Disney partners with Netflix for future catalogue

In a move that is likely to give Netflix a big leg up against its worldwide competitors, Disney has announced that in the future its new movies will be showcased on Netflix first and its back catalogue will also be made available on the streaming service.

Unfortunately for those of you eagerly checking your Netflix library right now, there won't actually be any new releases added until sometime in 2016 – suggesting the partnership deal is pretty long term – but back catalogue releases will be made available as early as 2013. Bear in mind, that with recent Disney acquisitions of both Marvel and Lucasfilm, this means all the Star Wars movies and most of the Super hero films – though you can already watch Thor and Captain America if using the US version of Netflix – and who hasn't tweaked their DNS settings to get the better selection at this point?

In the press release, Disney also promised to bring some of its classic to the streaming service. This includes movies like Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Pocahontas and more.

While no financial figures were disclosed as part of the deal, we can speculate that with a one year license from Disney thought to be worth around $200 (£120) million, a multi-year exclusive deal like this, could be worth much more than that. Initially Netflix planned to spend $1.2 billion in 2012, but with a move like this perhaps we're looking at closer to $2 (£1.2) billion.

KitGuru Says: This sounds good to me. Netflix is pretty much all I watch these days. Why would you sit through adverts when a few quid a month gives you practically unlimited viewing options with no interruptions?

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