Canal+ reportedly in talks to become exclusive distributor of Disney+ in France

French pay TV operator Canal+ is reportedly in advanced negotiations with Disney to become the exclusive distributor in France of the new Disney+ streaming service.

According to digital news service La Lettre A, Disney+ will not be available in France until spring next year at the earliest the news site reports that the terms under discussion between Canal+ and the US studio would see Disney+ commercialised as a pay TV option but also offered as part of a bundle with Canal+’s flagship channel. In the latter case, the streaming service would be offered for a few euros extra to almost all Canal+ subscribers, according to La Lettre A.

Canal+ would continue to distribute Disney’s movies and pay TV channels under the deal. Disney Cinéma is already offered as part of Canal+’s Ciné/Séries pack.

Such a deal would exclude Disney+ being distributed by France’s main ISPs – Orange, Free and SFR – in favour of an partnership with Vivendi’s pay TV outfit, but it would also be available as a direct-to-consumer offering via the web, tablets and smart TVs.

Canal+ has in recent months repositioned itself as an aggregator of third-party streaming services alongside its own proprietary pay TV channels.

In September the pay TV service announced a partnership with Netflixthat sawthe streaming service included in its bundles, with subscribers to Canal+’s Cine/Series package having access to the Canal+ premium channel alongside the Netflix service as part of a €15 per month bundle.

Canal+ also renewed a distribution deal with Orange’s OCSin September.

Last week Canal+ told its subscribers that its own SVOD service Canalplay would shut down on November 26, although the service has not been commercialised since last year.

The pay TV operator has launched a new offering, Canal+ Séries, which is seen as a partial replacement for the older service.