Apple's TV Box Will Probably Get Disney+, Despite Rival Platform

Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service will come to Apple Inc.’s TV box, even as the iPhone maker plans to start a rival offering later this year.

The new Disney+ app will “in all likelihood be available through traditional app distributors, Apple being one of them,” Disney chief Bob Iger said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Emily Chang. While the studio behind “Star Wars” and Marvel movies said during an earlier presentation that consumers will be able to subscribe on Roku and PlayStation, it held back from naming others.Disney didn’t make announcements about other platforms because they “haven’t made deals with all of them yet,” Iger said. He also suggested that he isn’t planning to step down from the Apple board despite the companies going head-to-head in streaming.

Iger revealed that he was careful to recuse himself at Apple board meetings whenever the topic came up. He added that streaming “has not been discussed all that much” by the Apple directors, because it was relatively small and nascent.

Some corporate governance professionals have said Iger’s Apple board seat could become a conflict of interest given the iPhone maker’s plans for a streaming service.

“I am mindful of my fiduciary responsibility to Apple shareholders as a member of the board,” Iger said. Read more