DC Universe (streaming service)

DC Universe is an American video-on-demand streaming service operated by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Networks. It was announced in April 2017, with the title and service formally announced in May 2018. The service includes original television programming, access to select animated series and films from DC's back catalogue, a rotating selection of comics from DC Comics, forum discussion space, and a merchandise store. DC Universe launched in a beta state in late August 2018, with its full release on September 15, 2018. The service won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming. In August 2020, it was revealed that all remaining original programming on the service would eventually move to HBO Max, and the following month, DC announced the service would change its name to DC Universe Infinite and convert to simply a digital comics subscription service in January 2021.

History and development
In April 2017, DC Universe was announced as an untitled service with original television programming, with its title announced a year later in May 2018. The next month, the features of the service beyond original programming were revealed, including access to older DC live-action and animated films and animated series for a select period of time, a rotating selection of comics, forum discussion space, a merchandise store, and DC encyclopedia. Sam Ades, the general manager and senior vice-president at Warner Bros. Digital Network, manages the service.

The service's first slate of programming, Titans and Young Justice: Outsiders, was revealed in April 2017. That November, Harley Quinn, a half-hour animated series, was announced for the service. In January 2018, a Superman prequel series titled Metropolis was announced, focusing on Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. In May 2018, the live-action series Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol were announced, and Metropolis was being redeveloped. That July, a live-action Stargirl series was announced, which would also feature additional members of the Justice Society of America. A month later, the daily news program DC Daily was announced.

In June 2020, it was announced that DC Universe would be offering its subscribers the HBO Max streaming service at a discounted price of US$4.99 a month; this applied to new HBO Max subscribers. At the end of July 2020, DC Universe no longer offered the yearly subscription option for the service. In August 2020, DC Comics publisher Jim Lee revealed that all original programming would be migrated over to HBO Max. Speaking to the community aspect of DC Universe, as well as the ability to access the backlog of comics titles, Lee said "there is always going to be a need for that" and that DC was looking at ways to transform the platform so that content would not go away.

In September 2020, DC announced that the service would change its name to DC Universe Infinite and become solely a digital comics subscription service on January 21, 2021. The service would offer currently published DC Comics titles six months after their retail release date (before the change, current comics would arrive a year after their release date), early access to DC Comics' digital first titles, would feature exclusive comics created for the service, and access to 24,000 titles in DC's back catalog. DC Universe subscriptions will automatically transfer over to DC Universe Infinite. Regarding the original programming, Young Justice seasons 1-4, Titans season 1-3, Doom Patrol seasons 1-3, the first season of Stargirl, and Harley Quinn seasons 1-3 will move to HBO Max to become Max Original series, with new DC series and "key DC classics" also being available on HBO Max.

Availability
DC Universe launched in the U.S. on September 15, 2018, and is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Xbox One in addition to web and mobile web access. Each subscription to DC Universe can be used on two devices at a time. Pre-orders for the streaming service became available starting on July 19, 2018, while an early beta-version was made available to select users in August 2018. Live-action series were streamed in 4K Ultra HD HDR.

DC Universe is currently available only in the United States. At Fan Expo Canada 2018, DC editor Dan DiDio claimed the service was being beta tested in Canada with plans to launch at an unspecified date. Meanwhile, several original shows from the service were acquired by Corus Entertainment (for broadcast on its Teletoon, Adult Swim, and Showcase cable networks), while Doom Patrol was acquired by Bell Media for its CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Titans is currently being distributed internationally on Netflix. With the announcement of the change to DC Universe Infinite, it was revealed that the service would expand globally beginning in mid-2021. As well, the service will reduce its device availability, operating on the web and iOS and Android devices.

Original programming
BizarroTV, an anthology series, was announced in October 2019 as being in development with an expected release date in 2020. It is unclear if it will migrate to an HBO Max Original series when the service becomes DC Universe Infinite.

Films and television series
At launch, the service included the four live-action Christopher Reeve Superman films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, animated television series Batman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Young Justice, Teen Titans, Batman Beyond, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Justice League, live-action television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Wonder Woman, the last remastered in high-definition, and animated films including Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Green Lantern: First Flight, and Wonder Woman, among others. Content is updated on a monthly basis. In March 2019, the service added the 1970s live-action series Shazam!.

Accolades
DC Universe won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming in the category Web.