Hulu and Fubo partnership
Disney announced it will purchase a controlling stake in Fubo and then combine its Hulu + Live TV vMVPD business with Fubo. Both services will also remain available as standalone subscriptions. The deal enables Fubo to create a new Sports & Broadcast service, which includes top Disney networks such as ABC, ESPN, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, and ESPN+. This deal surfaced and then Fubo dropped the lawsuit over sports streaming service Venu. But the fun didn’t end there. DirecTV and DISH said, wait that doesn’t solve the issue. And within days, Venu died.
The Circana Take:
- RIP Venu. You didn’t have core NFL programming, lost the NBA before you started and upset just about everyone.
- Let’s see how Disney builds and manages a sports bundle under the Fubo brand. It’s doubtful that this show is over.
Discovery+ price hike
Here we go, strap yourself in. Warner Bros. Discovery started 2025 raising the cost of its Discovery+ plans by $1 – the ad-supported tier is now $5.99/month and the ad-free tier increased to $9.99/month. Discovery+ content includes “90 Day franchise,” “My 600-lb Life,” and “Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition.” The last price hike for Discovery+ was in 2023, so you could say they are due. WBD raised the cost of Max ad-free tier last year.
The Circana Take:
- SVOD is looking a lot like cable with these annual price hikes. No wonder cancellation due to cost continues to rise. Look for more bundle varieties to surface to help minimize the churn.