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Disney+ and Hulu content to combine into one streaming app

In a significant move made by Disney, the company announced Wednesday that U.S. customers are getting a new app that combines Disney+ and Hulu content.
The company also announced that it is raising the price of the Disney+ ad-free tier later in the year.
During Disney’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Bob Iger revealed that the new streaming option will launch later this year. However, the company also plans to keep Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone platforms.
The news comes after Disney+ lost 4 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2023. Hulu gained 200,000 subs.
“While we continue to offer Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our [direct-to-consumer] offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers while giving subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience,” Iger stated during the earnings call.
Many of us saw this announcement coming since former Disney CEO Bob Chapek hinted at the plans in September 2022.
“Right now, if you want to go from Hulu to ESPN+ to Disney+, you have to go out of one app to another app. In the future, we may have less friction,” Chapek told Variety in an interview last year.
This also appears to support the reports that Disney is planning to buy Comcast’s stake in Hulu by 2024. Currently, Comcast owns 33% and Disney owns 66%.
The integration follows other moves made by competitors, such as Paramount+ combining with Showtime, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery announcing its new streaming service, Max, which merges HBO Max and Discovery+ into one platform.
Subscribers in select countries outside of the U.S. already have Hulu content bundled with Disney+.
When the streamer launched its ad-supported plan in December, the cost of its premium tier went up to $10.99/month, compared to $7.99. Disney+ will get yet another price hike for its ad-free subscription. Soon, subscribers will have to pay even more to get content with no ads.
“The pricing changes we’ve already implemented [have] proven successful, and we plan to set a higher price for our ad-free tier later this year to better reflect the value of our content offerings,” Iger added. “As we look to the future, we will continue optimizing our pricing model to reward loyalty and reduce churn to increase subscriber revenue for the premium ad-free tier and drive growth of subscribers…”

Disney+ loses subscribers for second quarter in a row, drops 4M subs

Disney+ and Hulu content to combine into one streaming app by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Disney+ and Hulu content to combine into one streaming app

Disney cuts metaverse division as part of broader restructuring

Walt Disney Co. has eliminated its metaverse division as part of staff cuts that promise to reduce head count by around 7,000 across the company over the next two months, reports The Wall Street Journal.
CEO Bob Iger said Monday that those layoffs would begin this week. Disney’s next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences unit, the small division that was developing metaverse strategies, looks like it’s one of the first to go.
The metaverse division is headed by Mike White, who was promoted to the role from SVP of consumer experiences and platforms in February 2022 and charged with getting Disney deeper into the web3 space. The unit aimed to find ways to tell more interactive stories in immersive formats using Disney’s extensive library of intellectual property, according to WSJ. Aside from the Disney we all know and love, that extensive library includes Pixar, Marvel and all of the Star Wars movies and shows.
All 50 or so members of the team have lost their jobs, sources told WSJ. White will remain at the company, but it’s not clear in what capacity.
The company could not be reached for comment.
Disney’s former CEO, Bob Chapek, brought White on last year with the goal of creating “an entirely new paradigm for how audiences experience and engage with our stories,” according to an internal memo. Chapek also described the metaverse as “the next great storytelling frontier” and a “perfect place to pursue our strategic pillars of storytelling excellence, innovation and audience focus.”
The hiring of White and the creation of the new metaverse unit came a few months after Facebook rebranded to Meta in an attempt to identify with the futuristic technology into which CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been pouring billions of dollars.
Iger took over for Chapek in November and, despite recent developments, seems to be bullish on the metaverse. He invested in and joined the board of Genies Inc. last year, a startup that lets users create online avatars for use in metaverse applications.
The metaverse is still many years from going mainstream, which has frustrated many big tech companies that invested large sums on new entertainment formats. Despite Meta’s billions spent on the Oculus headset and building out the metaverse, there has been low user demand and general confusion among users about how to use the new technology for anything but gaming.

Last month, Disney said it would make $5.5 billion in cuts and cut 7,000 jobs as part of a broader restructuring. Like many other large conglomerates, Disney is feeling the pressure to bring costs down, and that often means cutting out expensive moonshot projects that aren’t bringing in any near-term revenue.
It’s not yet clear if Disney will continue to work on metaverse applications via other teams, since it’s a long-term bet. Zuckerberg has repeatedly asked investors to trust him, be patient and play the long game.

