Disney in Talks to License 'Star Wars' Films to Netflix in Latin America
September 17 2015 - 3:20PM
Dow Jones News
Luke, Leia and Chewbacca may soon be available to stream on
Netflix for the first time—but only in Latin America.
Walt Disney Co. is in talks with Netflix Inc. to put the five
"Star Wars" movies it controls on the digital streaming service in
Latin America, said people with knowledge of the discussions.
The deal could boost awareness of the franchise in a region
where theater construction and total box office receipts have
boomed since the release of the most recent "Star Wars" live-action
film in 2005.
Disney acquired rights to five of the six existing "Star Wars"
movies when it acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4 billion in 2012.
Twentieth Century Fox, part of 21st Century Fox, controls rights to
the 1977 original. For that movie to go on Netflix in Latin
America, the streaming giant would have to make a separate deal
with Fox.
In the U.S. and much of Europe, awareness of "Star Wars" is
already very high and there is a robust market to buy movies on
discs and online. As a result, Disney isn't as likely to make "Star
Wars" films available on subscription video-on-demand services like
Netflix in those regions soon.
Instead, it has been focused on selling digital copies of its
catalog of "Star Wars" films through services like Apple Inc.'s
iTunes for as much as $20 each, a more lucrative proposition than
selling rights to Netflix.
Disney's highest priority, however, is boosting awareness of the
franchise ahead of the debut of "The Force Awakens" in December in
order to sell tickets and associated consumer products.
On Monday, Disney and Fox announced a deal with China's Tencent
Holdings Ltd. to make the first six "Star Wars" films available to
stream online in that country, where the movie market has also
grown tremendously in the past decade and awareness of the sci-fi
series isn't as high as it is more established markets.
Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be available in the U.S. on
the Starz pay-cable network under an agreement that covers
theatrical releases through the end of 2015. A prior version of
this artitcle incorrectly said "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will
be available on Netflix. (Sept. 17, 2015)
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 17, 2015 15:05 ET (19:05 GMT)
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