Disney CEO Bob Chapek today announced that Disney going to offer its content director to consumers internationally under the "Star" brand. (It'll also live within Disney+ in many markets.)
The gist is that content that's directly owned by Disney can get a leg up with a period of exclusivity under star, before moving on to Disney+ in perpetuity.
The general entertainment sub-brand will launch sometime in 2021, Chapek said.
The Star brand will comprise content from:
- ABC Studios
- Fox Televisions
- FX
- Freeform
- 20th Century Studios
- Searchlight
"The fact that Disney+ has grown as rapidly as it has clearly demonstrates the value of our content," Chapek said on the earnings call. "And through the addition of our Star-branded general entertainment offering, we are further extending the value of that content internationally."
The decision to do this under "Star" and not something like Hulu, Chapek said, came down to a number of factors, including the fact that Hulu aggregates content from multiple sources — and that it doesn't really have any brand awareness outside of the United States.
Chapek said the company would hold another investor day in the near future to update on these plans, as well as what's going on with Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
