Channel 4 To License Over 10 Disney Shows Including “Abbott Elementary”, “Grown-ish” & More
For the past few years, Disney has been pulling back on how many shows and films it licenses out to other streaming platforms and linear networks, instead focusing its attention on having as much original content as possible available on its own streaming platforms like Disney+ to drive as many subscribers as possible to catch up with Netflix and grab as much market share as possible.
However, with a shift in strategy to focus more on profitability, many studios, including Disney, are once again returning to licensing out some of their content to third-party platforms. Earlier this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a quarterly financial investor call that they were still open to licence out selected titles, especially from their general entertainment studios.
And today, Britain’s Channel 4 has revealed that it has licensed ten different shows for its British free streaming service, which includes over 1000 hours of American drama, including:
- Alias – Seasons 1 – 5
- The Americans – Seasons 1 – 6
- Empire- Seasons 1 – 6
- Scandal – Seasons 1 – 7
- Grown-ish – Seasons 1 – 6
- Abbot Elementary- Seasons 1 & 2
- Star- Seasons 1 – 3
- The Killing – Seasons 1 – 4
- Bones – Seasons 1 – 12
- X-File – Seasons 1 – 11
Nick Lee, head of acquisitions at Channel 4, said in a statement:
“We’re so pleased to have agreed such an extensive content deal with Disney, ranging from their most iconic series like ‘The X-Files’ to fresh hits such as ‘Abbott Elementary’ and ‘Star.’ We look forward to our viewers being able to binge series after series on Channel 4.”
Disney already has a number of its titles available on Channel 4 and continues the trend of Disney licensing out some of its content on a non-exclusive basis to other FAST (Free-Ad-Supported) platforms. There are also some additional benefits of sharing content between platforms, as this will allow a new show like “Abbott Elementary” to find a new audience in the UK, which might encourage viewers to subscribe when the third season arrives later.
The ten new Disney series will be available to stream for free with ads on Channel 4 from later this month and will still be available to stream on Disney+.
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