Family-friendly streaming service Disney+ has hit a plateau in new subscriber growth, but plans to add Hulu shows later this year to make it an attractive competitor to Netflix.
Both services, along with ESPN+, remain standalone services for now. But Hulu is now the hub for Disney+. Bundled Subscriber It aims to provide a more seamless “one app” viewing option.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said, “Beyond[the family-friendly program]Disney+, we’re bullish on apps that include quality, curated and general entertainment.” Disney said it believes a broader mix of programs will improve subscriber growth, retention and advertising. Disney+ has not been very successful in attracting families without young children. A failed experiment moved “Dancing With the Stars” from ABC to Disney+ exclusively, but the dance contest will return to ABC this fall, but will continue to stream on D+.
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He hasn’t set a date for the combination, but said it will involve a price hike for the ad-free version of Disney+ to get more people to sign up for the cheaper version with ads. With the “significant growth in digital advertising” expected in the next fiscal year, an ad-supported version will be more valuable to the company.
