Disney+ & ITVX To Team Up In Unique Partnership

Over the past year or so, we’ve seen Disney working with the British broadcaster, ITV, on a number of different projects such as co-producing “Rivals”, while also making some original shows like “Culprits”, “Renegade Nell” and “Under The Banner Of Heaven” available on the free streaming service, ITVX for a limited period. 

Today, Disney has announced a brand-new, first-of-its-kind initiative with ITV, which will see them carrying each other’s streaming services in the form of a promotional selection, billed as a ‘Taste of ITVX’ and a ‘Taste of Disney+’ respectively. The exciting initiative brings together two of the UK’s most recognisable entertainment brands to expand viewer choice and celebrate the best of British and international storytelling, marking a further milestone in The Walt Disney Company and ITV’s long-standing relationship.

Starting 16th July 2025, a curated and regularly refreshed selection of hit shows and movies from Disney+ and ITVX will be available to viewers on both platforms. The agreement showcases ITV and Disney’s world-class content to each other’s complementary audiences, extending reach and allowing more viewers to discover Disney+ and ITVX.

Disney+ customers in the UK will be able to stream some of ITV’s most acclaimed scripted and unscripted content. This includes the multi-award-winning drama “Mr Bates vs The Post Office”, espionage thriller “Spy Among Friends”, selected series of the reality hit “Love Island”, popular drama favourites like “Endeavour”, “Vera”, and the first series of “Karen Pirie”, coinciding with the second series premiere in ITVX, Olivia Attwood’s immersive series “Price of Perfection”, as well as multi-generational entertainment like “The 1% Club”. ‘A Taste of ITVX’ will be available to all Disney+ customers at no extra cost.

At the same time, ITVX viewers will be introduced to a rotating rail of Disney+ shows and movies titled ‘A Taste of Disney+’, updated regularly to reflect the breadth of Disney’s global storytelling. The selection in coming months includes critically acclaimed, award-winning titles – from the first seasons of FX’s “The Bear”, Lucasfilm’s “Andor” and “Only Murders in the Building”, to selected series of reality titles including “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and “The Kardashians”, plus family favourites including “Lilo and Stitch: The Series” and “Phineas and Ferb”. “A Taste of Disney+” will be available to all ITVX viewers at no cost, and ad free on ITVX Premium.

It’s important to note that this deal only sees a limited number of shows being available on each other platforms and the selection will update every couple of months.

This agreement builds on the strong, evolving relationship between Disney and ITV. ITV is the free-to-air home for Disney+’s “Renegade Nell”, and the forthcoming “Under the Bridge”, whilst ITV Studios is the producer behind hit Disney+ shows including “Rivals” (Happy Prince), “Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes” (Etta Pictures in association with KDJ Productions), and the return of Britain’s original dating series “Blind Date” (So TV & Stellify Media).

Joe Earley, President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment, said in a statement:

“We are proud of this innovative collaboration with ITV, which will allow us to bring Disney+ customers some of the UK’s favorite and buzzworthy shows and encourage ITVX viewers to discover some of Disney+’s award-winning series and blockbuster films.”

Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, ITV added:

“Disney are fantastic partners with a brilliant breadth of content. This mutually beneficial alliance allows us to show our complementary audiences a specially selected collection of titles, regularly updating, that gives a flavour of the range in our respective offerings. For us, this deal means even more great content for viewers on ITVX, and even more opportunity for viewers to find and enjoy our distinctive titles and services.”

Roger’s Take: With both companies working closer together on a number of different projects, this does look like a win-win situation. Disney gets to have some of its biggest shows get a larger audience on the free-to-air ITVX platform, which will likely also result in more people signing up for Disney+ for newer seasons.   The two companies have been working together for many years, with Disney licensing out select content like “Extraordinary”, so this new deal feels like the next step.

It also helps Disney+ expand its collection of British content to keep audiences entertained, while also complying with rules regarding the availability of European-made content on the platform. There’s also no doubt that there are other benefits, such as boosting engagement, advertising revenue, and helping ITVX compete with other FAST platforms.

The television business continues to adapt, especially as consumer habits change.  This new deal is a unique way of getting Disney+ in front of a large audience, while also generating additional revenue from older content, in a sense, returning to how the television business operated for many decades before the rise of Netflix. 

What do you think of this move between Disney and ITV? Let me know on social media!