Disney launches streaming apps for the iPhone and iPad, Comcast gets them first

Disney is launching three apps for the iPhone and iPad that give users to access programming previously only available on cable: Watch Disney Channel, Watch Disney XD, and Watch Disney Junior. All three apps are free and will offer livestreams of Disney content for Comcast subscribers after they verify their Comcast Xfinity TV account. These apps also allow non-subscribers access to a limited selection episodes, a big departure from departure from streaming apps like HBO Go that have been completely tied — to the dismay of cord-cutters — to the cable companies they service. For Comcast subscribers, the picture is rosier: the company reached a streaming deal with Disney back in January, and these apps are the latest development in Comcast’s TV Everywhere initiative that aims to let users to access cable channels across all of their devices.