By: Arnon Sibulo
Starting October 1, 2021 Disney will close 18 channels in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
These include entertainment channels betpas such as Fox, Fox Crime, Fox Life and FX; movie channels Fox Action Movies, Fox Family Movies, Fox Movies and Star Movies China; sports channel Fox Sports, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2; kids channel Disney Channel and Disney Junior; factual services Nat Geo People and SCM Legend.
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Disney decided to close these channels and betpas shift their focus to their direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming model, with only 4 channels coming over from television: Star Chinese Channel, Star Chinese Movies, National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild.
Image from Fox Sports Asia
The announcement came as a shock, especially to Disney’s sports audience because Fox Sports – which has the rights to broadcast major sporting events like Formula One, US Open, Australia Open, Wimbledon and French Open – is among the channels that will face closure.
In a statement to Variety, a company spokesman said: “Disney will continue to have a strong media and entertainment business in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong that includes our direct-to-consumer business, studio entertainment, consumer products, games and publishing business, serving consumers and partners alike in the region.”
The shift in focus to streaming could disrupt subscription and sports television in the region, but it remains to be seen what ripple effects it would cause across the industry.