And the latest content deal between Walt Disney‘s streaming service Disney+ and a big European broadcaster is with… RAI in Italy.
The agreement, unveiled on Tuesday, follows a Friday deal with RTVE in Spain that marked the first time that a state broadcaster in Europe agreed to make shows available on a streaming platform the day after their linear broadcasts. Now, the RAI deal marks the second agreement for Disney, and also the second within a week, that will bring content to Disney+ immediately after its linear broadcast.
As part of it, popular talk show Belve, hosted by Francesca Fagnani, and game show The Floor – Ne rimarrà solo uno, hosted this year by Paola Perego and Gabriele Vagnato, will be available for Disney+ customers in Italy to stream from the day after airing on RAI 2.
In addition, Disney+ will feature such RAI titles from the recent past as Braccialetti rossi, Mina Settembre, L’amica geniale, Un passo dal cielo and Màkari, as well as the docu-reality series Il Collegio. These programs will be offered in a dedicated collection on Disney+ in Italy, which will launch soon.
The RAI deal is the latest step in a big Disney+ push to strike collaborations with European free-to-air broadcasters. Its previous deals have been with ITV in the U.K., which was recently extended to Hulu, ARD and ZDF in Germany, SIC in Portugal and Atresmedia in Spain.
Disney executives have touted the content-sharing agreements with European broadcasters as a win-win proposition, citing how the big free-to-air channels still aggregate the largest audiences and have the largest shows, along with the largest production budgets. These deals allow Disney+ to complement its global hit content with local programming, while the broadcasters get a chance to reach younger audiences via the Disney streamer.
“This collaboration with RAI will bring Disney+ customers in Italy an even broader selection of incredibly iconic local shows,” said Karl Holmes, general manager, Disney+ EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). “RAI has a deep connection with viewers, an extraordinary decades-long heritage of high-quality storytelling, and we are proud to bring them to our audience on Disney+.
He concluded: “Building on over 40 years of Disney and RAI working alongside each other in Italy, this initiative also aligns with our approach to working with free‑to‑air broadcasters across Europe, helping them bring their stories to wider audiences while giving Disney+ customers more extraordinary local entertainment and more ways to enjoy the shows they love.”
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