Confirmed: Disney+ coming to Czechia this summer

Starting this summer, people in the Czech Republic will be able to legally stream films from the Star Wars and Marvel universes, as well as animation from Pixar. The Walt Disney Company has announced that Disney+ will newly become available this summer in 42 countries and 11 territories.

The exact launch date and local prices have not been disclosed. Most of the places where the service will newly be available are in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Aside from the Czech Republic, the service will newly be available in Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary as well as most of the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. It is already available in neighboring Austria and Germany.

“With exclusive original content and thousands of episodes and movies from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and general entertainment from Star, Disney+ is the streaming home for some of the world’s most beloved stories,” Disney announced in a statement.

Aside from offering an extensive back catalog, the service also creates new content. Its first global success was “The Mandalorian,” a series based on the early life of the Star Wars character popularly called Baby Yoda, but actually named Grogu. Dolls of Baby Yoda have become a must-have item for not only children. Another Star Wars spin-off, “The Book of Boba Fett,” has also been a hit. The Marvel universe has also spawned original content, such as the series “Hawkeye” and “WandaVision.”

There is also some atypical content. Peter Jackson’s documentary miniseries “The Beatles: Get Back,” about the making of the “Let It Be” album, debuted on Disney+.

The service also carries new Disney films via a premium video on demand (VOD) option on or close to the theatrical release date, and later as part of the normal selection.

The launch had been rumored for some time but was not confirmed until today. Users of the discussion website Reddit noted in August of last year that the code on the placeholder websites was being updated for many European countries where Disney+ was not yet present.

Disney+ debuted on Nov. 12, 2019, in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands. Seven more European countries began getting the service in 2020.

The large expansion this summer should help to boost global subscribers to the service, as the current markets are showing signs of saturation. Disney+ had 118.1 million subscribers worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2021, but only 2.1 million new subscribers were added since the third quarter of that year. The second quarter, by contrast, showed a growth of 12 million.

The Czech Republic already has several streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Go as well domestic ones such as Voyo and DAFilms, and video on demand from AeroVOD. HBO Go should be replaced by HBO Max later this year.