What many saw as inevitable has finally come to pass. During the company’s annual earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the Walt Disney Company will roll out a singular streaming app by the end of 2023. This app will combine content from Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN. It is assumed the three individual apps would cease, but Iger did not explicitly confirm this.
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Iger noted this was a “logical progression of our DTC offerings.” Overseas, most Disney+ subscribers already have access to Hulu offerings under the Star brand or simply integrated into the app itself. Some markets such as Australia, however, still license out Hulu content to third-party local streamers such as Stan.
It was also reported that all three apps would remain available individually. Iger told Wall Street analysts that he sees an “exciting” advertising opportunity with the new app. The Mouse House could go in a direction similar to Warner Brothers Discovery and rename its fledgling streamer. That media company will rechristen HBO Max to simply, Max, on May 23.
Disney has already been offering all three individual services in a bundle. The question for many insiders was whether Disney would keep control of Hulu, which was originally started as a consortium of multiple media companies, or attempt to sell its controlling share back to Comcast, the largest remaining stakeholder. This seems to put those rumors to rest. Disney would need to pay Comcast $9 billion for full control of Hulu to make this change occur.
This new app will also take place as Disney plans to decrease its overall streaming content and remove some programs from its services. Christine McCarthy, CFO of the Walt Disney Company, noted, “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. As s a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms, and currently expect to take an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion. The charge, which will not be recorded in our segment results will primarily be recognized in the third quarter as we complete our review and remove the content.”
These changes are occurring during a turbulent time for Hollywood. The Writers Guild of America is currently on strike, the Directors Guild of America began talks with the AMPTP (the networks and studios) today, and many expect the Screen Actors Guild to strike when their contract ends on June 30.