Update: It seems the original source on of the report misconstrued a comment from Iger, who was referring more broadly to “a Disney Play,” rather than giving name to the service itself. A spokesperson for the service told TechCrunch, “A name for the upcoming Disney steaming service has not yet been announced”
It’s been a full year since Disney first made public its intentions to go head to head with Netflix. In the intervening months, the media giant has started the process of pulling content from the streaming service, bit by bit.
And while Disney isn’t planning to launch the product until some time next year, at least we’ve finally got a name. CEO Bob Iger is calling the video service “Disney Play,” according to a new report from Variety.
That little tidbit is buried in a larger piece of about Netflix competitors. In it, the chief executive notes that the services is Disney’s “biggest priority of the company during calendar [year] 2019.” That’s some big talk from a company with the reach and resources of a Disney.
From the sound of things, however, it’s going all in on its plan to beat Netflix and its ilk at their own game. Along with an extremely strong slate of existing films, the company’s got some big titles just over the horizon.
There’s Marvel’s Captain Marvel, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and surefire sequels like Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4. And then there’s the original content, led by a live action Star Wars series helmed by Iron Man director, Jon Favreau (who’s also directing Disney’s upcoming Lion King remake).
The exact date and pricing for the service are still TBD, but Iger has promised to undercut Netflix’s monthly fee.