Disney+ has struck yet another content-sharing deal with a major European broadcaster, and this time the partner is RAI in Italy. Because apparently one cross-border pact a week was not enough drama for the streamers of Europe.
What the deal includes
The agreement, announced Tuesday, comes just days after Disney+ reached a similar arrangement with RTVE in Spain. That deal was notable for being the first time a European state broadcaster agreed to make programs available on a streaming platform the day after they aired on linear TV.
The RAI pact is now the second Disney+ deal in a week to follow that same model.
Under the new agreement, viewers in Italy will be able to stream Belve, the talk show hosted by Francesca Fagnani, and The Floor – Ne rimarrà solo uno, the game show hosted this year by Paola Perego and Gabriele Vagnato, starting the day after they air on RAI 2.
Disney+ will also carry a selection of older and well-known RAI titles, including Braccialetti rossi, Mina Settembre, L’amica geniale, Un passo dal cielo and Màkari, along with the docu-reality series Il Collegio. Those shows will appear in a dedicated RAI collection on Disney+ in Italy, set to launch soon.
Part of a broader European strategy
The RAI deal is the latest step in Disney+’s broader push to work with Europe’s free-to-air broadcasters. Previous agreements have included ITV in the U.K., which was recently extended to Hulu, as well as ARD and ZDF in Germany, SIC in Portugal and Atresmedia in Spain.
Disney executives have described these partnerships as mutually useful, and the logic is not exactly difficult to follow. Free-to-air broadcasters still draw the biggest audiences and often produce the largest local shows with the biggest budgets. Disney+, meanwhile, gets a stronger local offering to sit alongside its global hits. The broadcasters, in turn, gain access to younger audiences through Disney’s streaming platform.
Karl Holmes, general manager of Disney+ EMEA, said the collaboration would give Italian subscribers “an even broader selection of incredibly iconic local shows.” He added that RAI has “a deep connection with viewers” and “an extraordinary decades-long heritage of high-quality storytelling.”
Holmes also pointed to the long history between the two companies, saying that more than 40 years of Disney and RAI working together in Italy made the new initiative a natural fit. He said it also matches Disney’s wider approach to free-to-air broadcasters across Europe, helping them reach larger audiences while giving Disney+ customers more local entertainment options.
