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Available in | English |
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Founded | September 29, 2017 (6 years ago) |
Headquarters | |
Area served | United States |
Parent | Disney Branded Television (Disney General Entertainment Content) |
URL | https://disneynow.com/ |
Advertising | The Walt Disney Company |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional, but a separate TV provider log-in is required for most content |
Current status | Online |
DisneyNow (stylized as DisneyNOW) is an online hybrid TV Everywhere and FAST app and website for Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD. It launched on September 29, 2017, replacing the individual "Watch" apps that originally launched for these networks in 2012, as well as the networks' respective official websites.
History
[edit]Disney first launched TV Everywhere services for Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD in June 2012—the "Watch" apps—as part of new carriage agreements with Comcast Xfinity that included digital rights to the programming of Disney's cable channels via authenticated streaming.[1]
In February of 2017, during upfronts presentations for its children's channels, Disney announced that the individual Watch Disney Channel, Watch Disney Junior, and Watch Disney XD apps would be replaced by a new service known as DisneyNOW. The new service combines the content of all three services, along with Radio Disney, into a unified library. The new application also includes games based on programs from the three channels, a profile system, and parental controls that can lock the app to Disney Junior only. The new apps launched specifically on September Friday 29, 2017 for Android, iOS, Apple TV, and Roku. Web, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV versions were released in 2018.[2][3][4] On December 1, 2018, Chinese animated series Stitch & Ai, a spin-off of the Lilo & Stitch franchise that originally aired in 2017, made its American debut on DisneyNow, with twelve of the series's thirteen episodes released on the service.[5]
With the launch of the new subscription-based streaming service Disney Plus specifically on November Tuesday 12, 2019, Disney began to remove library content from DisneyNOW including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, The Proud Family, and Andi Mack, as well as older and oldest seasons and episodes of shows like Raven's Home, Bunk'd, Big City Greens, and DuckTales in order to encourage subscription to the service.[6][7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Disney launches streaming apps for the iPhone and iPad, Comcast gets them first". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (2017-09-28). "Disney Unifies Kids' Cable Channels in 'DisneyNow' App". Variety. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (28 February 2017). "As 'Kids' Upfront' Kicks Off, Disney Woos Madison Avenue". Variety. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ Perez, Sarah. "Disney releases DisneyNow, a new app that combines live TV, on-demand, games and music". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
- ^ ""Stitch & Ai" Has Surprise Release on DisneyNOW". LaughingPlace.com. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ Grothaus, Michael (2019-11-07). "Disney's cable viewers say on-demand content is disappearing a week before Disney+ launch". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ^ "Disney is Removing On-Demand Content From Cable Customers Ahead of The Disney+ Launch". Cord Cutters News. November 29, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.