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Disney to show movies and cartoons on Netflix-like platform in China

Sharp contrast from Disney's strategy in the US

Alibaba
Karen Chiu
Karen Chiu
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Hundreds of Disney cartoons are coming to Alibaba’s Youku streaming site (Source: Alibaba)

Disney won’t let you watch some of its most popular films on Netflix after next year -- but in China, they’ve just partnered with one of the country’s biggest streaming sites to host its content.

Disney signed a multi-year licensing deal with Alibaba, delivering more than 1,000 animated classics and live-action movies to Chinese households through streaming website Youku and Alibaba’s set-top boxes.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)

It’s a sharp contrast to what Disney is doing in the US. The company is pulling content from Netflix and others to build up a library for its own streaming service, set to launch next year.
Disney actually tried that approach before -- in China. In 2016, the DisneyLife streaming service (also in partnership with Alibaba) was scrapped just a few months after launch following a crackdown by Chinese internet regulators.

Many Western companies are relying on local partners to break into the tightly-controlled Chinese market. Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox, NBCUniversal and others have all signed similar broadcast deals with Alibaba.

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