Surprising but anticipated news came from Disney’s second-quarter earnings call today. Deadline reports Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that streaming services Disney+ and Hulu would be packaged into one app by the end of 2023. Currently, the company offers several differently-priced bundles, including content across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ along with the live TV Hulu option. All three services will remain available as standalone services.
Iger called the single app “exciting” via Deadline, citing it would create “greater opportunities for advertisers, while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience.”
According to Deadline, Disney+ has currently drawn 5,000 advertisers with 40% of ad units targeted domestically. With the upcoming single streaming service, the company would be able to target individual viewers in a more streamlined process as opposed to the current “spray-and-pay” format of traditional television.
This endeavor will come at a cost. Deadline reports the company will expect to induce a loss of around $1.5 to $1.8 billion dollars in content, via CFO Christine McCarthy. This will also bring an increase in the price of the combined service.
“We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation,” McCarthy said on the call via Deadline. While she did not specify which programming would be removed, she described the company’s strategic plan would look to produce less content in the future. She stated these losses would be reflected by the third quarter.
“When you make a lot of content, everything needs to be marketed,” Iger added according to Deadline. “You’re spending a lot of money marketing things that are not going to have an impact on the bottom line, except negatively due to the marketing costs.”
This news comes after Disney recently gutted 7,000 employees across several entities in massive layoffs. Deadline reports Disney saw loss of almost $150 million last quarter as a result. The company also saw a loss of 4 million subscribers total, with most being from its international Disney+ Hotstar platform, according to Vulture. However, McCarthy stated their strategic plan is on track to save them around $5.5 billion, via Deadline.
As the company prepares for this streaming merger, 2024 will bring another fork in the road: the outright ownership of Hulu. According to Deadline, the option for Comcast’s one-third stake in the platform is up for negotiations, as Disney pursued majority ownership back in 2019. If Comcast elects to sell its stake to Disney, it could expect a payout of at least $9 billion dollars.