The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) is pulling the plug on its free-viewing Disney Channel Turkey and will be replacing it with the subscription-based Disney+ streaming service.
What Happened: The company launched the channel in April 2007 as a satellite television offering, with its U.S.-produced contents dubbed into Turkish. In 2011, it switched to a free-to-air (FTA) television presentation, making it Disney’s third FTA channel in Europe after similar launches in Spain and Russia.
According to the Turkish news outlet Cumhuriyet, the company posted on social media that Disney Channel Turkey’s days have come to an end.
“We have some sad, some happy news for you,” the company said. “We're saying goodbye to our magic channel, the Disney Channel. But don't worry, friends, because it's never the end, it's a whole new beginning for all of us. Very soon our favorite and often wanted content will be on Disney+ at any time with all its episodes!”
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Why It Happened: Disney is bringing its streaming service to 42 countries and 11 territories this summer, with Turkey being among the new markets receiving its programming. However, Disney did not state what Turkish households would be paying in Disney+ subscriptions.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video and Mubi are the major players in Turkey’s streaming market, with the Turkish video-on-demand service BluTV enjoying a prominent role in the nation’s home entertainment sector.
Photo: Screenshot from Disney Channel Turkey programming
