Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, which are already teaming up to bundle their linear sports channels this fall, plan to combine their streaming services in a three pack of Disney Plus, Hulu and Max starting this summer.
No price point or specific release date was revealed, but the companies said their bundle will come in both ad-supported and commercial-free iterations. (Here's the press release, which calls the bundle "the best value in entertainment.")
“On the heels of the very successful launch of Hulu on Disney Plus, this new bundle with Max will offer subscribers even more choice and value,” said Joe Earley, president of direct to consumer for Disney Entertainment, in a statement. “This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster films, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the very best brands and entertainment in streaming today.”
Added JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games for WBD: “This new offering delivers for consumers the greatest collection of entertainment for the best value in streaming, and will help drive incremental subscribers and much stronger retention. Offering this unprecedented entertainment value for fans across all the complimentary genres these three services offer, presents a powerful new roadmap for the future of the industry.”
Disney has bundled Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus in iterations of two and all three services, across ad-supported and commercial-free tiers, for several years, offering significant savings for consumers.
For example, priced individually at $7.99 a month each, the ad-supported versions of Disney Plus and Hulu are now available in the same app and are priced at $9.99 a month bundled.
Disney said earlier this week that its direct-to-consumer business are no longer losing money. In fact, the operation that includes Disney Plus and Hulu posted an operating income of $47 million in the first quarter, Disney said. Disney Plus added 6 million customers from January - March.
Bundling might actually help WBD more. On Wednesday, it was reported that the company plans to cut staff and budgets, particularly in areas like streaming marketing and technology. Bloomberg also said Warner plans to increase pricing on Max and Discovery Plus.
With Max already losing 400,000 customers in Q4, hitching onto Disney's proven bundling capabilities might offset any further loss of momentum.
