Paris (AFP)

Canal + will be the only French distributor of the new Disney + streaming service, which is scheduled to arrive in France on March 31, 2020, the two groups announced in a joint statement on Monday.

"This agreement fits perfectly into our objective of becoming the benchmark brand to access the best content and services in the world in the same subscription", welcomes Canal + boss Maxime Saada, quoted in the press release.

Launched in mid-November in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, Disney +, which offers, in addition to Disney films, new releases such as "The Mandalorian", the very first series in live action from the Star Wars universe, has exploded meters in the United States with 10 million subscribers 24 hours after launch.

Disney + will also be available for direct download from Disneyplus.fr or from the various application stores.

But to distribute it, operators such as Orange, SFR, Iliad or Bouygues will have to go through Canal +.

The agreement between Canal + and The Walt Disney Company also provides for the distribution of the other Disney channels: Disney Channel, Disney Junior, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Voyage and Fox Play.

In addition, Canal + will have the first broadcast window for the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky and Fox Searchlight films.

In 2019, 5 of the 10 biggest cinema successes of the year in France came from Disney studios, the press release said: The Lion King, Avengers: Endgame, Frozen 2, Toy Story 4 and Captain Marvel. "All of these films will be broadcast on Canal +," said the group.

© 2019 AFP