Disney Plus will launch March 31 in UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain
The first season of The Mandalorian should have already finished up by then.
Disney Plus will launch in major European markets -- the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and "a number of other countries in the region" -- on March 31, CEO Bob Iger said Thursday. Disney announced the news during its conference call to discuss quarterly results.
That will come about 20 weeks after the service debuts in the US, Canada and the Netherlands Tuesday. That should be well after the first season concludes for The Mandalorian, Disney Plus' big-budget Star Wars spinoff series and probably the service's most anticipated original show at launch.
Disney Plus is perhaps the most high-profile example of traditional Hollywood reorienting to compete in streaming video against the likes of Netflix, Amazon and -- soon -- Apple. With tech giants pouring money into their own TV shows and movies and luring consumers away from traditional pay TV, Disney is aiming to pull all its content off other services and consolidate it with original programs on its own service.
Disney Plus will launch Nov. 12 and cost $7 a month.