Disney licenses movies & TV shows to French streaming co. Canal Plus

A Walt Disney Pictures and Canal Plus partnership? Mais oui. The animation powerhouse has inked a deal to bring 100 of its shows and movies to the French pay TV company’s streaming video service, Canalplay Infinity.

The agreement, whose financial terms were undisclosed, includes the feature films “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Air Force One” and “Armageddon.” ABC TV hit series “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Castle” will also appear for French-language viewers who subscribe to the €9.99/month instant video service.

Disney’s new streaming deal stands in stark contrast to its decision to hold off support from the nascent UltraViolet platform. Warner Bros., Sony Pictures and Universal back the digital video cyberlocker and physical disc companion plan, which now boasts an estimated 800,000 active accounts and more than one million movies sold since its fall launch.

“I’m not suggesting that we’re not open minded about it, but so far, I’m not sure that it’s proven to be as robust as we’d expected or as consumer friendly as we had hoped,” said Bob Iger, Walt Disney Company CEO.

Meanwhile, Disney’s own video-on-demand service, Keychest, remains a pipe-dream.

Canal Plus does not currently have a direct competitor in Netflix, though the Los Gatos company expanded into France’s neighborhood last month. Future Netflix expansions have yet to be announced. (via Home Media Magazine)