HBO Max & Discovery+ join forces
As Discovery’s merger with WarnerMedia nears the finish line and is expected mid-2022, details are emerging around the company’s streaming strategy. Discovery+ and HBO Max will be bundled early on, before both services combine into a single DTC platform. Discovery is contemplating a single sign-on approach for the bundle.
The NPD Take:
- We see a new example of the great re-bundling just about every week. It’s all about optimizing subscriber acquisition and minimizing churn.
- The combination of these new services opens opportunities for a variation of service tiers all within the same platform – Is this starting to look a bit like cable?
Hulu offers $2.99 Disney+ add-on
Hulu has begun offering its SVOD subscribers the option of adding on Disney+ for $2.99/month, less than half what the streaming service costs on its own. Hulu's website shows the new offer, which is only available to Hulu-billed subscribers who don’t currently have a Disney+ subscription, including Hulu SVOD standalone, Hulu Black Friday and Hulu Student subscribers. Earlier this month, Disney revealed plans for a Disney+ ad-supported service which will be sold alongside the current ad-free Disney+ tier.
The NPD Take:
- As with WarnerMedia, Disney is building the structure to offer additional service tiers and giving consumers more choice.
- Now that the hyper growth portion of the streaming era is behind us, look for media companies to pull-out old school playbooks like this to attract new subscribers.
Tubi to focus on Originals
Fox announced that Tubi (its OTT streaming service) will focus on original content and deep library programming but with a smaller budget and non-premium. Original shows like the animated series The Freak Brothers and true crime show Meet, Marry, Murder will have an increasing role in the Tubi programming mix. Fox is anticipating airing around 80 new originals in the next year, double the number from last year.
The NPD Take:
- FAST channels are looking to differentiate in a crowded market. Watch for each company to lean into their respective content assets, with everyone digging into original programming.