Disney's two planned streaming services "took clearer shape on Thursday," as the company proposed a "sports á la carte" method for its ESPN service, according to Brooks Barnes of the N.Y. TIMES. Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger said the ESPN service will arrive "sometime this spring." It will include "thousands of events not currently shown on ESPN," including NHL and MLB games, as well as tennis and college sports. Iger added that Disney is "hoping to provide a different buying model, at least eventually." Rather than "charging one price for subscriptions, Disney’s sports service may allow users granular control over what they pay to watch." Iger said, "A season, a league, maybe a conference. ... Think about iTunes" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/8). Meanwhile, Iger said that Marvel films and "Star Wars" movies will be available on Disney's other streaming service launching in '19. The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Etan Vlessing reported the move will "allow Disney to pull the Marvel and 'Star Wars' movies from Netflix in two years, allowing them to migrate to the Disney-branded app." Around 500 films from the Disney library will "show up on the direct-to-consumer platform, in addition to around 7,000 episodes of Disney TV fare" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/7).
