When Disney+ first launched, it was a golden age for people who loved Star Wars and Marvel content.
Walt Disney knew that it had massively popular brands that would draw a subscriber base. During that first year or so, there was pretty much a new Marvel or Star Wars show every few months.
“The Mandalorian” not only help Disney+, it reignited interest in Star Wars at a time when the brand had suffered some missteps. It was a return to storytelling that was both grand and deeply personal.
Most of the Marvel shows did not perform as well. That may happen because of superhero fatigue, or, perhaps, nobody actually needed to see She Hulk in a sort of comedy.
Disney’s massive content splurge to launch it streaming service with sort of a one time thing. If you give Star Wars fans a series as good as “Andor” once a year, and maybe one other pretty good show, that audience isn’t going anywhere.
The same could be said for Marvel, where one really good Daredevil revival has probably done more for member acquisition and retention than having a bunch of shows built around secondary characters
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But, Walt Disney has taken away, it has also added. Disney+ subscribers, no longer get as many original series based on the companies’s intellectual property.
They are, however, getting other things to help round out the app and make it a better value proposition.
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Disney brings its content new places
Disney has experimented by airing some of it, digital content on ABC and other platforms. That’s something you only want to do sparingly because if people knew they were going to be able to see the adventures of baby Yoda, Grogu if you must, simply by waiting, they might be willing to wait.
But, airing selective shows on broadcast or cable, perhaps before a new season arrives, can also sign ups. It’s a tricky path to navigate and Disney has also started using Disney+ as a hub for all the content it owns,
The Mouse House has been leveraging Hulu and ESPN to build out the Disney+ service.
“The presence of Hulu embedded in Disney+ basically from a user experience perspective and the addition of sports content is definitely having an impact, definitely having a positive impact. Not only is engagement up, but churn is down and significantly. And as we look ahead, it's obviously our desire and in fact, we're optimistic about being able to execute against it to turn the streaming business into a true growth business,” he shared during the company's first-quarter earnings call.
Iger thinks Disney's vast holdings allow him to build something no other company offers.
“So when you consider the Disney brands that are part of Disney+, the general entertainment that's part of Hulu and the volume, and then the live sports that will be part of the experience. In a way, there's nothing like it in the streaming world. It's unrivaled in terms of quality, in terms of volume and just in terms of variety. We're very excited about it,” he added..
Disney uses all its content tools
While Disney wants consumers to bundle Disney+ with Hulu, and ESPN+, the company clearly wants to make sure it protects its namesake streaming service. To do that, it has added a daily Disney+-specific edition of SportsCenter as well as some Hulu originals.
Iger spelled out the plan to keep Disney+ strong and grow the business. That includes leveraging some Hulu and ESPN content on Disney+ for everyone, and integrating the platforms for people who buy the full bundle.
“And as we see it, there are three ways to do it. One is, what we've just talked about, which is to continue to put Disney+ and Hulu together as a user experience. You'll see more of that in the months ahead. In addition, we plan when we launched ESPN direct-to-consumer to be really smart about bundling that. And for those that bundle, the experience will be fully integrated, that will be another big step,” he shared.
Iger was also clear that Disney+ needs to offer a better user experience.
“We're also hard at work in improving our basically the tech side of that business. We've taken a lot of steps already, including paid — including paid sharing, which we're just kicking in with Hulu that's also starting to work. A lot more in terms of personalization and customization, a lot on the ad-tech side and much more coming,” he added.
The CEO also has his eye on the entire world.
“And of course, the third pillar of growth will be investment in content, particularly outside the United States where we know that we need to invest more in local content and we've already started that process. It takes time and we don't really end up booking those costs until the shows air, but we're already starting to develop more aggressively in very, very targeted markets outside the United States.
