• Loading stock data...
Thursday, March 28, 2024
2024 Best Venues nominations are open now through April 8! Submit Now

Disney Contemplates Combining Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu

  • Disney CEO Bob Chapek indicated that the company has considered combining Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu into a single offering.
  • The company may be hindered by its current media rights deals.
Disney+/Design: Alex Brooks

Could Disney+ one day include ESPN+ and Hulu? According to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, “possibly.”

On an investor call following last week’s earnings report, Chapek indicated that the company was still determining the right mix of bundles and standalone services but was open to folding its three best-known streaming services into a single offering.

  • Disney currently bundles all three services together for $13.99 per month.
  • Disney+ (116 million subscribers) costs $7.99 monthly, while ESPN+’s 14.9 million subscribers pay $6.99.
  • Hulu (41.6 million subscribers) offers several monthly price points, from $5.99 for ad-supported membership to a $64.99 live television plan that offers NFL, NBA, NHL, and NCAA games.

“So far, [the Disney bundle has] worked really, really well,” Chapek said. “Is there an opportunity for improvement by considering something different going forward? Possibly, but we’re going to continue to learn.”

He added that “a good chunk” of Disney’s marketing focuses on the bundle and that the churn rates for the combined package “are even lower” than those of Disney’s individual streaming services.

The company already packages content from its Star network into Disney+ in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Chapek noted “constraints” around current rights contracts that would make merging multiple services more complicated in North America.

All in all, Disney boasts just under 174 million streaming subscribers, nearing Netflix’s 209 million. Fiscal third-quarter revenues rose 45% year-over-year to $17 billion.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Spring Football’s Big Bet: An Unlikely TV Marriage, and Crazy Rules

The United Football League launches this weekend on ESPN and Fox.

NFL Executive Questions Logic Behind Streaming Giants’ Joint Venture

The ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox alliance is expected to launch this fall.
March 22, 2024, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) and Northwestern Wildcats guard Boo Buie (0) react in overtime against the Florida Atlantic Owls in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the Barclays Center.

‘An Expensive Game’: March Madness and NIL Collectives Are Intertwined

At schools nationwide, collectives are fueling NCAA tournament runs and vice versa.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

MLB Opens Season With MLBPA, Ohtani, and Ownership Dramas

0:00
0:00

Featured Today

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (22) waits to be announced in the starting lineup against West Virginia in a NCAA Tournament round of 32 game Monday, March 25, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

The Women’s Trading Card Market Is Overlooked. Can Caitlin Clark Change That?

Traditionally, women’s sports cards have been a marginal part of collectibles.
The Sports Illustrated cover signed by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, February 27, 2019, at Don & Charlie's, 7501 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale. Don Charlie S
March 24, 2024

Everything You Need to Know About the Ongoing ‘Sports Illustrated’ Saga

Understanding the strange state of affairs for the nearly 70-year-old publication.
March 23, 2024

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Inside the Big East’s Bizarre Online Subculture

Peeling back the curtain on the ‘phenomenally weird’ Big East online ecosystem.
Mar 21, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Stetson Hatters guard Stephan Swenson (30) reacts during team practice at Barclays Center.
March 22, 2024

First-Time NCAA Men’s Tourney Bids Could Be on the Verge of Extinction

Power and success are consolidating around the richest teams in college sports.

Careers

Powered By

Careers in Sports

Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world.
Live Nation
Multiple - USA Careers
Adidas
Multiple - USA Careers
Spotify
Multiple - USA Careers

‘Good Morning Football’ Beginning Mysterious Timeout Before L.A. Move

Friday is the final broadcast of ‘Good Morning Football’ from New York.
March 28, 2024

Jets Owner Blasts ‘False’ Reporting From League-Owned Outlet

League owners and NFL Media rarely criticize each other.
March 28, 2024

NBA Wants to Cash in With Foreign Investors in More Ways Than One

Sovereign wealth funds can invest in NBA teams.
Sponsored

How Daily Fantasy Sports Solved NBA Fantasy

The remarkable growth of the #1 Discord sports server in the world.
March 28, 2024

Late Rush Keeps Three MLB Teams on TV, but Revenue Issues Linger

The Diamondbacks, Padres, and Rockies continue to navigate a post-RSN landscape.
exclusive
March 26, 2024

Threats, Demands, a Lawsuit, and a Website in Limbo: Inside the Chaos at ‘SI’

‘Sports Illustrated’ has new publishers, but the transition has been messy at best.
March 25, 2024

Inside the Proxy Fight for the Future of Disney (and ESPN)

Dissident investor Nelson Peltz is seeking two board seats in an upcoming election.
March 25, 2024

The Brian Kelly ‘Hit Job’ Kim Mulkey Ripped Is Barely About Brian Kelly at All

The article was hardly about Kelly at all.