Disney+ goes live in the UK bringing relief to millions of parents stuck at home with their kids during the coronavirus lockdown
- Subscribers will have access to content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars
- Disney+ costs £5.99 for a monthly subscription or £59.99 to sign up for a year
- The service first launched to users in the United States back in November 2019
- Disney+ will go live in the UK with reduced quality to prevent net congestion
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
The Disney+ streaming service has gone live in the UK, bringing relief to millions of parents stuck at home with their kids during the coronavirus lockdown.
Subscribers will have access to a library of content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.
The platform’s archive contains more than 350 TV shows — including some 600 episodes of The Simpsons.
Users will also be able to stream original programming that is exclusive to the service — such as the latest addition to the Star Wars franchise, the Mandalorian.
Following in the footsteps of Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video, Disney+’s UK launch will see bitrates temporarily capped to lower the strain on networks.
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The Disney+ streaming service has gone live in the UK, bringing relief to millions of parents stuck at home with their kids during the coronavirus lockdown
The Disney+ streaming platform first launched to viewers in the United States in November 2019.
The service is seen as the latest challenger to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.
Disney+ costs £5.99 for a monthly subscription or £59.99 to sign up for a year.
Disney confirmed the UK launch date for the streaming service back in January.
Its arrival now comes as thousands of children in the UK are at home after nurseries and schools officially closed while Britain fights to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The UK’s Department for Education has urged parents to keep their children at home unless their work is deemed ‘critical’ to the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and they have no other childcare option.
‘Look what has arrived. Two hours early. Amen Disney,’ tweeted Adam Bysouth
‘DisneyPlusUK launches at 1am,’ wrote Twitter user @oohgaryc, who added — by means of an animated gif, that he was ‘truly, truly grateful, and terribly happy’
The Disney+ streaming platform first launched to viewers in the United States in November 2019. The service is seen as the latest challenger to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+. Disney+ costs £5.99 for a monthly subscription or £59.99 to sign up for a year
‘Look what has arrived. Two hours early. Amen Disney,’ tweeted Adam Bysouth.
‘DisneyPlusUK launches at 1am,’ wrote Twitter user @oohgaryc, who added — by means of an animated gif, that he was ‘truly, truly grateful, and terribly happy.’
Meanwhile, Richard Devine appeared overwhelmed by the choice on offer, tweeting: ‘By the time I decide what to watch, lockdown will be over.’
‘We are responding to the request of European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton to work together to ensure the smooth functioning of the broadband infrastructure,’ said Disney direct-to-consumer chairman Kevin Mayer.
‘In anticipation of high consumer demand for Disney+, we are proactively instituting measures to lower our overall bandwidth utilisation by at least 25% in all of the markets launching Disney+ on March 24th.’
‘In the coming days, we will be monitoring Internet congestion and working closely with Internet service providers to further reduce bitrates as necessary to ensure they are not overwhelmed by consumer demand.’
‘We look forward to the launch of Disney+ and hope it will provide a much-needed respite for families in these challenging and trying times.’
In France, meanwhile, the launch of the new streaming service is to be delayed.
‘To our French fans, the Disney+ service is coming, but at the request of the French government, we have agreed to postpone the launch until Tuesday, 7 April 2020,’ Mr Mayer added.
WHAT’S ON DISNEY+?
Pictured, The Mandalorian’s ‘The Child’ — known to many as ‘Baby Yoda’
The following are just some examples of the content available on the streaming platform which launches in the UK on March 24, 2020:
The Mandalorian
The Star Wars spin-off has been the biggest hit so far for the streaming service.
The Mandalorian tells the story of a lone, helmeted gunfighter — played by Pedro Pascal — in the outer reaches of a galaxy far, far away, and features the internet phenomenon nicknamed ‘Baby Yoda’.
The pint-sized green, big-eared creature has become a viral hit since the series first aired in the United States.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
After the success of the three High School Musical films, the show returns to East High, this time as a mockumentary series about a group of teenagers staging High School Musical: The Musical as their school play.
It stars Olivia Rodrigo as Nini Salazar-Roberts, who is cast as Gabriella Montez in the school show, while Joshua Bassett plays Ricky Bowen, who is cast as Troy Bolton.
Pictured, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Lady And The Tramp
Following in the footsteps of The Lion King and The Jungle Book, this re-telling of the 1955 animated classic uses photo-realistic animation.
The romantic story about a sheltered cocker spaniel and a downtown mutt features the voices of Tessa Thompson as Lady and Justin Theroux as Tramp.
The World According To Jeff Goldblum
The Hollywood star pulls back the curtain on seemingly familiar objects, including ice cream, tattoos and jewellery.
He also investigates the science and ideas behind cosmetics, swimming pools, trainers and denim.
Pictured, Pixar’s Forky in Forky Asks A Question
Forky Asks A Question
The break-out character from Toy Story 4, voiced by Tony Hale, returns for his own series.
It will see him ask important questions about how the world works, such as what is love? What is time? And even: what is cheese?