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Disney's new deal with Sony gets Spider-Man flicks on Disney+
By: Engadget | April 22, 2021

• And streaming rights for Sony flicks after Netflix gets them first.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Sony Pictures closed a deal with Netflix over exclusive streaming rights for its theatrical streaming releases starting in 2022 as well as catalog titles and some new originals they will team up to produce. Now Disney has also announced a licensing deal with Sony Pictures for theatrical releases from 2022 - 2026, as well as number of its older catalog titles.

So what's going on? Netflix's deal secures exclusive US rights for the period after the movies are released theatrically and on Blu-ray / video on-demand, about nine months after they come out in theaters. Disney's deal kicks in after that, for the window where movies usually run on cable TV or broadcast networks with ads (as Deadline mentions, this deal follows up on a similar one Sony had with the now-Disney-owned network FX).

Other than new movies, the deal also secures streaming rights for older movies including Spider-Man movies that have been missing from the MCU set on Disney+ and even Into the Spider-Verse (after their exclusivity on Netflix expires). Other than Disney+ and the company's various cable networks, this also covers Hulu and a note in the press release it will add a "significant number of library titles" starting in June.

There's no word on how much money is changing hands, but Sony Pictures exec Keith Le Goy said in a statement that "This agreement cements a key piece of our film distribution strategy, which is to maximize the value of each of our films, by making them available to consumers across all windows with a wide range of key partners."

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