Samsung is bringing Disney+ to its Smart TVs starting today. The hugely-popular streaming service, which has already amassed 26.5 million paid subscribers in the United States alone since its launch late last year, is available on Samsung TVs in the Netherlands from today.
The Disney+ app will be coming to Samsung TVs in the UK from March 24, when the video on-demand service is due to launch. Disney+ was scheduled to roll-out on March 31, 2020 but the House of Mouse brought forward the UK release date by a week. Thankfully, Samsung got the memo – and the streaming app will be ready to go on the first day.
If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know about Disney+, the all-new streaming service is a colossal push from Disney to oust the likes of Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ and Netflix. The new subscription service leverages the sheer heft of Disney’s media empire to bring new original shows and blockbuster movies centred on its existing portfolio of properties, including the likes of Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, and National Geographic.
As well as new television seasons and movies you won’t find anywhere else, Disney+ will also be the exclusive home for a number of properties from the back catalogue, including all the entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, every episode of The Simpsons, and classic animated and their live-action remakes, like The Lion King.
The arrival of Disney+ on Samsung TVs means the sets are fast-becoming a one-stop-shop for your streaming needs. Samsung was one of the first TV manufacturers to add support for Apple TV+, the Netflix rival created by the iPhone manufacturer which launched in November 2019.
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Samsung TVs already support a plethora of streaming apps, including the likes of YouTube, YouTube Kids, Spotify, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Store Movies, Facebook Video, Vimeo, Redbull TV, BBC, TuneIn, DailyMotion, and much more. With the addition of Disney+, these sets are now a formidable package.
It’s currently unclear whether Sky Q will support Disney+. The UK satellite broadcaster has a strong relationship with the US media giant and even has a dedicated Sky Cinema Disney channel for its movies.
However, reports suggest Disney has been pulling a number of shows from Sky in a bid to shore-up its library with exclusives before its UK launch date.
Sky Q does ship with full support for the Netflix app, but no Amazon Prime Video – unlike its rival, Virgin Media TV V6.
With today’s announcement at the Samsung European Forum 2020, it’s clear that if you’re watching on a Samsung-branded Smart TV – you won’t have an issue anyway.
As well as Disney+ support, Samsung also confirmed plans to offer multiple voice assistant options, enabling viewers to wire-up their shiny new Samsung to use Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Bixby. These chatty AI assistants will let you hear about the latest headlines, weather updates, as well as smart home and TV control capabilities.