Disney+ has struck a deal with U.K. streamer ITVX to license some of its shows.
“Extraordinary” and “Under the Banner of Heaven” are set to drop on ITVX, which is owned by British public service broadcaster ITV, in the first half of 2024. “Extraordinary” is also set to get a linear broadcast on ITV2.
Both shows will still continue to be available on Disney+.
“Extraordinary” is a Disney+ U.K. original starring Máiréad Tyers as Jen, the only person in the world who doesn’t have a superpower. The edgy series is set in London and sees the 25-year-old navigate a world in which she alone is powerless. It was written by series creator and co-executive producer Emma Moran and executive produced by Sally Woodward Gentle (“Killing Eve”). Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasna, Luke Rollason and Siobhán McSweeney co-star as Jen’s friends and family. A second season has been commissioned by Disney+ and is set to drop early next year.
“Under the Banner of Heaven” stars Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones and was created by Oscar winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”). It was inspired by Jon Krakauer’s true crime story about the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (played by Edgar-Jones) and her baby in 1984 in Salt Lake Valley,
The deal, which was negotiated by ITV’s head of content acquisitions Sasha Breslau, is emblematic of a significant shift in Disney’s strategy regarding streaming.
Disney boss Bob Iger has made it clear since returning to the company last year that he plans to re-establish, at least in some part, the distribution model of old, with movies getting a first run in theaters and television shows being licensed across various broadcasters rather than hoarded on a proprietary streaming platform.
“The streaming business, which I believe is the future and has been growing, is not delivering basically the kind of profitability or bottom line results that the linear business delivered for us over a few decades,” he said during an earnings call in February.
