DC Universe was an American subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and

digital comics Digital comics (also known as electronic comics,Ian Hague, ''Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels'', Routledge, 2014, ch. 2: "Sight, or, the Ideal Perspective and the Physicality of Seeing". eComics, e-comi ...

service operated by

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and is based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery which manages DC Comics characters by working with other units ...

and Warner Bros. Digital Networks, both divisions of

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC (Trade name, doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational corporation, multinational mass media and show business, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 ...

. Launched on September 15, 2018, the service featured a streaming library of animated series and films based on

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

properties, new original television series adapted from DC properties, as well as a rotating back catalogue of DC Comics publications, and online community features. In 2020, the service won the Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming. In June 2020, WarnerMedia began to phase out DC Universe in favor of its new flagship streaming service

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

, initially by offering a promotional offer via DC Universe for new subscribers. DC Universe was relaunched as DC Universe Infinite—which is solely a digital comics subscription service—on January 21, 2021. DC Universe's original series and future streaming productions were moved to HBO Max and became Max Originals.

History and development

In April 2017, DC Universe was announced as an untitled service with original television programming, with its title revealed a year later in May. The next month, the features of the service beyond original programming were revealed, including access to older DC live-action and animated films and animated series for a select period of time, a rotating selection of comics, forum discussion space, a merchandise store, and DC encyclopedia. Sam Ades, the general manager and senior vice-president at Warner Bros. Digital Network, managed the service. Several original series were announced and developed for DC Universe: ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'' and '' Young Justice: Outsiders'', premiered in 2018 and 2019, respectively. ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

'', a half-hour animated series, premiered in 2019. A

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

prequel series titled ''Metropolis'' was announced in January 2018, focusing on

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

and

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

. Two live-action series '' Swamp Thing'' and ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...

'' were released in 2019, while ''Metropolis'' was being redeveloped. A live-action '' Stargirl'' series was released in 2020, which features additional members of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

. '' DC Daily'' was released in September 2018, ending in July 2020. In May 2020, WarnerMedia launched a new streaming service,

. The following month, DC Universe subscribers became eligible for a promotional discount on HBO Max for new subscribers. At the end of July, DC Universe no longer offered the yearly subscription option for the service. In August, DC Comics publisher

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

revealed that all original programming would be migrated over to HBO Max. Speaking to the community aspect of DC Universe, as well as the ability to access the backlog of comics titles, Lee said "there is always going to be a need for that" and that DC was looking at ways to transform the platform so that content would not go away. Sibling broadcast network

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

(which has carried its "

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...

" dramas adapted from DC Comics characters) has also carried selected DC Universe programs, including ''Stargirl'' (which aired new episodes on The CW on a one-day delay from its release on DC Universe), and '' Swamp Thing'' (acquired for its 2020 fall schedule, amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States). DC announced in September 2020 that the service would change its name to DC Universe Infinite and become solely a digital comics subscription service on January 21, 2021. DC Universe subscriptions would automatically transfer over to DC Universe Infinite. ''Young Justice'' seasons 1–4, ''Titans'' season 1–3, ''Doom Patrol'' seasons 1–3, the first season of ''Stargirl'', and ''Harley Quinn'' seasons 1–3 moved to HBO Max to become Max Original series, with new DC series and "key DC classics" also being available there. ''Stargirl'' was renewed exclusively by The CW for a second season.

Availability

DC Universe launched in the U.S. on September 15, 2018, and was available on

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, Android,

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U ...

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

Android TV Android TV is an operating system that runs on smart TVs and related entertainment devices including soundbars, set-top boxes, and digital media players. Developed by Google, it is a closed-source Android distribution. Android TV features a u ...

, Amazon Fire TV, and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

in addition to web and mobile web access. Each subscription to DC Universe could be used on two devices at a time. Pre-orders for the streaming service became available starting on July 19, while an early beta-version was made available to select users in August. Live-action series were produced in 4K with HDR. DC Universe was only available in the United States. At

Fan Expo Canada Fan Expo Canada is an annual speculative fiction fan convention held in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

(for broadcast on its

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

, and Showcase cable networks), while ''

'' was acquired by

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

for its

CTV Sci-Fi Channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Bell Media subsidairy of BCE Inc.. The channel primarily broadcasts speculative fiction and related programming. The network was launched on October 17 ...

. ''

'' was distributed internationally on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Content

Original programming

''BizarroTV'', an anthology series, was announced in October 2019 as being in development, and had an expected release date in 2020. It was unclear if it would have migrated to an HBO Max Original series when the service became DC Universe Infinite.

Films and television series

At launch, the service included the four live-action Christopher Reeve ''Superman'' films, ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'' and ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...

'', the animated television series '' Batman: The Animated Series'', '' Static Shock'', '' Young Justice'', ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'', ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...

'', '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', and ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'', the live-action television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' and ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'', the last remastered in high-definition, and animated films including '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'', '' Green Lantern: First Flight'', and ''

'', among others. Content was updated on a monthly basis. The service added the 1970s live-action series '' Shazam!'' in March the following year.

Accolades

DC Universe won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming in the category Web.

Notes

References

External links

* {{CATV USA 2018 establishments in California 2021 disestablishments in California Companies based in Burbank, California DC Entertainment American companies established in 2018 American companies disestablished in 2021 Internet properties established in 2018 Internet properties disestablished in 2021 Internet television streaming services Subscription video on demand services Defunct subscription services Defunct video on demand services