STAMFORD, Conn. and BURBANK, Calif.—Charter Communications and The Walt Disney Co. have announced an expanded distribution agreement that brings Hulu (With Ads) to all Spectrum TV Select customers at no additional cost.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The new agreement expands a carriage agreement that was inked after a contentious 2023 blackout that allowed Charter to add Disney streaming services and reduce the number of networks it carried.

Under the new expanded agreement, Spectrum TV Select customers will have access later this summer to Hulu’s extensive library of hit TV series and films, plus award-winning Originals, alongside existing complimentary access to ad-supported Disney+ and ESPN's soon-to-launch streaming service, anticipated by the fall of 2025.

Charter said the expansion will give TV Select customers access to a premium entertainment experience with a retail streaming value of more than $100 per month.

The expanded agreement also will see the return of eight Disney-owned linear networks to Spectrum’s channel lineup: Disney Jr, Disney XD, Freeform, FXX, FXM, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo and BabyTV.

Charter and Disney reported that these channels expand Spectrum's entertainment offering and create meaningful value for both companies by boosting advertising reach and strengthening audience engagement across platforms.

The networks had been dropped from an carriage agreement signed in 2023 by Charter and Disney. At the time, Charter said the dropped channels were part of its effort to streamline and offer more cost-effective bundles.

That 2023 agreement also added access to Disney+ as part of Charter’s efforts to expand the streaming services it provides to customers.

“We began this journey to transform the video proposition for consumers with Disney, so it is befitting that this new agreement and the doubling down on our strategy continues with them,” Charter executive vice president, programming acquisition Tom Montemagno said. “This extension is a true testament to our mutual confidence in this innovative model—which already is showing improvement in subscriber churn—and our commitment to work creatively together to achieve win-win outcomes for both of us and most importantly for our customers—all achieved midcycle and absent from any of the typical pressures from expiring agreements.“

Added Disney Platform Distribution Executive Vice President Sean Breen: “With the addition of Hulu and the return of our full portfolio of channels, we're pleased to expand and extend our agreement with Charter—delivering the most robust and valuable combination of linear and streaming entertainment for years to come. This agreement reflects our continued focus on leaning into the strength of Disney's best-in-class programming across every genre and platform—and our shared commitment with Charter to building innovative, consumer-focused distribution models that drive value across the board.”

The renewed extension of Charter and Disney's carriage agreement will continue to be supported by marketing and promotional efforts.

Charter also will make Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, the various Disney Bundles and the forthcoming ESPN streaming service available for purchase to its extensive broadband-only customer base at retail rates, as well as provide TV Select customers the opportunity to upgrade to the ad-free tiers of the included streaming services.

At launch, customers will be able to stream Hulu's TV series, films and critically acclaimed Originals, as well as their live Spectrum TV channels, directly through Xumo Stream Box or on any Hulu-supported device.

LOS ANGELES—The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay Comcast an additional $437.8 billion for Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu, ending years of maneuvering and negotiation over who would take full control of the streaming service.

Disney had paid $8.6 billion in 2023 for the minority stake, but Comcast had asked for $5 billion more, which sent the issue to arbitration over the appraised value.

Disney has had operating control of Hulu, which was founded in 2007, since it acquired Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

Concluding the deal for Comcast’s stake, which is expected to close in July, will, however, give Disney more flexibility in how it packages its various streaming services, which include Hulu, Disney+ and the upcoming ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service.

“We are pleased this is finally resolved. We have had a productive partnership with NBCUniversal, and we wish them the best of luck,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu’s general entertainment content with Disney+ and, soon, with ESPN’s direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivaled value proposition for consumers.”

NEW YORK—In another example of how pay TV operators are looking to strengthen their bundled offerings by adding streaming services, Altice USA’s Optimum has launched a new bundled streaming offer for customers. As part of the offer, eligible video and internet customers will be provided with a promotional offer of six complimentary months of the Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic as a new add-on.

The new bundled streaming offer is scheduled to be available this week to eligible Optimum Extra TV, Everything TV, and Optimum Internet customers, giving them the ability to seamlessly subscribe to their favorite streaming content from the Disney+ and Hulu services directly through Optimum

Optimum noted that this offer is the first of many that the company plans to bring to customers, providing them with the ability to subscribe to more streaming and consumer subscription services directly as part of their Optimum bill.

“We know that our customers want more optionality when it comes to their connectivity and entertainment services, which is why we are excited to collaborate with Disney to deliver a new bundled offer that helps streamline consumers’ Optimum services and their streaming subscriptions,” said Mike Parker, president of Consumer Services at Optimum. “As we continue to enhance and evolve our bundle offerings and add-on experience suite, we are enabling customers to build their own curated content selection through Optimum – giving them more choice, flexibility and value to watch the content they want, how they want it.”

