Channel 4 signed a deal with Disney to bring its programmes, linear channel and on-demand catalogue to Disney+ in Britain and Ireland.
Channel 4 has signed a deal with Walt Disney to bring its shows to Disney+ in Britain and Ireland early next year, giving the publicly owned broadcaster a new route to viewers as its traditional television audience shrinks.
Under the collaboration, many Channel 4 programmes, including the drama Maya featuring Bella Ramsey, will be released on Disney+ at the same time as on Channel 4's own platforms, the broadcaster said on Tuesday. Channel 4's main linear channel and hundreds of hours of its on-demand catalogue will also be available within a branded section of Disney+, it said.
The deal comes as Channel 4 battles a tough advertising market and declining audiences for linear channels. The broadcaster said last month it would cut about 340 jobs, more than a quarter of its workforce, and Reuters reported earlier this month that it had held preliminary talks with the BBC about a tie-up of some operations, citing two sources.
Reuters reporting of the broadcaster's announcement confirms the Disney+ launch window, the simultaneous release plan and the branded section, and the job-cut figure comes from Channel 4's own announcement last month as reported by Reuters. The financial terms of the Disney deal have not been disclosed by either company, so this report does not state a value for it, and the BBC talks remain preliminary, with no agreement reported.
For Channel 4, the deal trades some exclusivity for reach: its programmes will sit inside a platform with a large paying subscriber base, while its own services remain available in parallel. For Disney, it adds British public-service programming without producing it. Whether the arrangement helps Channel 4's finances will depend on the undisclosed terms and on whether Disney+ viewers watch enough Channel 4 content to justify a longer partnership when the early launch period ends.