Do not expect Disney + in Africa any time soon



[ad_1]

When Disney unveiled the full range and pricing of the much-anticipated Disney + streaming service, we were all very excited. Benefiting from incredible series and films such as The Mandalorian, Loki, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and more from their huge Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic libraries, all for the relatively low price of $ 6.99 a month, many of us were already asking where to send our money. It looks like we will not send it anywhere. Not for a moment at least.

During the presentation to investors of Disney CEO Bob Iger, in which Disney + was unveiled, it was revealed that the service would be launched in the United States on November 12 before being extended to the world. The offices of the critics have sounded the alarm when Africa was not mentioned in the list of regions. We are often left out (or grouped with other regions), so I did not worry too much. However, to be careful, I immediately contacted Disney SA to find out what was going on, but they did not know much more than what we were hearing. This "global" aspect of planned deployment was again reiterated as a form of reinsurance.

However, thanks to the local entertainment blogger TVWithThinus spotting it, it seems that reassuring was for nothing. Iger's presentation after the initial unveiling contained a slide showing Disney's regional rollout plans for all "major markets". Africa is clearly not a major market.

As you can see, no launch is planned in Africa in the first eight quarters of the year. With the launch of Disney + towards the end of this year, this means that we are turning towards 2022 at the earliest before the service is officially launched on our shores. I must admit that it's a bit surprised me. Every year, the press is invited to the Disney Annual Showcase, where the local branch of the House of Mouse informs us of all projects for the coming year. One thing that always shines is the way Disney is investing in Africa, in providing content for both and from the continent. To see it even on the plans here was definitely unexpected.

With respect to all this incredible content that will be broadcast by Disney +, we can only hope that broadcast agreements will be made with local broadcasters such as DStv for the projection of these programs. Their queries have remained unanswered so far, but that's exactly what Netflix did with all its original series long before the streaming giant finally appeared officially on our shores.

Of course, people were also unofficially watching Netflix locally well before launching here, using DNS routing and VPN services to access the US library. At the time, Netflix was aware of these connections, but since people still had to pay them a subscription, it did not bother them. When they really extended their footprint to include regions like South Africa, that's when they started to repress these mechanisms. Who knows if Disney + will follow the same route?

It is also possible that we are really included in the deployment plans. Often in games we are classified in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa). The problem here is of course that Disney's plans clearly show their launch dates in Europe. We can still hope, however.

Anyway, in a country like South Africa that already has a huge culture of piracy in entertainment media, this latest revelation is not going to change things.

Last update: April 17, 2019

[ad_2]

Source link