Disney, Sony Strike Licensing Deal

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Disney, Sony Strike Licensing Deal
Walt Disney Co. is based in Burbank.

Burbank-based entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. has reached a multiyear licensing deal with Sony Entertainment Inc.  

The agreement, announced April 21, gives Disney access to Sony movie releases from 2022 to 2026. It follows a pact between Sony, which has a large studio presence in Culver City, and Netflix Inc. that gives the streamer first-window pay-TV access to Sony’s release slate starting in 2022.

Financial terms for the Disney deal were not disclosed, but the Los Angeles Times estimates that Sony’s deals with Netflix and Disney are worth a combined $3 billion.

The Disney deal brings films such as Marvel’s “Spider-Man” franchise and the “Jumanji” titles to various Disney platforms. Along with giving Disney the opportunity to feature Sony content on its Disney Plus streaming platform, the deal allows the company to add Sony content to its TV networks, including ABC, Freeform, National Geographic and FX.

“We set a strategy three and a half or four years ago to be the Switzerland of programmers where we will sell to everyone. Our creators are excited about that,” Tony Vinciquerra, chief executive and chairman of  Culver City-based Sony Pictures, said in an interview with CNBC on April 22.

Streaming has heated up amid the pandemic, with Disney Plus and Netflix emerging as leading platforms. Sony is one of the last major studios without its own streaming platform.

Though Disney Plus is relatively new, it has garnered 100 million subscribers in just over a year of operation. Disney announced its plan to shift its focus to direct-to-
consumer content in October 2020. Netflix hit 200 million subscribers in January.

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