Disney+, the streaming service from Disney, was already available on a multitude of streaming devices in the UK – from the Amazon Fire TV, to Roku, Chromecast, and others. Starting today, it will also be available on the NOW TV streaming devices – the Smart Box and the NOW TV Stick.
Disney+ launched in the UK on March 24, and includes more than 800 films and TV shows, from the worlds of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic. Disney+ also offers a number of original productions, such as The Mandalorian, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, The World According to Jeff Goldblum and more.
In my Disney+ review, I said that while it doesn’t have something for everyone, it does has everything for some – especially if you’re a fan of one of their franchises, or if you have kids.
In the UK, Disney+ costs £5.99/month, or £59.99 (so £4.99/month) if you pay for a full year in advance, and you can also get a 7-days free trial by signing up here.
NOW TV is a streaming service from Sky, which includes passes for Entertainment (TV programmes), movies, kids and sports – and they also sell their own streaming devices, which work with some of the other streaming services as well – Netflix, YouTube, ITV Hub and others.
Customers with either the NOW TV Smart Box or the NOW TV Smart Stick (which you can buy here) will now be able to download and install the Disney+ app, and use the stick to stream Disney+.
Sky Q customers can also get Disney+ via their set-top box. But unlike Sky’s customers, NOW TV customers will not be able to “bundle” Disney+ into their bill or add it as a separate NOW TV Pass, and will instead have to subscribe to the service directly.
Somewhat confusingly, NOW TV’s Cinema Pass still has a large selection of Marvel, Disney and Star Wars movies, as some of the pre-Disney+ contracts still allow this. In the future, presumably, Disney+ will be the only place to watch Disney’s content on-demand.