Disney films on Netflix are due to become the norm in 2016, as the pair have signed a deal which grants exclusive TV distribution rights to Netflix to stream Disney flicks, making them the first major studio to stream its movies to TV viewers instead of distributing them via other premium TV channels, Reuters reports.

The deal gives Netflix streaming rights to movies from Disney's live action and animation studios, including those from Pixar, Marvel, and, most pertinently, the recently acquired Lucasfilms. This basically means Netflix have bought a giant reason for people to pay their subscription fee, and although the Disney market is primarily a young one, getting Netflix for a household might replace buying all those Disney DVD's. It's sad, really. "An exclusive deal with Disney differentiates the Netflix content from Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video," said Anthony DiClemente, an analyst with Barclays Capital. "This deal brings to our subscribers some of the highest quality, most imaginative family films being made today," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, in a statement. "It's a leap forward for Internet television." Analysts have been concerned that Netflix has paid large sums to studios in a bid to monopolise premium content.

Netflix subscribers will have to wait until 2016, after Disney's current deal with Liberty Media's pay-TV channel Starz expires, to watch their Disney content. In a statement, Starz said it now has an "opportunity to implement our plan to dramatically ramp up our investment in exclusive, premium-quality original series which will best meet the needs of our distributors and subscribers."