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.
The move comes as Disney, like other streamers, is slowly spending less on content to focus on profits rather than growing subscribers. In “startup” mode, Iger said the company’s strategy is to “flood” Disney+ and Hulu with as much content as possible, and to achieve as much subscriber growth as possible. I was. But now, as the business matures, “I realize that I’ve created a lot of content that’s not driving subscriber growth, so I want to be careful with my choices,” he told analysts.
One concern is the future of Hulu, an all-inclusive entertainment service that offers original shows, reruns of series owned or acquired by Disney, and shows from the FX cable network, from “Snowfall” to “Fargo.” Hulu is 33% owned by rival Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, which has its own streaming service, Peacock. Comcast can either force Disney to buy his stake from early 2024, or sell Disney-held shares to Comcast. But offering a combined service suggests Disney is committed to maintaining ownership of Hulu. Speculation I hope it sells.
Asked about the plan, Iger said negotiations were ongoing, but “it’s not clear when or how the relationship will end.”
