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To sweeten the deal for its upcoming Disney+ streaming, Disney has announced plans to bundle its three streaming services – which include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ – for $12.99 starting on November 12th. As we reported back in April, the Disney+ streaming service will fully support Chromecast out of the box, which means all services offered in the bundle from Disney can be enjoyed with Chromecast.
The announcement came as part of a company investor call on August 6th, where there was a lot of discussion about the upcoming release. The company is focused on the direct-to-consumer space and hopes to consolidate streaming services, creating a one-stop-shop for content.
“The incredible popularity of Disney’s brands and franchises positions us well as we launch Disney+, and the addition of original and library content from Fox will only further strengthen our direct-to-consumer offerings.” Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said in the company’s earnings report also released last week.
A Big win for Chromecast
This is a big win for Chromecast users who want to bundle and save. At $12.99, this option is potentially cheaper or at least comparable to other major streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix. The standard, stand-alone Disney+ plan costs $6.99. Both options for Disney+ will include the ad-supported plan for Hulu, which is currently available for $5.99/month if you were to purchase it separately. Additionally, ESPN+ will cost you $4.99/month, so when you consider the price of these services on their own, the price for the bundled option is totally justified. Considering the amount of content you will have access to, like Marvel and Star Wars movies, National Geographic, Pixar, sports, TV shows and more, $12.99 feels like an overall win for consumers.
When asked about international marketing for Disney+ and the other bundled services, Iger told investors that, “We don’t have anything to announce right now in terms of new markets that we’re going to launch in, but it’s safe to assume that we’re going to launch in multiple international markets within two years.”
We will have to wait and see how this rollout effects Hulu, currently not available in Canada, and ESPN+ who has regional licensing to deal with. One thing is certain – Disney is on track to soon provide a lot more content options for Chromecast users.
SOURCE: Disney’s Q3 FY19 Earnings Results Webcast via The Verge
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