A new study suggests that the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” is proving to be a major financial success for NBCUniversal’s Peacock, generating an estimated $50 million in subscriber revenue in 2024 for the streaming service.

The data, which comes from Parrot Analytics’ Streaming Economics model, underscores the enduring power of live event programming in the streaming era and highlights the crucial role of “SNL” in attracting and retaining Peacock subscribers, the researchers reported.

The Streaming Economics data also indicated that Q4 2024 marked a streaming milestone: “SNL” generated $18.4 million in subscriber revenue for Peacock—matching the peak revenue the show earned across Hulu and Peacock when it was available on both (Q2 2022).

Parrot Analytics also noted that by the end of 2024, the cumulative revenue SNL had generated for Peacock since first-quarter 2020 surpassed its total revenue for Hulu over the same period. Its Streaming Economics model calculates that SNL delivered $50M in Peacock subscriber revenue for all of 2024.

“While that’s below the peak 12-month value earned across both Hulu and Peacock ($67M from Q3 2021-Q2 2022), the latest season is clearly delivering this current value, given the show’s topical nature,” the researchers reported. “Of course, this doesn’t account for ad revenue and other monetization channels, but it shows that Peacock’s subscriber revenue alone covers roughly half the reported cost of producing a season—a compelling indicator of the show's streaming strength.”

The Walt Disney Co. announced today that it is acquiring a majority stake in streaming service Fubo TV and combining it with its Hulu + Live TV MVPD service, resulting in a combined U.S. subscriber base of 6.2 million. The combined business will operate under the Fubo publicly traded company name and be led by the current management team; Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available to consumers as separate offerings.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, at closing Disney will own about 70% of Fubo. Fubo’s existing management team, led by Fubo Co-founder and CEO David Gandler, will operate the newly combined Fubo and Hulu + Live TV businesses.

The merger puts an end to a contentious period between the two companies in which Fubo has battled Disney over what it views as unfair competition from Disney’s collaboration with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery on the new Venu streaming service. A judge halted the launch of Venu last August over antitrust concerns.

As part of the deal, the two companies said they have settled all litigation. Disney has also inked a new carriage agreement with Fubo that will allow Fubo to create a new Sports & Broadcast service, featuring Disney’s sports and broadcast networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network and ESPNEWS, as well as ESPN+. The combined company will negotiate carriage agreements with content providers for both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo services independently from Disney.

But it didn’t come without a cost: As part of the deal, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will make an aggregate cash payment to Fubo of $220 million. In addition, Disney has committed to provide a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026 as part of the transaction.

Additionally, a termination fee of $130 million will be payable to Fubo under certain circumstances, including if the transaction fails to close due to the failure to obtain requisite regulatory approvals on the terms and conditions set forth in the definitive agreement.

Although the merger will provide a subscriber boost, Hulu + Live TV will still rank behind YouTube TV in terms of subscribers. YouTube TV most recently reported about 8 million subscribers, but that was a year ago and does not reflect the affect of last month’s $10 rate hike will have on numbers going forward. YouTube TV now costs $83 per month while a subscription to Hulu + Live TV (which also includes Hulu original content, something YouTube does not), ranges between $82 and $95 per month.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, Fubo shareholder approval, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Disney to create a consumer-first streaming company that combines the strengths of the Fubo and Hulu + Live TV brands,” Gandler said. “This combination enables us to deliver on our promise to provide consumers with greater choice and flexibility. Additionally, this agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubo’s balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow. It’s a win for consumers, our shareholders, and the entire streaming industry.”

Added Disney Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development Justin Warbrooke: “This combination will allow both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo to enhance and expand their virtual MVPD offerings and provide consumers with even more choice and flexibility. We have confidence in the Fubo management team and their ability to grow the business, delivering high-quality offerings that serve subscribers with the content they want and offering great value.”

Fox Entertainment and Hulu have renewed a multi-year content distribution agreement that will keep in-season streaming rights for Fox’s programming slate on Disney’s Hulu streaming service for the next four years.

If advertising is included, the deal is valued at more than $1.5 billion, Deadline reported, citing anonymous sources.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fox primetime entertainment programming—ranging from “The Masked Singer,” “The Floor” and “Gordon Ramsay’s Next-Level Chef” to “Bob’s Burgers,” “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “Animal Control,” and the new Fox fall dramas, “Rescue: HI-Surf” and “Murder in a Small Town”—will continue to stream on Hulu one day after airing on Fox.

The agreement also allows Hulu to stream out-of-season episodes of key Fox unscripted programs and includes an extension of the successful, expansive marketing alliance established in 2023.

Disney’s 20th Television produces a number of shows for Fox, including “The Simpsons.”

