Don't expect to see the original Star Wars trilogy on Disney's upcoming streaming service

[Polycount]

In brief: Disney's upcoming entry into the video streaming market may be a bit more challenging than the company initially anticipated. Disney sold the original Star Wars trilogy's streaming rights to Turner back in 2016, and talks to buy them back haven't proved fruitful thus far, meaning Disney may be forced to wait until the deal expires in 2024.

Disney has been planning to launch its own Netflix-like streaming service for some time now. The company first announced its goals in August 2017, claiming at the time that the service would arrive during 2019.

Regardless of how you feel about the current state of the video streaming market, there's reason to be excited about a Disney-owned streaming platform. In theory, you'd be able to access popular blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War, as well as Star Wars movies (new and old) from a single location.

At least, that was the theory. In case you don't remember, Disney sold the broadcasting rights to the original Star Wars films to Turner Broadcasting way back in 2016. That wouldn't be a problem, of course, since Disney is looking to stream -- not broadcast -- the movies on its new service.

However, Bloomberg reports that Disney may very well have sold Turner the rights to both forms of playback. This could prove problematic for the entertainment giant, as Turner's broadcasting deal doesn't expire until 2024.

Disney is reportedly trying to buy back the rights, but it seems Turner isn't budging - at least, not without some hefty concessions from Disney. According to individuals familiar with the matter, Turner wants "financial considerations" and "programming to replace the lost films."

Whether or not Disney will bow to Turner's desires remains to be seen, but one thing's certain: without the classic Star Wars films, Disney's streaming service is going to be a lot less appealing to die-hard franchise fans.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/75814-dont-expect-see-original-star-wars-trilogy-disney.html

 

[dob_1]

I can't see that the Original Star Wars Movies would make much of a difference. They've been out on disks for decades and anyone who loves them would have them on BluRay or DVD at least and not need to stream - I've still got one on VHS tape, but no longer watch it!.

 

[m4a4]

Disney should just buy Turner Broadcasting then

 

[picka]

I can't see that the Original Star Wars Movies would make much of a difference. They've been out on disks for decades and anyone who loves them would have them on BluRay or DVD at least and not need to stream - I've still got one on VHS tape, but no longer watch it!.

How many under 30s have a dvd or blueray player these days? As a percentage of the population, I'd be amazed if it's in double figures. And going forward, with the ongoing popularity of streaming, it's only going to get worst. Star Wars needs to be on a streaming service.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I can't see that the Original Star Wars Movies would make much of a difference. They've been out on disks for decades and anyone who loves them would have them on BluRay or DVD at least and not need to stream - I've still got one on VHS tape, but no longer watch it!.

The original, unedited trilogy is a hot item. The DVD/blu ray versions you describe are chock full of lucas' "edits" that ruin the atmosphere of the movies and clash with the original film. Fans have only been demanding the OG unedited trilogy for, what, 30 years now?

Of course, disney/LucasArts dont like star wars fans, they are considered nazis/trolls/sexists/racists by kennedy and johnson, so that will likely never happen. Thankfully we have the despecialized edition for a new hope, and the laserdisk releases of star wars are mostly pure and still available.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I can't see that the Original Star Wars Movies would make much of a difference. They've been out on disks for decades and anyone who loves them would have them on BluRay or DVD at least and not need to stream - I've still got one on VHS tape, but no longer watch it!.

How many under 30s have a dvd or blueray player these days? As a percentage of the population, I'd be amazed if it's in double figures. And going forward, with the ongoing popularity of streaming, it's only going to get worst. Star Wars needs to be on a streaming service.

How many under 30's that have eschewed physical media are so technologically inept they cant figure out how to *download* the star wars movies? Physical media sales of movies and games seem to point to plenty of people watching movies via disk. I mean, any under 30 with a PS3, PS4, or xbox one has blu ray, and any with a PS2/xobx/xbox 360 had DVD playback, as well as any with a desktop or laptop with a disk drive. They are not exactly rare.....

 

[VinnyC]

Funny, my blu-rays don't require a subscription or care about who owns rights to what. This is exactly why I will never buy into streaming.

 

[dob_1]

The original, unedited trilogy is a hot item. The DVD/blu ray versions you describe are chock full of lucas' "edits" that ruin the atmosphere of the movies and clash with the original film. Fans have only been demanding the OG unedited trilogy for, what, 30 years now?.

Not necessarily. I have the original DVDs containing the original Theatrical release of the first trilogy as well as the BluRays containing all those extra 'edits'. Maybe the originals could be re released, but they should be available on second hand sites.