DisneyNow (stylized as DisneyNOW) is a

TV Everywhere TV Everywhere (also known as authenticated streaming or authenticated video on-demand) refers to a type of American subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" ...

platform offered by

Disney Branded Television Disney Branded Television is a unit of Disney General Entertainment Content which oversees development, production and acquisition of content geared towards children, teenagers and families for Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Jr. and Disney XD. ...

. The service offers programming from

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

Disney Jr Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...

, and

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

for subscribers to the three networks on television providers. It launched on September 29, 2017, replacing the individual "Watch" apps that originally launched for these networks in 2012, as well as the networks' respective official websites. The mobile and digital media player apps for the platform were discontinued on September 23, 2024; service remains available on traditional computers and web browsers.

History

Disney first launched TV Everywhere services for

Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...

, and

in June 2012—the "Watch" apps (whose branding were modeled after

WatchESPN ESPN began offering a TV Everywhere platform in 2010, allowing subscribers on participating Multichannel television, television providers in the United States to stream programming from ESPN's linear television channels online, on Mobile device, ...

)—as part of new carriage agreements with

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...

that included digital rights to the programming of Disney's cable channels via authenticated streaming. In February of 2017, during upfronts presentations for its children's channels, Disney announced that the individual "Watch" apps for Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD would be replaced with DisneyNow; the service integrated the three channels' content, along with

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

, into a unified library. It also included games based on programs from the three channels, a profile system, and parental controls. The new app launched on September 29, 2017 for Android,

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, with

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 ...

, and

Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (formerly stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon since November 2014. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed v ...

versions following in the next year. On December 1, 2018, Chinese animated series '' Stitch & Ai'', a spin-off of the ''

Lilo & Stitch ''Lilo & Stitch'' () is a 2002 American animated Science fiction film, science fiction comedy-drama film, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Chris Sanders and De ...

'' franchise that originally aired in 2017, made its American debut on DisneyNow, with twelve of the series' thirteen episodes released on the service. With the launch of the new subscription-based streaming service

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

on November 12, 2019, Disney began to transition library content from DisneyNow to Disney+ in order to encourage service subscriptions. On August 23, 2024, Disney began notifying its carriage partners it would discontinue the mobile and digital media player apps for DisneyNow, as well as ABC, Freeform, FX, and

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

, along with DisneyNOW, effective September 23. TV Everywhere content would still be available via their respective websites in order to funnel viewers towards Disney+ and

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

. Games were subsequently removed from DisneyNOW's website on November 14.

References

External links

* {{VOD services Now Subscription video on demand services Internet television streaming services Internet properties established in 2017

History

See also

References

External links