ABC Family Plunders Network Rights To Latest 'Pirates' Saga

Captain Jack Sparrow's latest adventure will be kept in the Disney family.
ABC Family has acquired the network premiere rights to Walt Disney Pictures' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Starring Johnny Depp, On Stranger Tides is currently scheduled to premiere on the basic-cable network in 2013. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Shipping off last week, the fourth installment of Pirates garnered more than $346 million at the box office around the globe, including a modest $90.1 million by U.S. standards.

"Audiences love this franchise the world over for its excitement, charm and all-out sense of good fun. We're thrilled to add this installment, in addition to the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, to our theatrical slate," said Tom Zappala, executive vice president of program acquisitions and scheduling, ABC Cable Networks Group, in announcing the acquisition.