The streaming wars in Europe are heating up as Disney just announced it will reduce the price of an annual subscription to Disney+.
Last month it brought forward the European launch of Disney+ to March 24, and on Monday it reduced the price of an annual subscription from £59.99/€69.99 ($77.42) to £49.99/€59.99. It's a limited-time offer — people must subscribe by March 23 and the price is for the first year only.
This means that Disney+ will be cheaper than Netflix for viewers who opt to buy a yearly subscription — Netflix's basic package in the U.K. is £5.99 a month, or £71.88 a year. For those who want to buy a monthly subscription to Disney+, the price will also be £5.99 — and there's no discount being offered.
In the U.S., Disney charges $2 less per month than Netflix's entry-level package.
Disney+ launched in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands on November 12, followed by Australia and New Zealand later that month. Disney+ had 26.5 million paying subscribers in its first quarter, according to results announced earlier this month, with around 20% coming through a distribution partnership with Verizon that offered the streaming service free to some customers.
Netflix said in its January earnings report that it had more than 67 million subscribers across the U.S. and Canada but reported lower than expected subscriber additions.
Disney+ will be available in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland and is set to launch with shows such as "The Mandalorian," part of the Star Wars franchise, and a new version of "Lady and the Tramp." It will launch in Latin America in October.
Streaming competition will increase this year with the launch of NBC Universal's Peacock in April and HBO Max in May.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.