‘Star,’ Disney+’s new streaming platform, will roll out in Canada, select European countries and New Zealand starting on February 23rd, 2021.
Star is a free tier available to Disney+ subscribers and seems to be the company’s international version of Hulu in some respects. Disney says that rather than being an independent streaming service, Star will be available as a brand within the Disney+ app as a separate tile.
Unlike U.S-exclusive streaming platform Hulu, which carries content from other studios as well as ‘Hulu Originals,’ Star will only stream shows and movies from ABC, FX, Freeform, Searchlight and 20th Century Studios. Further, Disney says that Star will feature localized content from the country it’s streaming in.
Disney has yet to release a list of content set to be available through Star in Canada. MobileSyrup has reached out to Disney for more information.
More favourites. More Originals. MORE. #DisneyPlus including Star launches in Canada on February 23, 2021. pic.twitter.com/SevnLadFFy
— Walt Disney Studios Canada (@DisneyStudiosCA) December 10, 2020
However, a lot of Hulu content is already available on streaming services like Crave, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and CBC Gem in Canada.
Further, FX’s content is currently licensed to Rogers. The company also operates the FX Now app in Canada that is only available to the channel’s cable subscribers. Notable FX content includes Atlanta, A Teacher and American Horror Story.
That said, the fact that Star is only set to feature content from specific Disney properties should minimize potential licensing issues. For example, it seems like marquee Hulu Originals, such as The Handmaid’s Tale, which currently streams on Crave in Canada and is produced by MGM Television, won’t be making their way to Star.
In total, Disney now has more than 137 million subscribers across its various streaming platforms, including 86 million on Disney+.
Disney+ costs $8.99 per month in Canada and is available on iOS, Android, desktop and several other platforms.
Source: @Disney
