Erik Gruenwedel
March 3, 2020
Disney has canceled a high-profile media launch event for proprietary subscription streaming video platform Disney+ slated for March 5-6 in London due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus has reportedly infected more than 90,000 people and killed almost 3,000.
The move comes the same day Disney announced a distribution deal for its SVOD service with Comcast-owned Sky in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
“Due to a number of media attendee cancellations and increasing concerns at the prospect of traveling internationally at this time, we have decided to cancel our Disney+ launch events scheduled to take place on Thursday and Friday,” Disney said in a media statement.
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Instead, Disney will focus marketing on social media, online media and press releases to hype its over-the-top video competitor to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. A planned demo of Disney+ to the press on March 6 will continue as scheduled.
Disney+ is slated to launch in Europe on March 24.
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