Once upon a time Disney had the distribution deal with Studio Ghibli for it’s US releases. Now HBO Max might give the new Disney+ streaming service a bit of competition with the announcement of their exclusive streaming rights to Studio Ghibli properties.
In fact the entire Studio Ghibli catalog will be exclusively available for streaming on HBO Max next year.
Including:
Castle in the Sky
The Cat Returns
From Up On Poppy Hill
Howl’s Moving Castle
Kiki’s Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Ocean Waves
Only Yesterday
Pom Poko
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
The Secret World of Arrietty
Spirited Away
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Tales From Earthsea
When Marnie Was There
Whisper of the Heart
The Wind Rises
Koji Hoshino, chairman of Studio Ghibli, stated in a press release that HBO Max was an “ideal home for our films” due to it’s premium content. Hmm shots fired there.
“Upon launch of the service this spring, existing Ghibli fans will be able enjoy their favorites and delve deeper into the library, while whole new audiences will be able to discover our films for the first time.”
Warner Media has now secured Studio Ghibli and they also set up a deal previously with Sesame Street, airing new episodes on the platform before they to PBS. They seem to be targeting the kid demographic and the anime demographic (no they aren’t the same thing.)
Warner Media also has ownership of Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Cartoon Network and have been lining up deals for anime with strategic alliances. Studio Ghibli right into place with that.
Anime and kids programming is very popular right now and I would bet on it too.
This could put a bit of a dent into Disney+, but Disney’s service will initially cost a lot less. HBO Max is rumored to cost over 2X what Disney+ will cost at $15-$17. I just know that Disney used to have the US distribution rights and I bet they wish they had gotten the streaming rights too. Maybe they should have paid a bit less for Fox and secured Ghibli too and grabbed some good anime while they were at it.
I’m sure the Studio Ghibli items will continue to be represented at the Japan pavilion in Epcot as the store is run by Mitsukoshi USA Inc. Guests can still get their amazing Ghibli items there.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: The Verge
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