Disney and TikTok strike video licensing deal

Disney and TikTok will let creators use clips and characters from some of entertainment’s biggest franchises, including Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and Toy Story, under a new global partnership announced Wednesday.

The companies described the agreement as a “first-of-its-kind global deal” that will allow short-form videos made by TikTok creators to appear both on TikTok and on Vert, the vertical video feed inside the Disney+ streaming app. The pilot program is expected to begin in the United States in the coming months before expanding to other markets.

Creators will get access to a large library of Disney material, including hundreds of films and television shows, the companies said. That means clips from Disney films and shows, as well as properties from its subsidiaries, could soon appear in fan-made videos across TikTok and Disney’s own short-form video platform.

“Today, fans are celebrating our stories in entirely new ways,” Disney chief marketing and brand officer Asad Ayaz said after the deal was announced. In a separate statement, Ayaz said the partnership would give “creators a bigger stage to share what they’ve made, and audiences more to discover on Disney+ every day.”

Disney and TikTok said social media engagement, including fan-created videos, is playing an “increasingly important role” in entertainment. TikTok said its platform saw an average of 6.5 million posts related to film and television each day last year.

The deal also addresses a common problem for fans and creators. People often use film and television clips in online videos, but without explicit permission, those posts can be removed after copyright claims. Disney and TikTok said their jointly run program will also boost some creators’ videos and provide access to exclusive events.

Neither company disclosed financial terms.

The agreement comes after Disney’s earlier push to license its characters for artificial intelligence video tools ended. The BBC reported that a $1 billion, or £745 million, agreement between Disney and OpenAI collapsed after OpenAI shut down its AI video generation tool Sora in March, citing a decision to focus on other parts of its business. CBS News reported that Disney had struck a licensing deal with OpenAI last year allowing users of Sora to create videos featuring Disney characters, and that OpenAI scrapped Sora earlier this year.

The new TikTok partnership underscores the growing role of online creators and influencers in how entertainment companies promote shows, films and franchises. Disney launched Vert in the United States in March, with plans to expand it internationally. The BBC reported that an Oxford Economics report found YouTube content creators contributed £2.2 billion to the UK economy in 2024 and supported 45,000 jobs, reflecting the broader economic weight of creator-led media.

For Disney, the TikTok deal gives fans a sanctioned way to remix and share moments from its best-known properties. For TikTok, it brings licensed entertainment content from one of the world’s largest media companies into a platform already flooded with film and television discussion.