Over the past few years, Disney has slowly been closing down its linear channels around the world, focusing its attention on moving all of its programming content to the exclusive home of Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand.

Recently, it’s been announced that the National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild channels will be closing down in Australia at the beginning of March 2023 on Foxtel and at the end of the March on Fetch.

A spokesperson from Foxtel told TV Tonight:

“From March 1st 2023, National Geographic content will no longer be available on Foxtel’s linear channels and On Demand.  National Geographic content remains available on Foxtel for Disney+ subscribers, with the Disney+ app integrated on Foxtel iQ5, iQ4 and iQ3 set top boxes.  There’s also a wide range of nature documentaries, reality and scripted series available on Foxtel and On Demand.”

And a spokesperson from Fetch added:

The Nat Geo channels will be available on Fetch until March 31, after which they will no longer be available in Australia. Fetch is currently investigating replacement options.

Foxtel is also closing its Fox Funny channel down due to losing the broadcast rights for many of the 20th Animation shows like “The Simpsons”, “Family Guy”, and “Bob’s Burgers”, which all now are released exclusively on Disney+.

For Foxtel customers, this will no doubt be a disappointment, but hopefully, for Disney+ subscribers, the closure will allow the streaming service to receive shows faster than before.  However, we’ve seen with the closure of the Disney Channels, this isn’t always the case.

Only earlier this month, Disney closed down the National Geographic channels in Malaysia, to focus on building Disney+.

What do you think of Disney closing National Geographic channels?

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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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