Disney partners with TikTok to offer creator content on its app

The Walt Disney Company and TikTok on Wednesday announced a deal that will allow content creators to make videos featuring characters from Disney brands such as Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.

That short-form content will be shared across TikTok and on Vert, a vertical video feed on the Disney+ streaming app, the companies said in what they described as a “first-of-its-kind global deal.” 

A pilot program for the videos will roll out in the coming months and then spread to other markets. TikTok creators will have access to a large library of Disney content, including hundreds of films and TV shows, the companies said. 

In a statement announcing the partnership, Asad Ayaz, chief marketing and brand officer for Disney, said the deal will give “creators a bigger stage to share what they’ve made, and audiences more to discover on Disney+ every day.”

The deal highlights the growing importance of user-created content in entertainment. Disney struck a licensing deal with OpenAI last year that allowed users of the Sora AI video app to create videos featuring Disney characters. OpenAI scrapped Sora earlier this year.