- Disney has announced a new streaming brand, Star, that will be launched in 2021.
- The Star brand will be added as part of Disney Plus in Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world.
- The Star Plus service will launch as a stand-alone brand in other countries.
Disney will add more adult content to its streaming services in 2021. During its investor day today, Disney introduced its Star brand, which will be integrated into its Disney Plus service in some countries, while offered as a stand-alone service, Star Plus, in other parts of the world.
Star is meant to offer content owned or purchased by Disney that has a more mature bent, including many movies and shows from its 20th Century Studios library. It will also offer local content and sports via ESPN. In Canada, Europe, Singapore, and New Zealand, the Star brand will be integrated into Disney Plus at no additional cost starting February 23, 2021. Because of this new addition, the price of Disney Plus will go up to €8.99 a month. Star will be launched in other parts of the world later in 2021.
In June 2021, Star Plus will be launched in Latin America. It will be a stand-alone app and will include local content and content from ESPN and ESPN Plus from those countries.
Hulu to add ESPN Plus content in 2021
In the US, Disney still plans to run Hulu as an independent streaming service. However, starting in early 2021, Hulu subscribers will be able to access content from sister service ESPN Plus from within the Hulu app for an extra fee. Also, in January, a new bundle will launch that will include Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu with no ads for $18.95 a month.
