During its earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that subscribers of both Disney+ and Hulu will get a "one-app experience" later this year. Disney+ prices will increase.
The one-app experience will incorporate Hulu content into the Disney+ app in the US by the end of 2023 for subscribers of both streaming services. Hulu and Disney+ will continue to be available as standalone options.
- "While we will continue to offer Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our (direct-to-consumer) offerings that will provide 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," said Bob Iger, Disney CEO.
The announcement suggests that Disney is planning to acquire Comcast's 33% share of Hulu, although Iger would not confirm or deny conclusively at this time.
Hulu will be folded into the Disney+ app later this year, possible as an extra tile like Star in Europe
Disney+ price increases in 2023
Bob Iger said that Disney+ will get more expensive later in 2023, mainly the ad-free plan (currently $11/month) but possibly also the ad-supported plan (currently $8/month). Price increases are expected both locally and internationally.
- "Meanwhile, the pricing changes we’ve already implemented a proven successful, and we plan to set a higher price for our ad-free tier later this year to better reflect the value of our content offerings," Iger said.
Will subscribers get more content then? Less, actually. Disney will start to pull select content from Disney+ and Hulu as part of a plan to license it to other services. No titles were named but Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said that it will cost Disney $1.5 to $1.8 billion in impairment charges this quarter (Disney's fiscal Q3 corresponds to the calendar Q2), so this is probably when it will start.
- "The charge will be primarily recognized in our third quarter as we complete our review and remove the content," McCarthy said. "Going forward, we intend to produce lower volume of content in alignment with this strategic shift."
She added that the ad-supported plan will launch in Europe at the end of 2023.
Disney+ lost 4 million subscribers in Q1 2023 and now has 157.8 million in total.
Netflix had 232.5 million subscribers as of Q1 2023.
