Saada said that French subscribers will get access to Disney+ by the end of March, adding that its launch date and pricing will be communicated at a later date. He revealed that Canal Plus will be the first to carry the service in France and the sole point of distribution for other providers, including the IPTV platforms of telecom operators such as Orange. As in other countries, consumers will also have the option to download the Disney+ app directly.
Disney+ will be integrated in the MyCanal on-demand service, which currently accounts for 40 percent of overall Canal Plus consumption, said the company. As part of the deal, Pay-TV subscribers will also be the first to view blockbusters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. Channels such as National Geographic, Voyage and Fox Play will continue to be included in Canal Plus’ offering.
Kevin Mayer, who heads Disney’s Direct-to-consumer & International business, told Les Echos that Disney+ is targeting between 60 and 90 million subscribers by September 2024. Reuters recently reported that the service is now estimated to have reached 28 million customers across five countries since its launch in November, based on the findings published last week by analytics firm Sensor Tower.
