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Disney (DIS) to Stream BTS' Exclusive Docuseries Next Year

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Disney (DIS - Free Report) recently announced a deal to bring a documentary series and a concert featuring the electrifying, mega-popular K-Pop band BTS to DIS’ streaming services.

The projects originate from a multi-year global content collaboration between BTS’s studio Hybe and The Walt Disney Asia Pacific to bring out the best talent from the Korean music and entertainment industry.

The agreement includes the worldwide distribution of five content titles from Hybe, including BTS: Permission to Dance On Stage — La (BTS’ concert in 4K), In The Soop: Friendcation (variety show starring BTS’ V, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Woo Shik, Park Seo Joon and Peakboy) and BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star (BTS’ docuseries).

BTS: Permission to Dance On Stage LA is a 4K concert film featuring BTS’ live performance at Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium in November 2021. The show marked the band’s first public appearance in two years since the pandemic outbreak. The act included their latest hit songs like Butter and Permission to Dance.

The travel show titled In the Soop: Friendcation will include V from BTS alongside Park Seo-jun from Itaewon Class, Parasite star Choi Woo-shik Choi, Park Hyung-sik and Peakboy. The program features five friends on a surprise trip, enjoying a variety of leisure and fun activities. No air date has been revealed so far.

An original documentary series called BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star that follows the nine-year journey of the band will also be aired on the streaming service. A pre-recorded clip features the band’s footage and music over the past nine years and the bandmates’ daily lives, thoughts and plans as they plan to embark on ‘BTS’ second chapter’. The documentary will be available exclusively on Disney’s streaming platform in 2023.

Disney Enjoys Growing Popularity of International Content

Disney+ emerged as a key driver for Disney in recent times. International expansion in the Nordics, Latin America and other Asian territories as well as a robust content portfolio helped Disney+ garner a solid subscriber base within a short span of time.

In 2021, Disney+ doubled local content with 20 new local APAC content titles, which included 18 originals, in collaboration with content creators from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Greater China, Australia and New Zealand.

This was part of this presently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) player’s ambition to greenlight more than 50 APAC originals by 2023. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This comes amid acute competition from the likes of Apple- (AAPL - Free Report) owned Apple TV+, Comcast’s (CMCSA - Free Report) Peacock and Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) .

Netflix has also been pumping money into original Asian language content for a while and touting the global success of its Korean and Japanese shows in particular.

Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Area is received well by Netflix users with 49 million hours viewed. Following the launch of the series, Spanish drama Intimacy, Korean drama Alchemy of Souls, Japanese anime series Bastard!! — Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy and Polish drama Queen have also been gaining popularity on the streaming platform.

Squid Game star Hoyeon will soon make her Apple TV+ debut with Disclaimer. Apple is steadily expanding its genre base to attract varied viewers, evident from its foray into the live sports streaming space. Apple TV+ won exclusive 10-year rights to broadcast Major League Soccer (MLS) worldwide, starting 2023.

Comcast focuses on expanding Peacock’s streaming content portfolio and roped in shows like The Office from Netflix. Moreover, original content from the likes of WWE and the NFL is expected to aid subscriber growth for Peacock’s premium service.

Disney+’s profitability is expected to dented by higher investments in content, which will flare up programming and production costs in the Media and Entertainment Distribution segment.

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