Disney+ will be available on Amazon Fire TV devices for the November 12th launch after all, according to The Wall Street Journal, following a WSJ report last month that said the streaming service may not be available on Amazon products due to a disagreement over advertising.
CEO Bob Iger announced the news on Disney’s fourth quarter earnings call, alongside news that Disney+ will also be available on LG and Samsung smart TVs. “We’re pleased to announce partnerships with Amazon Fire [TV], LG, and Samsung devices.”
The Disney+ app on Fire TV will also tie into Amazon’s universal search feature, meaning that you’ll be able to request specific shows through Alexa with commands like “Alexa, play The Mandalorian.” Disney+ content will also be included in Amazon’s Alexa-based discovery features.
Per the WSJ’s original report, the fight over Disney+ on Fire TV was due to a dispute over advertising rights in Disney’s apps, including those for ABC, ESPN, and the Disney Channel. It’s not clear whether Disney agreed to Amazon’s terms, but the two companies have come to some sort of agreement. That means that Disney+ will be coming to Fire TV devices — and that existing Disney apps will be allowed to stick around on Amazon’s streaming platform, too.
Whatever the terms, though, having Amazon on board is a big win for Disney heading into the launch of Disney+ on November 12th. Amazon’s Fire TV platform is the one of the two largest streaming platform in the world (along with Roku), which is a lot of potential customers that Disney’s hoping will sign up for the new service.
Update November 7, 5:30pm: Added additional details about Alexa integration for the Disney+ Fire TV app.
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