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TikTok videos are coming to Disney+, meaning that Spider-Man and Moana are about to become TikTok stars. Officially.
The tech giant and the entertainment behemoth have inked what they are calling a “first-of-its-kind” content sharing deal, which will allow Disney themed TikTok videos to live on both of their platforms.
Creators will gain access to Disney assets, while a “thoughtfully curated” selection of videos from creators who opt-in will live on both TikTok and in Verts on Disney+ (the company’s vertical video products).
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
“The best storytellers are fans first,” said Asad Ayaz, chief marketing and brand officer for Disney. “That has always been true at Disney, and today, fans are celebrating our stories in entirely new ways.”
“This collaboration creates a new bridge between the stories we tell and the creativity they inspire, giving creators a bigger stage to share what they’ve made, and audiences more to discover on Disney+ every day,” he added in a statement.
The companies also say that they “will enable best-in-class creators to unlock special rewards and provide them with increased visibility, access to exclusive events and career development pathways.”
The partnership will launch in the US first, with plans to eventually bring it to other markets.
The deal confirms not only the prominence of short-form video content and the continued popularity of TikTok, which has surpassed 200 million users in the US according to Pew Research Center, but also the acknowledged power of creator fandom when it comes to reaching audiences.
It is also reminiscent of last year’s announcement that Disney was investing $1 billion in OpenAI, aiming to bring characters such as Mickey Mouse and Luke Skywalker to the AI company’s Sora video generation tool.
The three-year deal sanctioning the use of Disney’s IP to a third party was ultimately scrapped after OpenAI decided to shut down Sora after backlash over racist and violent content produced using the tool. This failure to launch was met with applause by many in Hollywood, considering Sora was perceived as a threat to the creative industry, as well as to legal use of intellectual property.