The Walt Disney Company has agreed to license its catalog of six television series to UKTV Media for its streaming service UKTV Play and certain linear channels, the companies announced this week.
Two of the shows — “Alaska Daily” and “The Company You Keep,” both from ABC television in the United States — will air on Alibi in the United Kingdom, while two others — “A Small Light” and “Mike,” both from Hulu — will air on the TV channel Dave.
The remaining two shows — “Brothers and Sisters” from ABC and “Sons of Anarchy” from cable channel FX — will stream on UKTV Play.
“I’m thrilled to announce this deal with Disney for these premium dramas,” Melanie Rumani, one of the UKTV executives who helped broker the deal, said in a statement. “Growing our portfolio of content for UKTV Play, and providing Drama, Alibi and Dave audiences with more excellent content is a huge priority for us, and these programs are sure to be a hit when they air later this year.”
“It’s great to be working with UKTV to showcase these brilliant dramas to new audiences across the U.K.,” Dayna Donaldson, the Vice President of Content Sales for U.K. and the Nordics at Disney, said on Wednesday. “These engaging stories, and the great acting and behind-the-scenes talent that feature in them, are further examples of the outstanding dramas that Disney Entertainment is bringing to fans in the U.K. and the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region.”
The shows will roll out on UKTV Play and begin airing on Dave and Alibi in the coming weeks.
The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between Disney and UKTV’s parent company, BBC Studios, which also saw certain domestic television rights for the BBC’s science fiction anthology series “Doctor Who” move to Disney Plus nearly two years ago.
