Amazon’s AVOD reaches new heights.
Amazon reported that it has nearly tripled its ad-supported streaming audience reach since last year from about 20 million monthly active viewers of ad-supported OTT content to more than 55 million. This figure includes IMDb TV and covers network and broadcaster apps like Discovery, CW, CNNGo, and CBS, which are also powered by Amazon. They also get a boost in ad-supported audience reach through its Fire TV platform which accounts for 50 million monthly active users.
The NPD Take:
- This isn’t a measure of an AVOD audience akin to Tubi TV, rather a measure of its advertising reach across all of the programming powered by Amazon Publisher Services, as such it should not be compared.
- Amazon’s marketplace approach continues to further the company’s audience reach through practically all methods of distributing programming.
Disney+ bundle offers ad-free Hulu
Disney has begun selling a version of its Disney+ bundle that includes ESPN+ and ad-free Hulu for $18.99 per month, approximately $6 less than paying for each service individually. The company still sells a $12.99 per month bundle that includes Hulu with ads. The $18.99 price point will only last until the end of March before Disney+ price increases take effect. The service will be priced at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, while the Disney Bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will increase a $1 to $13.99 per month.
The NPD Take:
- This is the first price increase in just over a year since Disney+ launched, and with many services increasing their costs recently, we don’t expect this modest $1/month increase to adversely affect the current subscriber base.
- The ad-free Hulu bundle should attract new customers who rather pay with their wallets rather than their eyeballs.