Disney held its third-quarter earnings call this morning and made several major announcements regarding its streaming future
First up, the standalone Hulu app is being shut down next year and ‘fully integrated’ into the Disney+ app with the ‘Hulu’ tile that’s currently available.
In addition, the Hulu branding will also replace the ‘Star’ tile on Disney+ internationally this Fall – Hulu becoming the company’s general entertainment brand.
U.S. customers will still be able to buy a stand-alone Hulu subscription, as well as a stand-alone Disney+ plan, with both to be accessed via the new ‘unified’ single app.
These moves effectively mean that, beyond content library differences within specific territories, the Disney+ app will have a consistent appearance globally.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s standalone app is set to launch on August 21st and will cost $30 a month. It will include all ESPN programming along with fantasy and gambling integrations.
An ESPN, Disney+, and Hulu bundle will include a launch price of $29.99/month for the first 12 months.
The company also indicated it will stop reporting subscriber numbers and average revenue per unit (ARPU) for its streaming services in the coming quarters. This quarter saw 183 million Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, up by 2.6 million.
Source: AdWeek
