August 9, 2019
Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger wants to ensure that” The Happiest Place on Earth” for U.S. entertainment viewers is the spot in front of their television screens: He just announced that the company’s new .content-streaming service will include Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus, as well as Hulu—and will cost just $12.99 per month.
The service will be available starting November 12, according to a report by CBS News.
That’s almost twice the monthly fee that Disney projected in April, when the company said the Disney Plus alone would cost $6.99 per month, or well below the $12.99 monthly fee charged by Netflix for its most popular streaming plan. But because Hulu and ESPN Plus cost about $6 and $5 per month, respectively, the bundle of three services represents a $5 monthly savings—and the price is a “wash” when compared with the most popular plan offered by Netflix.
By bundling the three services, Disney is taking aim at Netflix and Amazon Prime Video with a combination of family-friendly content, new TV shows and sports broadcasts, CBS News notes.. Netflix’s premium plan is $15.99 per month, while its most popular plan is $12.99 per month. Amazon Prime Video is available to consumers who pay $119 per year for Amazon’s Prime service.
The goal, Iger said on a Tuesday, August 7, conference call with investors and media, is to “have general entertainment, we’ll call it Hulu, more family-like entertainment, which is Disney+, and sports.”
He added, “And that bundle that we’re creating, that $12.99 bundle, where you can buy all three offers consumers tremendous volume, tremendous quality, and tremendous variety for a good price.”
Disney has said its 2019 movies and all films released afterwards will be streamed only on Disney Plus. That includes “Captain Marvel,” which came out earlier this year; “Avengers: Endgame,” which debuts in late April; and the upcoming “Toy Story 4; as well as the ” live-action movies, “The Lion King” and “Aladdin;” and “Star Wars Episode IX.”
Research content: @Disney
