Disney+ is currently available in 64 countries across North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and Latin America and expands to another 40+ countries this summer, which is one of the reasons Disney is expecting the streaming service to hit around 250 million subscribers around the world by 2024.

As part of this international expansion, Disney has been building up its international production on new originals for Disney+. We’ve already seen some international originals released globally on Disney+ including “Snowdrop”, “Intertwined”, “Oussekine” and much more are due to be hitting our screens over the next few years.

Earlier this year, Rebecca Campbell was made the Chairman of Disney’s International Content and Operations.  She is overseeing Disney’s international media teams in Asia Pacific, EMEA, India and Latin America who manage the Company’s international linear channels, regional streaming, local ad sales, and local distribution.

During a recent quarterly investor call, Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek shared some details on how many originals are currently in production.

We currently have over 500 local original titles in various stages of development and production. 180 of those titles are slated to premiere this fiscal year, increasing to over 300 international originals per year in steady state. We believe these premium local originals, along with branded content with broad international appeal, will attract new subscribers and drive engagement. One example in production is Nautilus from our EMEA team. Based on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Nautilus is the origin story of the iconic submarine from the perspective of its mysterious commander, Captain Nemo.

Christine McCarthy, Disney’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer also provided some more details on the investor call for these upcoming international originals:

But as Bob mentioned, we have about 500 shows in the pipeline for local content outside of the US or English speaking. When you look at that 500, I’ll give you some broad breakdowns.

In the Asia Pacific region, including Southeast Asia, of that 500, 140 is in that region. In EMEA, it’s 150. In India, it’s 100. And in Latin America, it’s 200.

So we haven’t given that before, but I think that also kind of breaks it up in the various regions that we are in outside of the US

There are many reasons why Disney is drastically increasing its investment in international content.  It often helps with fulfilling some local quotas but more importantly, appealing to consumers who want stories they can relate to more easily.

What do you think of Disney expanding its international original output?

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

View all posts