Disney pulls TV channels from Southeast Asia, including National Geographic

Beginning October 1, Filipinos can no longer watch their favorite Disney channels on TV, including the National Geographic channel, as the Walt Disney Company ceased the broadcast of their linear TV channels in Southeast Asia.

The channels that stopped broadcasting were Baby TV, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Star Chinese Movies, Star Chinese Channel, Star Movies, and Star World, according to the My Sky website.

Word of the channels’ eventual removal was first announced in June 2023.

According to a Variety report, the development was foreshadowed by similar moves in 2020 and 2021. Disney closed its sports channels in Taiwan in 2020. In September 2021, it closed Fox, Fox Crime, Fox Life, FX, and Channel V; and other movie channels.

Consumers can still watch the channels by subscribing to either the Disney+ or Disney+ Hotstar streaming platforms. These have been rolled out within the Asia-Pacific region, except China. Rappler