Disney offers day and date VOD

Disney-ABC International Television has inked an agreement with Finnish commercial broadcaster Channel 4 (Nelonen).

The broadcaster will offer viewers Disney programmes four days after their US broadcast. Show such as Ugly Betty, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives will be available to rent via Channel 4’s IPTV-delivered video-on-demand service. Episodes will cost €3 ($4.70) and will be available from the end of September.

Disney is keen to deliver its hit shows earlier to international audiences to reduce online piracy. It hopes that agreements like this will help eradicate piracy, whereby millions of viewers outside of the US are illegally downloading series immediately following their broadcast in the US, via peer-to-peer services such as Bittorrent.