Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery Join Streaming Forces
The terminology here is confusing, but a massive story just broke in the streaming industry.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of the Max streaming service, will join forces with The Walt Disney Company on a new initiative.
This differs from the so-called Sports Hulu project between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Disney.
Honestly, this one’s a whole lot simpler. Disney+, Hulu, and Max have signed a bundling agreement. Here’s what that means.
The Disney+/Max Bundle
Here’s the news straight from Disney’s website:
“Today, Disney Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new streaming bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu and Max.
“Beginning this Summer in the U.S., the streaming services will be offered together, providing subscribers with the best value in entertainment…”
Folks, they’re not wrong. In fact, the press release includes a list of content covered by this deal:
The bundle will include “ABC, CNN, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HBO, HGTV, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, Warner Bros., and many more.”
Do you know what we used to call all those programs collectively? Television.
Throughout the past four decades, the Turner brands and Disney have dominated cable television.
Along with ABC, that’s multiple generations of content that you’ll suddenly find in a single streaming bundle.
Disney’s announcement adds the following:
“This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster films, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the very best brands and entertainment in streaming today.”
I don’t say this often in media coverage, but nothing in that statement is hyperbolic.
Like Disney, Warner Bros. celebrated its centennial in 2023. WBD is technically a few months older than Disney.
This bundle will include a century of Disney content, a century of Warner Bros. content, and some HBO thrown in for good measure.
I’m not exaggerating when I say nobody could have conceived such a deal 20 years ago.
Details of the New Bundle
We don’t know much about the new bundle, but here’s the information released thus far.
You can purchase the new Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle from any of the three services or apps.
Pricing is yet to be determined, but there WILL be ad-free and ad-supported bundle options.
So, you can choose among several different bundle variants, depending on your preferences. I’m decidedly anti-commercial, so I’ll go ad-free.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “people familiar with the matter said the bundles would likely be offered at a discount.”
That’s all the pricing information we have at the moment, but we know that the bundle will be available in the United States this summer.
Consolidation in the Streaming Industry
Just yesterday, I wrote about Disney CFO Hugh Johnston and his appearance on CNBC.
In a remarkable demonstration of timely interviewing, the reporter asked Johnston the following:
“Are you seeing any distinction – because we talk to a number of CEOs who talk about trying to ‘trade down’ – it’s harder to trade down at one of your experiences.”
“Are people buying less lunch? What are you seeing?”
Johnston replied insightfully, and it felt almost like a flex about Disney’s strength as a core brand.
“We don’t see much of that. We understand what’s going on broadly with the consumer who is at the lower deciles of income.
“(They) appear to be making more choices around how they spend their money.
“We’re not seeing a lot of that right now. We tend to play a little bit higher income.
“And as a result, we don’t see a lot of trade down at this point.
“If anything, as consumers decide to consolidate their streaming services, we may be beneficiaries of that to some degree.”
I strongly suspect that either Johnston was sending a message to David Zaslav, the CEO of WBD, or Zaslav saw it and got to thinking.
Coincidentally or not, 36 hours later, Disney and WBD, two of the most storied Hollywood studios, have consolidated streaming to an extent.
The owners of Marvel Entertainment and DC Entertainment will sell one another’s streaming services.
Thoughts on This New Bundle
This is a big deal, folks. From now on, when you load your Disney+ or Hulu app, you’ll also have the option to add Max.
Frankly, WBD needs that since it’s facing yet another batch of layoffs.
Disney doesn’t need this, but it’s enemies with Comcast right now. Making an ally of WBD is just smart business.
The consumers are potentially the big winners here, especially if there’s a discount for subscribers to all three.
Personally, I’ll be paying careful attention to that because Max is my most-used streaming service after Disney+/Hulu.
Ostensibly, as the holiday season approaches, these two companies may offer a one-year subscription that covers all three services.
You WILL want to buy that deal. The Warner Bros. library of films and television is exemplary.
Unfortunately, the business isn’t well run, but this is a good start toward changing that.
I can assure you that MickeyBlog will have plenty more coverage about this new bundle, as it’s one of the biggest streaming stories of 2024.
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