PHILADELPHIA & BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast and The Walt Disney Company announced today that they have reached an agreement that includes the rights for Comcast to distribute the Disney+ and ESPN+ services on its Xfinity X1 and Flex platforms.
“With the addition of Disney+ and ESPN+, our X1 and Flex customers will soon have the ability to easily find and watch the complete range of Disney shows and sports,” said Rebecca Heap, Senior Vice President, Video and Entertainment, Comcast Cable. “Whether it’s live, on demand or streamed via an app, unifying content is our strength and we’re pleased to add Disney+ and ESPN+ to our aggregation platforms, all accessible with the award-winning Xfinity voice remote.”
Disney+ and ESPN+ will launch on the X1 and Flex platforms in the first quarter of 2021. Existing subscribers to Disney+ and ESPN+ will be able to login through the X1 and Flex platforms, while new customers will have a variety of ways to sign-up, including through Xfinity in the future.
“Creating seamless experiences for consumers to easily access Disney+ and ESPN+ wherever they enjoy their entertainment is a top priority for us and we are incredibly excited about the upcoming launches on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex platform,” said Michael Paull, President, Disney+ and ESPN+. “From day one we have set out to make our streaming services available both widely and broadly to audiences and we’re excited to extend this promise to the millions of Xfinity customers.”
The ESPN app will also give users access to live, linear streams of the ESPN networks that a user has in their Xfinity television package (including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network and more) and popular short-form content such as sports highlights.
Disney+ and ESPN+ will join multiple other streaming services on X1 and Flex including Peacock, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, Pandora, and HBO Max coming soon, amongst many more.
Xfinity delivers the best entertainment to customers via its X1 and Flex devices and through its leading broadband service. X1 provides the most comprehensive library of entertainment on one platform with thousands of choices – aggregating live TV, On Demand, and popular streaming apps from a growing collection of networks and streaming services. Xfinity Flex is a 4K streaming device included with Xfinity Internet that extends the best features of X1 to customers who prefer only a broadband experience, giving them one integrated guide to access all of their favorite streaming video and music apps, as well as a TV interface to manage their Xfinity WiFi, mobile, security and automation services – all of which is controllable with the Xfinity voice remote.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise that includes Parks, Experiences and Products; Media & Entertainment Distribution; and three content groups—Studios, General Entertainment and Sports—focused on developing and producing content for DTC, theatrical and linear platforms. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $65.4 billion in its Fiscal Year 2020.
