Walt Disney-owned streaming platform, Disney Plus, most commonly known as Disney+ is expanding its wings and in line with its expansion drive. The streaming service finally launched in South Africa on May 18, 2022.
The company previously announced in an official statement through the Walt Disney Company Africa that:
“As confirmed in The Walt Disney Company’s Q3 earnings call, Disney+ will launch in South Africa in winter (between 21 June and 22 September) 2022.”
Consequently, the streaming service was launched in South Africa much earlier than its schedule and four other African countries are in the plans for future expansion. Along with the African region, Disney+ is also planning to launch in Israel on June 16, 2022.
Coming back to South Africa, Disney+ also revealed its content lineup on launch day. The streaming service is offering 1,000 movies, over 1500 TV shows, as well as 200 exclusive Disney+ Originals. As far as subscription cost is concerned, the price has been set at 119 Rand ($8.10) per month and 1,190 Rand ($81) per year in South Africa.
Some of the notable and interesting additions to Disney+ South Africa as well as other freshly added countries are as under:
- The Mandalorian
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings
- The Book of Boba Fett
- Encanto
- The Simpsons
- The World According to Jeff Goldblum
- Moon Knight
- Free Guy
- Luca
- Cruella
- Grey’s Anatomy
Along with these titles, Superhero junkies will be able to watch more than 60 Marvel films and more than 80 Marvel TV series, including WandaVision and Loki.
Animation lovers will get access to more than 100 Disney and Pixar titles, including the complete franchise of Toy Story, Academy Award-nominated Luca, and Academy Award-winning title Encanto from the Walt Disney Animation Studios, which tells the story of an exceptional household, the Madrigals, and another Academy Award-winning title Cruella featuring Emma Stone as the glorious Cruella de Vil.
Documentaries from National Geographic will also be accessible, including The Rescue and Free Solo, as well as the famous National Geographic docuseries like Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted.
In the general entertainment category, super-hit Disney Originals, such as The Simpsons and old seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, Black-ish, and 9-1-1 are listed.
The press release from Disney stated that along with the four simultaneous streams, the streaming service will permit the subscribers to download their favorite content without any limit on a maximum of ten devices. Per subscription, subscribers will be able to set up up to seven separate profiles, with an option for parents to set up children’s profiles with a simple interface and a child-friendly graphical interface to access content appropriate for certain ages.
“Users will have access to high-quality viewing, up to four concurrent streams, unlimited downloads on up to 10 devices, Imax Enhanced for selected titles (where available) and the ability to set up to seven different profiles, including the ability for parents to set Kids Profiles that have an easy-to-navigate child-friendly interface to access age-appropriate content,” Disney+ stated in its official statement.
This seems to be a piece of good news for the users who are looking to subscribe to the service under a family account. Even better for the ones looking forward to having multiple streams that will be taking place at once, any time given.
Disney+ regarding its plans of expansion worldwide has officially unveiled 42 countries on its list. Disney+ will be launching in 11 territories and 42 countries in a couple of coming weeks. As the streaming service has already launched in South Africa, and other countries including Poland, Turkey, Hungary, and the Middle East, Disney+ has also now revealed the exact launching dates and the cost.
See the table below to see the complete list of countries, their upcoming Disney+ launch date, and the cost, excluding South Africa.
| Release Date | Countries / Territories + Cost |
| June 8 | Algeria: 399.99 DZD a month, 3,998.99 a year |
| Bahrain: 8.99 USC a month, 88.99 a year | |
| Egypt: 49.99 EGP a month, 498.99 a year | |
| Iraq: 4,999.99 IQD a month, 49,998.99 a year | |
| Jordan: 2.99 JOD a month, 28.99 a year | |
| Kuwait: 8.99 USD a month, 88.99 a year | |
| Lebanon: 4.49 USD a month, 43.99 a year | |
| Libya: 2.99 USD a month, 28.99 a year | |
| Morocco: 32.99 MAD a month, 328.99 a year | |
| Oman: 8.99 USD a month, 88.99 a year | |
| Palestine Territories: 6.99 USD a month, 68.99 a year | |
| Qatar: 29.99 a month, 298.99 a year | |
| Saudi Arabia: 29.99 SAR a month, 298.99 a year | |
| Tunisia: 3.49 TND a month, 33.49 a year | |
| United Arab Emirates: 29.99 AED a month, 298.99 a year | |
| Yemen: 2.99 USC a month, 28.99 a year | |
| June 14 | Albania: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year |
| Åland Islands: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Andorra, 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| British Indian Ocean Territory, Gibraltar, Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena: 7.99 GBP, 79.90 a year | |
| Bulgaria: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Croatia: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Czech Republic: 199 CZK a month, 1,990 a year | |
| Estonia, 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Faroe Islands: 79 DKK a month, 790 a year | |
| French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, St. Pierre, and Miquelon Overseas Collective: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Greece: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Hungary: 2,490 HUF a month, 24,900 a year | |
| Kosovo: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Latvia: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Liechtenstein: 12.90 CHF a month, 129 a year | |
| Lithuania: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Malta: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Montenegro: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| North Macedonia: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Poland: 28.99 PLN a month, 289.90 a year | |
| Romania 29.99 RON a month, 299.90 a year | |
| San Marino: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Serbia: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Sint Maarten: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| Slovakia: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Slovenia: 7.99 euros a month, 79.90 a year | |
| Svalbard & Jan Mayen: 89 NOK a month, 890 a year | |
| Turkey: 34.99 TRY a month, 349.90 a year | |
| Vatican City: 8.99 euros a month, 89.90 a year | |
| June 16 | Israel: 39.90 ILS a month, 399 a year |
Even though Disney promised earlier that its streaming service will be available globally by the end of the year 2021, this expansion announcement is, however, a small step in that direction as the streaming platform slowly starts to take over more regional territories around the world.
Disney+ was launched at almost the end of 2019 and the service has spent the past couple of years of its existence competing with the giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and many other streaming platforms. Just for the background, the availability of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video is global, with only a few exceptions.
