Disney Executive Outlines Plans For Future Of Disney+
Way back when Disney+ first launched, it was positioned as a family-friendly streaming service with five core brands: Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, Star Wars and Marvel.
Since 2019, Disney+ has gone through many changes, slowly evolving as consumer habits changed throughout the pandemic and a cost of living crisis. More people have been cutting the cable cord and shifting to streaming services, but also people are unwilling to subscribe to so many platforms at once.
The entire streaming business has also had to go through some major financial changes; instead of focusing on boosting subscriber numbers, they’ve had to focus on profitability. Resulting in a major reduction in the amount of original content being created.
Disney was in a unique situation with so many different outlets for its films and shows, through theatrical, linear channels and multiple streaming services.
During a recent question-and-answer session at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, Disney’s Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Hugh Johnston, was asked about the future of Disney+ and how Bob Iger has referred to Disney+ as ultimately being the home of all things Disney, to which Hugh said:
It’s funny. I actually view Disney+ as the most strategic asset that we have in the company right now for a couple of reasons. Number one, it takes Disney from being more of a business-to-business company into being a direct-to-consumer company where you have relationships with right now 175 million households and over time, I expect that number to continue to grow. When you’re able to build that level of insight around how consumers are consuming entertainment, that’s an enormously valuable asset for the entire rest of the company because all of a sudden, you can actually market to people in a much more targeted way.
In the past year, we’ve seen Disney+ add Hulu On Disney+, ESPN On Disney+ and live news to expand the type of content available through the app, with Hugh explaining more about how they want people to use Disney+ more.
As I think about what Disney+ can be, I really think about it as it can be the place you get up in the morning and you go to Disney+, right? Do you want to get the news? Great. You can find the news on Disney+. At noon, do you want to check in on sports? Great. With the ESPN tile, you can check in on Disney+. In the evening, you want to watch some entertainment, great, whether it’s the Hulu side or whether it’s the Disney side, phenomenal amount of entertainment that sits on that asset. On the weekend, you want to sit down and watch a ball game, ESPN is a place.
That brand portfolio inside of Disney+ is basically second to none. No one else has news plus sports, plus general entertainment, plus all-family entertainment. I mean, there’s just so many potential elements of where we can take this thing. It has the potential to be truly the portal not only into all things Disney, but over time, obviously, we may license some other things to be on the platform as well. But I think it can be the go-to entertainment asset.
Roger’s Take: Ultimately, having Disney+ as the central hub for the company to interact with its audience and be the one-stop shop for their entertainment needs makes complete sense. The situation in the United States right now is in the awkward stage of trying to get audiences used to the idea that Disney+ has vastly changed since it launched. But the idea that Disney+ has something for everyone, at all times, is vital, especially as Disney’s competition such as Netflix, Amazon, Peacock and Max all make similar changes, Disney+ couldn’t just stay as a family-friendly app.
What do you think of Disney’s plan for Disney+? Let me know on social media!
Roger Palmer
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