Disney+ Could Become More Than Streaming With Parks, Cruises, Gaming & More
Ever since Josh D’Amaro took control as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, he’s been very forward with his plans to turn Disney+ into the digital centrepiece of the company and wants to expand the streaming platform into more than just somewhere to watch films and shows.
During a special question-and-answer session at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, Disney’s Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Hugh Johnston, was asked about what the company’s long-term vision for Disney+ was, especially following recent comments on the latest quarterly earnings call that more experiences would be coming to the platform next spring.
If you think about Disney+, we tend to think about it in two ways. Number one, we want to create essentially the best streaming service out there, in terms of product, in terms of consumer engagement. That is sort of the core proposition of Disney+. But in addition to that, we really want to bring our services to consumers under the Disney+ banner and create essentially an integrated ecosystem where we can touch consumers in a variety of ways, almost creating a membership-like ecosystem for our fans. Now, what might that look like? Certainly, it is the normal things like film and TV and video. But in addition to that, you could easily see things like consumer products. You could see parks and cruises on there.
You could see interacting with our talent, interacting with our IP in a more substantial way, and even potentially gaming at some point in the future. The goal there is to increase the frequency of use of Disney+, because we know when people increase their frequency of use, they tend to churn less, retention is higher, and we get better outcomes. More to come on that both in the spring of 2027. But in addition to that, it is a digital product. We are going to be enhancing it, I would say, forever.
The idea of a membership option for Disney+ isn’t new; years ago, former CEO Bob Chapek talked about turning Disney+ into an Amazon Prime-type service with links to other parts of the company.
Disney already offers a membership option for fans through its D23: Official Fan Club, which provides members with special events, including movie screenings, meet-and-greets, and tours, along with major conferences like the D23: Ultimate Fan Event and Destination D23. It also includes exclusive merchandise such as pins, badges, Lorcana trading cards and magnets.
Recently, Disney+ subscribers in the US have been able to get a free digital version of the D23 membership included in their subscription, blending the lines of what each membership offers.
We’ve seen Disney+ adding live TV, vertical videos and recently, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro talked about adding more content to Disney+, such as games, similar to Netflix, so Hugh’s comments don’t come as a huge surprise, but it does seem like games might be something we see added later down the line, rather than next year.
They’ve also already been offering a “Perks” program, which includes discounts off merchandise or Disney trips, free digital products like skins for popular video games like “Marvel Rivals” or digital comics on Marvel’s Unlimited platform. So we are likely to see these types of options continue to grow.
No doubt, we will continue to see Disney+ become more important as the digital centrepiece of the company, as it’s the best way it can reach its core audience around the world. It’s very well known that it’s easier for a company to make a sale to an existing customer than to find a new one, so offering Disney+ subscribers discounts on theme park tickets, resort hotels, cruise lines or merchandise, is a major advantage that will make the company far more money than a simple streaming subscription will make.
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