Disney Plus Set for Earlier Launch in U.K. & Western Europe

By Christopher Vourlias

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Walt Disney Co. has set March 24 as the new launch date for Disney Plus in the U.K. and other key markets across Western Europe.

With the roll-out previously set for March 31, the streaming service will now be available a week earlier in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Pricing has also been confirmed at £5.99/€6.99 ($8) per month, or £59.99/€69.99 ($78) for an annual subscription.

Additional Western Europe markets, including Belgium, the Nordics, and Portugal, will follow in summer 2020.

Disney has projected that the streaming service will have 60-90 million subscribers worldwide by 2024. The Mouse House expects to spend a little over $1 billion on original content for its fiscal year 2020, increasing to the $2.5 billion range by 2024.

Despite some technical glitches on launch day, has been a hit since its Nov. 12 unveil, exceeding expectations with an estimated 24 million U.S. subscribers by the end of that month. Disney is expected to report earnings for the December 2019 quarter in February.

The service launched with nearly 500 movies and 7,500 episodes of TV shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and other iconic brands. It also includes original content such as the hit Star Wars series “The Mandalorian,” from creator Jon Favreau, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” “The World According to Jeff Goldblum,” and the live-action film “Lady and the Tramp.”
 

Disney Plus is also the exclusive streaming home for films released by Walt Disney Studios in 2019 and beyond, including “Captain Marvel,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Toy Story 4,” “The Lion King,” “Frozen 2” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”