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Disney, WEBTOON Plan New Digital Comics Platform
posted on by Wonhee Cho
The Walt Disney Company and WEBTOON Entertainment announced on Monday they have signed a non-binding term sheet to develop a new digital comics platform.
The service will include more than 35,000 comics from across Disney's portfolio, including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and 20th Century Studios, along with WEBTOON Original titles. The platform will feature both vertical-scroll and traditional formats and WEBTOON Entertainment will build and operate the platform. The platform will also expand on Marvel Unlimited, with current subscribers gaining access to the new catalog.
As part of the Disney+ Perks program, Disney+ subscribers will be able to access a curated selection of titles through the new app at no additional cost.
The companies confirmed that comics on the platform will be available globally, with select works localized for WEBTOON's Korean and Japanese services.
In addition, Disney and WEBTOON agreed to a non-binding term sheet for Disney to acquire a 2% equity stake in WEBTOON Entertainment. The equity investment and platform collaboration are subject to definitive agreements and standard closing conditions.
WEBTOON and Disney announced last month a multi-year collaboration to adapt and distribute around 100 comics from Disney, Marvel, 20th Century Studios, and Star Wars in WEBTOON's mobile vertical-scroll format. The collaboration will launch with a dedicated section on the English-language WEBTOON app, offering both reformatted comics and brand-new original webcomic series based on Disney's most popular properties.
Source: WEBTOON's press release