Disney cuts metaverse division as part of broader restructuring by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch
Disney cuts metaverse division as part of broader restructuring

Disney+ reports its first subscriber loss of 2.4M subscribers, plans to lay off 7K employees

Disney’s first quarter with CEO Bob Iger back in command isn’t looking so good. Disney announced its Q1 2023 earnings today, reporting a total of 161.8 million Disney+ global subscribers, a decrease of 2.4 million subs from 164.2 million in the previous quarter. This is the streamer’s first subscriber loss since launching in 2019.
The drop in Disney+ subscribers was mainly driven by a decrease in Disney+ Hotstar subscribers. The international streaming service, available in India and parts of Southeast Asia, saw a decline of 3.8 million subscribers, down from 61.3 million subs in the previous quarter.
On the semi-positive side, Disney+ gained 200,000 domestic subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
The results put Disney+’s 2024 target into question. Disney+ plans to reach 215 million-245 million subs by 2024, which could see streaming king Netflix, with over 230 million global subscribers, lose its crown. However, it’s looking like Netflix can relax — at least for now.
Notably, Iger announced during today’s earnings call that Disney will no longer provide subscriber addition guidance, the same move that Netflix recently made.
The subscriber loss comes on the heels of the company increasing the subscription price of its Disney+ ad-free plan to $11 per month in tandem with its new $7.99 ad-supported tier. For that reason, analysts were actually expecting a larger loss of 3 million subs, so today’s news is not entirely bad from that perspective.
Disney’s other streaming services, Hulu and ESPN+, had a decent quarter, gaining 800,000 subscribers and 600,000 subscribers, respectively. Hulu now has 48 million subscribers, and ESPN+ has 24.9 million.
Disney also reported an increase in revenue for the quarter, citing $23.51 billion, just barely beating expectations of $23.33 billion. Last quarter, Disney reported $20.15 billion in revenue. In addition, its operating loss among the direct-to-consumer segment narrowed, losing $1.1 billion versus $1.5 billion in Q4 2022. Disney plans to save $5.5 billion in costs.
As part of Disney’s effort to make its streaming business profitable, Iger revealed during today’s earnings call that the company is planning a significant restructuring, including job cuts. The layoffs will affect 7,000 employees. The company froze new hiring in November.
“I have enormous respect and appreciate for the dedication of our employees worldwide,” Iger said during the call. “While this is necessary to address the challenges we face today, I do not make this decision lightly.”
There have been rumblings in the media that Disney may be exploring the sale of licensing rights for its films and TV series to its competitors in a desperate attempt to combat streaming losses. If the rumor turns out to be true, this would be a significant change in strategy since Disney is known to keep much of its original programming exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was the most recent major media company to license its shows in order to gain revenue. WBD struck deals with Roku and Tubi to license 2,000 hours of movies and TV shows, including “Westworld,” which was pulled from HBO Max in December.

Disney+ reaches 164.2M subscribers as it prepares for ad-supported tier launch

Disney+ reports its first subscriber loss of 2.4M subscribers, plans to lay off 7K employees by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Disney+ reports its first subscriber loss of 2.4M subscribers, plans to lay off 7K employees

Disney+ ad-supported plan is currently unavailable on Roku devices

On Thursday, Disney+ launched its first-ever ad-supported plan, “Disney+ Basic,” in the U.S. at $7.99 per month, which is the same price as the previous ad-free plan before Disney raised the price to $10.99/month. However, Roku users wanting to switch to the new plan are out of luck — at least for now.
According to Disney Plus’s support website, the ad-supported tier is “not currently available on Roku devices.” It’s also not available on the Microsoft Windows desktop app, the site informs. So, at the moment, U.S. subscribers with Disney+ Basic or Disney Bundles like Disney Bundle Duo Basic (Disney+ Basic and Hulu’s ad plan) or Trio Basic (Disney+ Basic, Hulu’s ad plan and ESPN+) are unable to stream on Roku or Windows.
Disney told TechCrunch that it is still in talks with Roku about reaching an agreement that suits both parties. It’s our guess that the dispute is over an ad-share agreement as, by default, channels must enter an ad revenue split with Roku. Disney, however, declined to provide specifics. Roku also declined to comment on the negotiations.
Roku has cemented itself as the top smart TV platform in the United States. So, it’s a major disadvantage for Disney+ not to have its new ad-supported tier available on Roku devices at launch.
Netflix ran into a similar problem when it launched its ad-supported plan a month ago.
At the time, Netflix told TechCrunch that, at launch, support for its “Basic with Ads” plan wasn’t available on tvOS devices but would be coming soon. According to Netflix’s support website, it’s still unavailable on Apple TV as well as PlayStation 3 consoles.

