Disney enters new streaming chapter
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A woman looks at a tablet which displays the Disney+ streaming app. Photo: Wolf von Dewitz/picture alliance via Getty Images
Disney on Wednesday told investors that it plans to shutter the standalone Hulu app and integrate it into its Disney+ streaming service.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a string of Disney's efforts to streamline its direct-to-consumer business as it matures.
Zoom in: Disney said the new, unified Disney+ and Hulu app will be available in 2026. Consumers can still buy subscriptions to the two services separately, but they will be accessed through the same interface.
- Hulu has traditionally housed Disney's more mature content, featuring shows from FX and ABC primetime. Disney+ has leaned into family-friendly programming.
- Bringing the services together will drive efficiencies for the company and a better consumer experience, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors.
- "You're going to end up with a far better consumer experience when those apps are combined by combining all of the program assets of both current apps," he said.
- "With an improved consumer experience comes the ability to lower churn, which is obviously something that we're very, very focused on and committed to doing. We obviously will deliver efficiencies when these are together."
Between the lines: The company also said it would no longer disclose quarterly paid subscriber number updates to investors, a move that other streamers like Netflix have also adopted as they try to push Wall Street to focus instead on their streaming financials.
- For Disney, focusing on profit will also help alleviate any concerns of saturation in the U.S.
- The entertainment giant on Wednesday said it now has 183 million total streaming subscribers, 128 million of which are for its core Disney+ product.
- But the company added no new subscribers for Disney+ in North America. ESPN+ also stayed stagnant at 24.1 million subscribers.
Between the lines: For Disney, offering consumers more ways to bundle their subscriptions represents a stronger opportunity to upsell them and keep them engaged.
- Bringing Disney's three services together on one tech stack will give the company "price elasticity" that it didn't have before, Iger said.
The big picture: Disney's transition comes as TV companies grapple with the best way to lean into streaming while preserving their cash-positive linear TV networks.
- Iger said the company is drawing less of a distinction between the two mediums, and is more focused on giving consumers as much choice as possible.
- "We're at a point, given the way we're operating our businesses, where we don't really look at being in the linear business and the streaming business. We're in the television business," Iger said.
What to watch: The entertainment streaming package will also be available to bundle with ESPN's new streaming service, set to debut later this month.
- On Monday, Disney said ESPN will acquire the National Football League's NFL Network, and would get broad rights to its other media platforms such as RedZone, in exchange for a 10% equity stake in the sports network.
