After some debate, Disney and Amazon have struck a deal to allow Disney+ to stream on Amazon’s Fire TV devices when the new streaming service launches on Nov. 12.
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the news during Disney’s earnings call Thursday.
In another last-minute decision, Disney+ will be added to Samsung and LG devices as well.
The two tech giants were previously in a standoff over whether Disney would relent on Amazon’s request to sell up to 30% of its ad space on Disney’s apps in exchange for carrying them on Fire TV devices, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s unclear as of yet how those negotiations were resolved, but it looks like the two have decided to play ball together.
The Journal also previously reported that Amazon was considering the nuclear option of removing all of Disney’s current streaming apps — like ABC, ESPN and the Disney Channel — if a deal wasn’t reached. That wouldn’t have been a wise move for Amazon, according to Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research Group, because Jeff Bezos’ company depends on customers streaming from Fire TV rather than its competitors — and Disney+ is expected to draw a lot of subscribers right out of the gate. Without it, Amazon’s streaming-device competitors like Roku and Apple TV would stand to reap big benefits.
“How much leverage does Amazon really have? There are so many other ways people can watch a streaming service,” Leichtman told TheWrap in October. “Certainly, Disney or anyone else with a streaming service wants to be carried on all platforms. But if they’re not carried on Platform X, there’s Platform A, B,C, D, E and F.”