Hulu and ESPN Programming Added to Disney+ as Streaming Service Bulks Up
Disney+ is getting a lot more grown up, with a major update Wednesday set to bring a dedicated ESPN tile to the platform for Disney Bundle subscribers, and a selection of Hulu and ESPN content becoming available to all subscribers of the platform, even if they don’t currently use a bundled offering.
“This launch is really going to reshape what Disney+ is, who it’s for, and what we have to offer,” says Disney+ president Alisa Bowen, framing the update as the “next step in both the evolution of Disney+ and also ESPN’s streaming future.”
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The refreshed Disney+ will see Disney Bundle subscribers that also have ESPN+ have full access to its sports offerings within the main Disney+ app, while all Disney+ subscribers will be able to sample live events like the first day of the Australian Open and The Simpsons Funday Football and ESPN shows like Pardon The Interruption and College GameDay, as well as Hulu programming like the first season of Shogun, Reservation Dogs and Dawn of the Planet of The Apes (Disney says that “more than 30” Hulu films and series will be unlocked initially).
“It’s a really simple set of trade-offs that we’re making around what is editorially relevant in the moment, what’s chasing heat in terms of audience reaction, and then obviously there are opportunities to use the sampling experience as a lead-in to a more fulsome experience,” Bowen says, when asked by The Hollywood Reporter about how the company will look to program and refresh the included Hulu and ESPN programming. “So in the case of sports, that might be day one of the Australian Open, that would lead into additional coverage from that same event. Or in the case of general entertainment, season one of a returning season to really stimulate broader sampling and engagement with that content.”
“So we will be looking to make sure that it’s refreshed, that we have something for everyone in terms of the audience segments that we’re going after, a really good balance of series and films, and then obviously an editorial tie-in that pegs back to something that is of the moment, whether that’s a sporting event or in the case of [general entertainment] the launch of a new show or title,” she adds.
Disney is betting that by adding a sampling of Hulu and ESPN programming, it can drive new bundle subscriptions, and that by adding the ESPN tile, it can keep its existing bundle subscribers more engaged, a critical factor for the streaming service as it looks to grow it advertising business. Executives note that by adding live sports, Disney+ will have dynamic ad insertion in live content, a major step forward for that side of the business.
Bowen says that 40 percent of eligible bundle subscribers are taking advantage of the unified viewing experience on Disney+ right now, leading to the decision to further bundle ESPN into the core Disney+ offering.
“We’re very optimistic that that’s going to drive further adoption of the bundle,” Bowen says. “For the existing bundle subscribers, the second part of this strategy is really about making it easier for them to consume everything that they’re paying for, giving them less friction In terms of navigating between the different apps and better ability for us to personalize the content from all of those different services in one holistic manner to those users, so that they can better and more easily find the thing that they’re looking for and get more value out of the bundle that they’re already paying for.”
“In those two ways, we think it’s going to be both important for retention and also for growing the value perception of the bundle amongst those existing bundle subscribers,” she adds.
Meanwhile, the ESPN tile is also setting the stage for next year’s big bet by the sports giant: The launch of the ESPN “flagship” streaming service.
John Lasker, senior VP of ESPN+, says that while initially the ESPN tile on Disney+ will only include content from ESPN’s current streaming offering, it will become more fully-featured when the flagship service launches next year.
And the free ESPN+ content is meant to drive awareness and adoption of what the current streaming service has to offer.
“The content that we’re making available to the broader Disney+ subscriber base is a very, very limited amount, it’s a small fraction of the content that’s available on ESPN+, and part of the design there is for us to try to stimulate engagement and interest in sports to a casual sports fan that might not otherwise come to ESPN in their sort of normal media behaviors,” Lasker says. “So you’re not creating an alternative to ESPN or ESPN+, but more an extended reach opportunity.”
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