Disney+ launches its ad-supported tier to compete with Netflix

Disney+ ad-supported plan is currently unavailable on Roku devices by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Disney+ ad-supported plan is currently unavailable on Roku devices

Disney+ launches its ad-supported tier to compete with Netflix

The day has arrived. Today, Disney+ launched its ad-supported tier, “Disney+ Basic,” at $7.99/month. The plan is currently only available in the U.S. and will become available in other countries sometime next year.
Image Credits: Disney+
“Today’s launch marks a milestone moment for Disney+ and puts consumer choice at the forefront. With these new ad-supported offerings, we’re able to deliver greater flexibility for consumers to enjoy the full breadth and depth of incredible storytelling from The Walt Disney Company,” Michael Paull, president of Direct to Consumer, said in a statement.
Netflix has its work cut out for it if it wants to compete successfully with Disney+’s new ad-supported tier. For instance, Disney+ Basic not only lets viewers stream high-quality video, including Full HD, HDR10, 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision and Expanded Aspect Ratio with IMAX Enhanced, but it also lets subscribers stream on up to four supported devices simultaneously. Plus, the ad plan includes Disney+’s full content catalog.
Netflix’s ad-supported plan, on the other hand, only supports 720p HD video quality, subscribers can only stream on one device at the same time and around 5% to 10% of Netflix’s content library is missing due to licensing restrictions.
Neither Disney+ Basic nor Netflix’s “Basic with ads” plan allows offline viewing or downloads.
Other features not included in the Disney+ Basic plan at launch are GroupWatch, SharePlay and Dolby Atmos. A Disney spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company hopes to support this in the future, but the exact timing is unknown.
Ads will range from 15 to 30 or 45 seconds long, the spokesperson added. As we previously reported, Disney+ is limiting the total ad load to an average of four minutes of commercials an hour. Preschool content has zero ads.
Image Credits: Disney+
Also, the company revised the Disney Bundle. The Disney Bundle Duo (Disney+ Basic and Hulu’s ad plan) will cost $9.99/month. There’s also the Disney Bundle Trio Basic (Disney+ Basic, Hulu’s ad plan and ESPN+) will be $12.99/month and the Disney Bundle Trio Premium is priced at $19.99/month.
Alongside the launch, Disney+ increased the price of its Premium ad-free subscription to $10.99/month, up from $7.99. So while it may seem that Disney+ is launching a cheaper tier, the reality is that subscribers will have to pay the same price for a plan that will now get ads.
Research firm Kantar found that 23% of existing Disney+ subscribers plan to switch to the new tier, Deadline reported. That means more than 37 million subscribers could choose to pay the same price they always have but for an arguably “downgraded” subscription plan.
Hulu, the Disney-owned streaming service, also got a price hike, along with the Disney Bundle and Hulu Live TV.

Disney is increasing the price of its ad-free Disney+ subscription to $10.99

The main reason Disney+ launched its ad-supported tier was to open up its streaming service to new subscribers. Disney previously said that the new tier will keep the company on track to reach its target of 230-260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024. The streamer reported an impressive total of 164.2 million global subscribers in Q4 2022, which includes 46.4 million domestic subscribers.
Also, Disney’s direct-to-consumer division lost $1.5 billion, so the ad-supported tier is a potential new revenue stream for the company. The streaming giant boasted in today’s announcement that Disney+ Basic is launching with over 100 advertisers.
“Today, we welcome Disney+ with ads to the largest, most diverse and impactful portfolio in the industry. We are committed to connecting our clients to the best storytelling in the world while delivering innovation and viewer-first experience in streaming now and in the future,” said Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising.

Disney+ is getting an ad-supported subscription tier later this year

Disney+ launches its ad-supported tier to compete with Netflix by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Disney+ launches its ad-supported tier to compete with Netflix