With Disney looking to increase its revenues for its television and streaming business, it is once again looking to the ways of the past to help with the future by returning to licensing out some of its content.

Earlier this year, in the United Kingdom, Disney made some deals with Channel 4 and ITV to make some of its shows available through traditional linear channels and free streaming platforms on a non-exclusive basis, so these shows also remained on Disney+.   Disney has also continued to license its movies to traditional British broadcasters for years.

Channel 4 picked up the rights to some older titles like “Abbott Elementary”, while ITV picked up the rights to two Disney+ Original series, the British comedy Extraordinary”, and the FX series, “Under The Banner Of Heaven”.  

Disney has also made a similar deal with the BBC for Searchlight Pictures’ original series, “The Dropout,” which is now available to stream on the BBC iPlayer and will air later today on BBC One. It will premiere with a double episode at 10:40 pm, with two episodes broadcast each Tuesday.

“The Dropout” tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye?

The show stars Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes and Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani. The limited series also includes guest stars Utkarsh Ambudkar, Kate Burton, Michel Gill, LisaGay Hamilton, William H. Macy, Elizabeth Marvel, Laurie Metcalf, Dylan Minnette, Alan Ruck, Sam Waterston, Michaela Watkins and more.

Unlike in the United States, where Disney still operates many linear channels like ABC or FX, Disney has closed down most of its linear channels, licensing some of its best original content to British broadcasters, which is ultimately a win-win for everyone. Disney can make some additional money, and British platforms get access to great content cheaper than if they had made it themselves. The shows can then reach a larger audience since there are still many homes across the UK that don’t use or pay for streaming services.  

With these titles still being available on Disney+, it doesn’t hurt the streaming service, since with shows like “The Dropout”, those that would have initially watched the show already have, and this provides Disney+ with a larger audience to showcase its original programming, hopefully, resulting in some new signups.  

Do you think Disney licensing “The Dropout” to the BBC is a good idea?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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