a long and mutually beneficial relationship and this deal will bring to our subscribers, in the first pay-TV window, some of the highest-quality, most imaginative family films being made today," said Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer at Netflix. "It’s a bold leap forward for Internet television and we are incredibly pleased and proud this iconic family brand is teaming with Netflix to make it happen."

"With this cutting-edge agreement, we are thrilled to take our highly valued relationship with Netflix to the next level by adding Disney’s premier films to their programming lineup," added Janice Marinelli, the president of Disney-ABC Domestic Television. "Netflix continues to meet the demands of its subscribers in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, and we are delighted that they will have much earlier access to our top-quality and entertaining slate."