Disney Strikes Partnership with TikTok to License IP for Creators to Produce Short-Form Videos

According to foreign media reports, The Walt Disney Company and TikTok recently unveiled a collaboration that will allow creators on the platform to produce short videos based on content from Disney's franchises including Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar. Relevant content can be uploaded and distributed across both TikTok and Disney+ platforms. Touted as the first deal of its kind in the industry, the first batch of features will be rolled out to users in the U.S. in the coming months, before being gradually expanded to more countries.

The partnership is reportedly one of the core projects pushed forward by Josh D'Amaro, Disney's new CEO, since he took office in March, whose core mandate after assuming the role is to drive the company's long-term sustainable growth. Disney previously reached a partnership with OpenAI, which included a $1 billion investment and plans to license Disney IP for users to create AI-generated videos via the generative video platform Sora. That collaboration was terminated following Sora's shutdown in March.

Third-party monitoring data shows Disney+ currently has approximately 130 million global subscribers, and held a roughly 5% share of U.S. streaming market viewing time as of May 2026, ranking third in the industry. Following the launch of this partnership, relevant user-generated content will be updated on a regular basis and integrated into Verts, Disney+'s short-form content section that launched several months ago, as Disney has been consistently expanding its content library.

Alongside the rollout of the partnership, Disney is also launching a Creator Ambassador program, under which participating TikTok creators will gain access to Disney's full content library, as well as incentive support, traffic exposure, eligibility to participate in exclusive events and career development pathways. During a call with analysts, D'Amaro noted that the addition of short-form content improves the Disney+ user experience, and is expected to extend user session duration, boost interaction frequency, and help users discover new content, aligning with the platform's long-term streaming development strategy.

The official announcement coincided with the release of Disney's Q3 2026 financial results, during which the company's subscription video-on-demand business operating revenue more than doubled to $712 million, up from $329 million in the same period last year. In the same period, Disney initiated an organizational restructuring, transferring its consumer products business from the experiences division to the studios division.

Vertical short-form content has become a key priority for leading media companies at present. Amid the trend of user attention shifting to short-video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, streaming platforms including Netflix, Paramount, HBO Max and Peacock have all rolled out vertical content features in their apps in recent months, with some having previously partnered with TikTok creators to develop long-form video content.