Disney Plus and Hulu to merge into a single app, beta launch set for next month،
Disney recently struck a deal to acquire the remaining 33% of Hulu from Comcast, solidifying its full control over the streaming platform. The move has Disney preparing to unveil a unified streaming app that merges Disney Plus and Hulu.
In its fourth quarter results results (via The edge), Disney announced plans to launch the new app in beta for plan subscribers in December, with the official release planned for early spring 2024. This integrated app aims to provide a seamless experience for subscribers of both services. streaming.
During the earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger highlighted the goal of creating a more nationally consistent single experience. He stated, “We expect Hulu and Disney Plus to result in increased engagement, greater advertising opportunities, reduced churn and reduced customer acquisition costs.“.
Merging Disney+ and Hulu into one app opens the door for Disney to potentially launch the Hulu brand globally. Currently, the Hulu service operated by Disney is limited to the United States. Hulu is also available in Japan, but the streaming platform in Japan is owned by Nippon TV and not Disney.
Earlier this year, Disney raised prices on its ad-free streaming services. Despite this, nearly 7 million core subscribers joined the streaming service, propelling Disney Plus to surpass 150 million global subscribers this quarter. However, it is still below the number of subscribers from the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, Disney’s streaming business reported a loss of $387 million, a significant 74% year-over-year improvement from a loss of $1.4 billion in the same period. quarter of 2022. Iger announced that Disney’s streaming business is on track to achieve profitability. by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
It’s worth noting that Disney hasn’t given up on its plan to crack down on password sharing. Although the timing remains unclear, Iger mentioned that the “planned deployment“shouldn’t have”significant impact” on the streaming business until 2025.
