Disney has landed on its latest international partnership, striking a multi-year deal with Sky that will integrate Disney+ and see the launch of a Disney Cinema linear channel on the pay-TV network.
Following the deal, Sky will have Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix and Hayu in one subscription for the first time.
The multi-year Disney-Sky agreement “builds on decades of collaboration” between the pair, they said, and will see Disney+’s Standard with Ads package, which costs £5.99 ($8.20) per month, included in eligible Sky TV packages from March 2026.
A Disney Cinema linear channel will launch for Sky Cinema subscribers, which will feature movies including Deadpool and Wolverine, Alien: Romulus and Iron Man in its first month. There will be around 50 movies at launch, according to Disney+ EMEA General Manager Karl Holmes, all of which will be Pay-2 movies generally available 12 months after debuting on Disney+. At least two movies will be refreshed each week.
Disney+ shows will also be promoted alongside Sky’s content on its “Continue Watching” rail and in recommendations. Sky already has Disney linear channels from National Geographic and Disney Jr.
Holmes said having Disney+ on Sky will increase the streamer’s potential reach in the UK by around 40% of UK households in a territory that is crucial to the Mouse House. “We entered the UK market six years ago and right now the UK is one of our largest markets with strong momentum,” he added. “We achieved scale through direct-to-consumer but what the Sky deal does is allow us to reach millions of consumers who prefer to buy TV as part of a larger subscription. This is about growth that is complementary and additive to our existing business.”
Disney has been looking to strike more of these deals of late, including content-sharing. The streamer struck a content-swap with ITV last year that saw Love Island head in one direction and shows like The Bear in the other. Today’s Disney-Sky deal, however, will not see any Sky originals head to Disney. Disney has also struck partnerships of late with Germany’s ZDF and Spain’s Atresmedia.
Sophia Ahmad, Sky’s Chief Consumer Officer, said the Disney deal “reinforces Sky as the partner of choice, bringing scale, tech and experience to make sure we can showcase people’s content.”
She hailed the Sky Ultimate TV deal, which costs £24 a month and will see HBO Max, Disney+, Hayu and Netflix brought together. “Customers are telling us they want this not just as a bundle but to build an experience that sorts through the clutter,” she added.
Sky is moving beyond its previous HBO output deal, which just elapsed. The Comcast-owned giant has therefore been looking to strike more partnerships. Yesterday at a Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) event in London unveiling HBO Max’s UK launch date, WBD top brass appeared to draw a line in the sand under the previous Sky deal. “There is a world outside of Sky,” said WBD UK boss Andrew Georgiou, as he pointed to what he said were the 21 million streaming households in the UK who don’t subscribe to the Comcast-owned pay-TV giant.
Ahmad said: “For us we are looking at what customers actually want and the key thing they want is a range of content served in a brilliant experience. That is what we are bringing them.”