DisneyNow (stylized as DisneyNOW) is a TV Everywhere app owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, where registers can watch full episodes, movies, and live TV from Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD on mobile app and website, only when registers login through various US cable providers.
History
Disney first launched TV Everywhere services for Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD in June 2012—the "Watch" apps—as part of new carriage agreements with Comcast Xfinity that included digital rights to the programming of Disney's cable channels via authenticated streaming.[1]
In February 2017, during upfronts presentations for its children's channels, Disney announced that the individual Watch Disney Channel, Watch Disney Junior, and Watch Disney XD platform services would be replaced by a new service known as DisneyNow. The new service combines the content of all three services, along with Radio Disney, into a unified library. The new application also includes games based on programs from the three channels, a profile system, and parental controls that can lock the app to Disney Junior only. The new apps launched in late-September 2017 for Android, iOS, Apple TV, and Roku. Web, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV versions were released in 2018.[2][3][4] On December 1, 2018, Chinese animated series Stitch & Ai, a spin-off of the Lilo & Stitch franchise that originally aired in 2017, made its United States debut on DisneyNow, with twelve of the series's thirteen episodes released on the service.
With the launch of the subscription streaming service Disney+ in November 2019, Disney began to remove library content from DisneyNow in order to encourage subscription to the service.
On August 23, 2024, it was announced that the DisneyNow was shut down on September 23, 2024, but the website is still operating.[5]
References
- ↑ "Disney launches streaming apps for the iPhone and iPad, Comcast gets them first", The Verge.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd (2017-09-28). "Disney Unifies Kids' Cable Channels in 'DisneyNow' App" (in en-US), Variety.
- ↑ Steinberg, Brian (28 February 2017). "As 'Kids' Upfront' Kicks Off, Disney Woos Madison Avenue", Variety. Retrieved on 28 September 2017.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Disney releases DisneyNow, a new app that combines live TV, on-demand, games and music" (in en), TechCrunch.
- ↑ https://disneytvanimation.com/post/759657311280168960/the-disney-now-app-will-be-shutting-down-on