The agreement will provide Hulu with a secure source of highly profitable content as Disney is looking to boost subscribers and improve its streaming profits by bundling it with its other streaming services, Disney+ and ESPN+.

“The long-standing, valued partnership we have with Fox has cemented Hulu as the next-day streaming home for current Fox hits and out-of-season episodes of key Fox titles, and we’re excited to continue offering these scripted, unscripted and animated series to our subscribers,” Hulu General Manager Lauren Tempest said. “Our collective marketing efforts, which will continue with this new deal, have generated impressive results and helped viewers successfully find the shows they want to watch, when they want to watch them.”

Added Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade: “Our friends at Hulu and Disney Entertainment are exceptional partners, together driving ongoing mutual growth and strong results. Through our new agreement, we look forward to expanding on this impressive track record and collaboratively shaping the future of television in today’s shifting media landscape.”

As part of its newest earnings report, Disney reported first profits from its streaming operations. The company also unveiled widespread price hikes for its streaming services that will see increases for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ taking effect on Oct. 17.  

In its earnings report for its Q3 fiscal year ending June 29, 2024 Disney produced small net profit of $47 million for its streaming operations compared to a $512 million loss a year ago in the same quarter. For the first three quarters of the year, streaming operations had $18.642 billion in revenue and a loss of $187 million. 

Revenue from streaming operations in the third quarter of its fiscal rose by 15% from a year earlier to $6.379 billion but subscriber growth was relatively small. Hulu added 900K to end the quarter at 51.1 million and core Disney subscribers (excluding its Hotstar operations) increased by 700K to 118.3 million globally. 

Improved financials results for Disney’s streaming operations have been helped by price hikes, which the company said are set to continue. 

On October 17, the Disney+ ad supported tier will go up 25% to $9.99 while Disney+ without ads will increase by 14% to $15.99. Hulu see the ad-supported tier increase to $9.99 and ad free offering growing to $18.99 while ESPN+ and the bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ is getting a $2 price hike. 

The full list of the new pricing is below. 

BURBANK, Calif.—The Walt Disney Company has officially launched Hulu on Disney+ in the U.S. in a move that brings together the extensive Disney+ and Hulu libraries in one place for Disney Bundle subscribers. 

The offering highlights an industry-wide trend towards bundling content that will make it easier for subscribers to find content and improve the value of streaming apps for fickle consumers who continue to regularly add and drop services at alarming rates. 

Disney said that the new experience offers is a seamless showcase of the value of the Disney Bundle that allows Bundle subscribers (or those who hold subscriptions to both standalone apps) to stream extensive Hulu content, including favorites like Grey’s Anatomy, Only Murders in the Building, Poor Things and The Bear, directly in the Disney+ app. Bundle plans are available starting at $9.99/month, while Disney+ and Hulu each remain available as standalone offerings.

“The collective power of Disney+ and Hulu – outstanding originals from the most powerful brands and studios in the industry, libraries filled with decades of iconic favorites, and industry-leading advertising and technological capabilities – is transformative,” said Joe Earley, president of Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment. “Today’s official launch of Hulu on Disney+ gives viewers even more opportunities to easily discover and enjoy thousands of titles all in one place, underscoring the extraordinary value of the Disney Bundle.”

Aaron LaBerge, President & CTO, Disney Entertainment & ESPN added, “This marks the most significant technical, operational, and product evolution for Disney+ since its launch – one that reflects a wider technology transformation that we have been undertaking. That work is going to drive an enhanced, more engaging user experience with Disney+ and lays the foundation for the innovations and enhancements we are planning for the future.”

With the launch, subscribers can see the full Hulu on Disney+ experience which includes Hulu titles integrated in recommendations, sets, and collections on Disney+. That will make it easier, Disney reported, for subscribers to discover thousands of general entertainment titles and explore the impressive breadth and depth of Hulu and Disney+ content via a more personalized experience – without having to move between apps. 

For standalone Disney+ subscribers, Hulu content merchandised across Disney+ will now come with expanded upsell options across additional devices, making it more convenient to upgrade their subscription to the Bundle starting at only $2/month more.

As part of the launch, Disney has also started a “360-degree marketing campaign” including out-of-home placements, custom broadcast and digital spots, cross-branded social media posts, bi-coastal experiential stunts, including on-site activations at the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, and more throughout the coming days and weeks. 

The roll out also features refreshed branding for Disney+, including a refined logo, color palette, and orchestral mnemonic created by Academy Award-winning composer Ludwig Göransson. This evolution blends Hulu’s signature green into the legacy Disney+ blue, creating a premium and elevated feel to welcome Hulu on Disney+ and mark a new chapter in storytelling for the streaming service.

