Disney+ will get some of its movies back by running Starz ads – Engadget

When you first launch Disney+ after it becomes available next early week, you’ll see something that wasn’t supposed to be there. According to The Verge, the streaming service will feature a display ad promoting premium TV channel Starz on its login page that Android and web users will see.

A Disney spokesperson told The Verge the ad is part of a deal the company struck with Starz to reobtain the streaming licenses to some of its content — including, most notably, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The company was forced to make the concession to ensure subscribers could watch movies like The Force Awakens at launch. The ad will also make an appearance inside ESPN+.

More than anything, the situation is likely to cause embarrassment to the company. As a Disney+ or ESPN+ subscriber, the deal with Starz won’t intrude on your experience too much. Once you’ve logged into either service, you won’t see any other ads. However, as The Verge notes, the company had said in April Disney+ would be a “wholly subscription supported service.”

It worth noting Disney could have avoided this type of situation had it been more conservative about licensing out its content for streaming. But then a lot of other companies like AT&T and NBC are in the same position as they attempt to get their most popular content back. NBC, for example, has said subscribers of its upcoming NBCUniversal service will have to wait until 2021 to watch all nine seasons of The Office even though the platform is launching next year.