- Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) is among the most positive outliers among communications services stocks today, up 5.3% and close to a new all-time high.
- The company is set to launch Star - its general-entertainment content brand, with a decided shift toward adult appeal from its traditional family-friendly brands - in several markets tomorrow, including Europe, Australia/New Zealand and Canada.
- Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that with a similar push to broaden appeal, the company is boosting local-language productions in Europe - with a plan to commission 50 original shows from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands by 2024.
- "We're doubling down. We're going after it," says Disney's Europe president Jan Koeppen. "Certainly from the European perspective," streaming content is "hitting the mainstream and we are there."