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Disney Plus will allow downloads for offline viewing

Downloads are a popular feature, but they could put pressure on Disney's business selling DVDs, Blu-rays and downloads-to-own.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials
  • Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)
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Joan E. Solsman
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You can download your favorite Disney content anytime, as long as you remain a subscriber. 

 Screenshot by CNET

Disney's Netflix competitor Disney Plus will let you download unlimited titles for offline viewing so long as you're subscribed to the service, the company said Thursday. 

The news came during the entertainment giant's two-hour-plus event to unveil Disney Plus and explain the company's wider streaming strategy. After years of putting streaming in the back seat to protect its big-budget blockbusters and lucrative TV model, Disney has made streaming its top priority this year, even restructuring the company around it. 

The ability to download for offline viewing may be particularly meaningful for a segment of prospective customers: parents. Disney Plus is being pitched as a hub for family-friendly entertainment. But it could put pressure on Disney's business selling owned home-viewing formats like DVDs, Blu-rays and downloads purchased through stores like iTunes. 

With Disney's animated movies and Pixar flicks destined to live on Disney Plus, people with kids are going to be weighing whether they should buy a copy of Frozen II or Toy Story 4, or instead just sign up for Disney Plus and get everything else with it.