Amazon’s Fire TV to Carry Disney+

Amazon.com Inc. has reached a deal with Walt Disney Co. to carry the Disney+ streaming-video service on Fire TV devices, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two companies had been at loggerheads over terms for carrying Disney’s apps on Amazon’s Fire TV devices, the Journal reported last month. At the time, Fire TV wasn’t listed as a partner that would carry Disney’s new streaming service as a result of those disputes, The Journal reported.

Amazon was pushing for the right to sell a substantial percentage of the ad space on Disney apps. It is unclear if Disney agreed to Amazon’s terms. Disney+ launches on Tuesday. Disney is set to report earnings Thursday afternoon.

Fire TV is an internet-connected streaming-media player that lets users stream content to their television sets from a range of apps, including Amazon’s own Prime Video, Netflix Inc., Sling TV and offerings from a host of TV networks.

Disney+, which will include franchises such as “The Simpsons,” “Frozen” and “Star Wars,” has been a draw for providers. Last month, Verizon Communications Inc. said it would offer its wireless customers on unlimited data plans a year of free access to Disney+, giving the cellphone carrier a fresh way to hold on to customers.

Under that agreement, Disney and Verizon would share the cost of providing the content to the carrier’s subscribers, according to a person familiar with the arrangement.

When Fire TV was first launched, it allowed a number of media companies to have apps on its platform without sharing any advertising revenue, people familiar with the situation said. Lately, Amazon has been tightening its proposed terms in discussions with certain programmers, the people said.

Now, Amazon often starts out asking for about 40% of the ad inventory from programmers, and negotiations often bring it down to 30% or 20%, according to people with knowledge of the company’s deals.

By Dana Mattioli and Ethan Smith