Disney Will Close Its Kids’ Channels In The U.K., Shifting Content To Disney+

Three months after the launch of Disney+ in the U.K., Disney has announced that it will shut down its kids’ channels in the country.

Here are the details:

On October 1, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior will cease to exist in the U.K. All titles will move exclusively to the Disney+ streaming service. Disney made the announcement after failing to reach distribution deals with Comcast’s Sky and Virgin Media, leading pay-tv platforms in the country, according to U.K. trade publication Broadcast.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, a Disney spokesperson said that the company “remains committed to our kids channels business and continues to execute distribution agreements for Disney channels in many markets where Disney+ is also available, with the goal of giving our fans multiple entry points to our storytelling.”

Even so, the consolidation in the U.K. marks a symbolic turning point for the company, and the industry at large. Disney+ has started strong, drawing over 54 million global subscribers since its launch in November. A report by Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates estimated that the streamer picked up 1.6 million U.K. subscribers in the first month after it launched there in March.

As the streaming boom gathers pace, Disney may have calculated that there is little financial incentive to renew distribution deals for linear channels. Nor has Sky been sleeping through the revolution: it recently struck a deal with Disney to integrate Disney+ into its premium tv service Sky Q, which also offers Netflix.

A month ago, Broadcast reported that David Levine, Disney’s vice president of kids programming for the U.K., Europe, and Africa, would leave after 16 years at the company.

By ALEX DUDOK DE WIT