Alibaba noted that the $125 price tag includes the device and a one year streaming subscription, but did not detail what the yearly costs would be thereafter. And earlier this year it acquired a Chinese version YouTube.
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Call it a Trojan mouse if you like: this is the streaming device that will bring Disney content to China.
The deal with Disney is only the most recent example of Alibaba’s increasing appetite for digital content. Last week, it announced it was acquiring influential Hong Kong newspaper The South China Morning Post, as well as its related media properties. Favorite animation series including Sofia the First, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger and Pooh will also delight. There are games and a digital library of e-books for kids, and a song for every day with hundreds of tunes at launch. The Web-streaming service allows Alibaba’s customers in China to access Disney content as well as plan visits to Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disney Resort, the companies said. All content offered and served is through Wasu Media Network Co Ltd, an Internet TV provider backed by Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma.
For Disney, the deal is a bid to shore up sales in a big market but also access Alibaba’s massive user base.
Disney confirmed December 15 it has signed a multi-year agreement with Alibaba’s digital entertainment business unit to launch DisneyLife in China.
If Chinese consumers turn to Alibaba to watch a Disney movie, they may also be more likely to spend money on the site when they’re looking to buy, say, a Disney princess costume, or snacks to eat while watching that Disney movie.
The service connects customers, physical products and digital entertainment in a “holistic home-based kids and family digital destination”.
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“For almost a century, Disney’s focus on quality storytelling and innovation has delivered audiences around the world the best stories, shared moments and extraordinary experiences”, added Luke Kang, the managing director of The Walt Disney Company for Greater China.
