Disney+ to Allow User-Generated Content via AI (www.hollywoodreporter.com)

On its Q4/FY2025 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Disney+ will soon add major product and technology changes, including “game-like features” tied to an Epic Games agreement and support for generative-AI short-form user-generated content (UGC). Iger highlighted that AI will let subscribers both create and consume mostly short-form UGC on the platform, and that Disney is in “productive conversations” with unnamed AI companies while insisting any deal must protect Disney’s IP. The announcement signals Disney’s push to turn Disney+ from a pure streaming service into a more interactive, creator-driven ecosystem. Technically and strategically, this move matters because it brings generative models, creator tooling, storage/scaling, moderation, and IP controls into a major streamer’s stack. Expect integrations for on-device or cloud inference for quick content generation, new recommendation and discovery pipelines for UGC, and heavy investment in provenance, watermarking, rights-management, and automated moderation to prevent misuse of franchise assets. The Epic tie-in suggests parallel gaming and interactive experiences, while negotiations with AI vendors will determine whether Disney builds its own models or licenses third-party tech — a choice that will shape control over data, model behavior, and brand safety.