Disney+ Moves Up Launch Date in the UK and Western Europe

Disney fans and streaming users throughout Europe were instantly frustrated with Disney last fall when the House of Mouse announced all of the details regarding its new streaming service. Disney+ has all of the Disney classics available to stream, along with popular franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So what was the problem? While Disney+ was set to launch in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in November, there was not a release date set for most of Europe. Fans in those countries would have to wait to get their hands on the service, and check out highly talked about originals like Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

The service was finally given a March 2020 release date in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, but it looks as though the planned rollout overseas is ahead of schedule. Variety is now reporting that the March 31st release of Disney+ has been moved up one week, to March 24th.

This rollout will include the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland, and it will cost £5.99/€6.99 ($8) per month, or £59.99/€69.99 ($78) per year. According to the report, additional Western Europe markets will launch later in 2020. This includes Belgium, the Nordics, and Portugal.

Disney+ has already become a phenomenon in the months since its November 12th launch last year, reaching 10 million signups in its first week and becoming the biggest Google search trend in all of 2019. Disney has yet to release any official numbers since that first week, promising to share an update at its next quarterly earnings call in February. The launch of the service in Europe will certainly help boost its already immense popularity.

The House of Mouse projects Disney+ to have between 60 and 90 million subscribers around the world by 2024. By that time, Disney+ will likely be spending upwards of $2.5 billion on original content.