It looks like 5-10 years from now, we might get a WCW Vs WWE Monday Night Wars styled documentary discussing the various streaming services (and cable networks).
Just when Disney announced that they’re going to end their partnership with Netflix, Asian streaming platform Iflix unveiled that it’ll begin streaming Disney Studios movies all across South East Asia. This is an eyebrow-raising situation. Firstly, the announcement of Disney’s departure from Netflix does not affect Malaysians in any way shape or form, as Disney movies and TV shows were not available on Netflix Malaysia, anyway.
Disney also announced that they’ll be starting their own streaming service which will air content from the primary Disney banner (i.e. High School Musical, Moana) as well as content from Lucasfilm (Star Wars) and content from Marvel Studios (The Avengers). Both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm are under the Disney umbrella. According to Mumbrella Asia, Iflix will start streaming movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Monsters Inc and Frozen immediately and add to that list in January 2018. Does this mean that Disney’s own streaming service will not be available in Malaysia or that we’ll have two separate streaming services airing Disney movies? The former seems to be the more likely option.
As reported by Mumbrella Asia, Iflix chief content officer, Sean Carey had this to say:
Disney has a story for every age. Iflix is committed to providing the best in entertainment from around the world and this SVOD partnership in the region will bring Disney brands and premium titles to our members across the region.
It is important to note that Mumbrella Asia specifically states that the deal between Disney and Iflix has been in the works for a very long time, and has got nothing to do with the divorce between Disney and Netflix.