BURBANK, Calif.—The Walt Disney Company reported mixed streaming subscriber numbers, with Hulu gaining 1.2 million subs and its core Disney+ operations losing 1.3 million subs in its Q1 2024 fiscal year, but its stock was up by 11.3% at 11:10 a.m. ET on Feb. 8 as the company dramatically beat expectations on earnings and its streaming losses continued to sharply decline.  

The company stressed that it continues to expect to reach profitability at its combined streaming businesses in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and its Q1 Entertainment DTC operating losses improved by nearly $300 million versus the prior quarter. It also noted that Hulu subscribers increased by 1.2 million from the prior quarter and Disney+ Core subscribers decreased sequentially by 1.3 million. 

The company had previously issued guidance to investors to expect Disney+ sub losses, given a substantial price hike in the quarter as well as the end of the global summer promotion. Looking forward, it noted that they are expecting “Disney+ Core subscriber net additions of between 5.5 and 6 million and ongoing positive momentum in ARPU in the second quarter.”

Streaming DTC loses were $138 million in its fiscal Q1 2024 quarter ending Dec. 31, 2023, a substantial improvement from the nearly $1 billion losses ($984 million) a year earlier. 

Disney+ ended the quarter with 46.1 million domestic subs in U.S. and Canada and 111.3 million globally (excluding its Indian Disney+ Hotstar operations.) 

Hulu meanwhile ended the quarter with 45.1 million subs in U.S. and Canada and its virtual MVPD had 4.6 million, about the same as the previous quarter. 

BELLEVUE, Wash.—With more Americans relying on mobile 5G services to access streaming video, T-Mobile is adding Hulu on Us to its suite of complementary streaming services for those subscribing to its Go5G plan. 

Hulu will become the fourth free streaming service on the plan on January 24. 

With the launch Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products at T-Mobile said that Hulu will be offered along with Apple TV+, Netflix and MLB.TV at no extra cost to Go5G Next customers.

“That’s over $400 a year in streaming benefits, from the very best services in the market, all included in your plan at no extra cost,” he said. 

With Hulu on Us—a $95.88 annual value for the Hulu (With Ads) monthly plan option—T-Mobile customers on Go5G Next can access thousands of hit TV shows, movies and more like “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and “Only Murders in the Building,” the carrier said. 

Currently its 5G network covers more than 330 million people across two million square miles — more coverage area than AT&T and Verizon combined. In addition 300 million people nationwide are covered by T-Mobile’s super-fast Ultra Capacity 5G with over 2x more square miles of coverage than similar mid-band 5G offerings from the Un-carrier’s closest competitors.

More information is available at https://www.t-mobile.com/benefits.

NEW YORK—Speaking at the UBS Global TMT Conference, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said that its streaming service Peacock has hit 30 million paying subscribers and that Comcast received a $8.61 billion payment from Disney for Comcast’s stake in Hulu on Dec. 1.

That payment was based on an initial valuation of $27.5 billion; many analysts predict that Hulu will be valued higher and that Disney will end up paying more to buyout Comcast. 

The two companies are currently in the contentious process of coming up with a final valuation. 

During the conference, Cavanagh said that they were “at 30 million paying subscribers for Peacock now…at roughly $10 monthly ARPU" and that having achieved those numbers "in only three years” was a notable accomplishment. 

He also said that losses for the streaming service are “going to peak this year at $2.8 billion of losses.” That is under the $3 billion in losses the company predicted in January. 

In terms of Hulu, Cavanagh said that the Disney payment “represents the beginning of the process to value,” and that “we expect and certainly hope to get more than that once the process ends, but it's really just the beginning.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition has announced that two new members have joined its ranks: Hulu and YouTube TV.

The coalition is opposing efforts by broadcasters to get the FCC to change rules on how vMVPDs are classified by arguing that the proposed changes would restrict consumer streaming choices and hurt the online video market.

"Having Hulu and YouTube TV on board amplifies our message and reinforces our commitment to ensuring that consumers continue to enjoy a wealth of choices in the streaming era," said Bryce Harlow, spokesperson for the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition. "Their decision to join us is a testament to the momentum we're building and the shared belief in the importance of a competitive streaming market devoid of burdensome regulations."

The Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition was formed in response to calls to revisit proposed FCC rule changes regarding vMVPDs. Broadcast station groups would like to see the FCC reclassify vMVPDs as traditional cable and pay TV operators, which would change the way retransmission consent fees are negotiated. Currently the companies who own the broadcast network negotiate those fees with vMVPDs, not the station owners, who directly handle negotiations with traditional cable operators. Broadcast station groups have launched The Coalition for Local News Advocacy to lobby for changes in the rule. 

Station groups argue this change would allow them to negotiate higher fees while the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition argues that this could force online video providers and streaming platforms to negotiate for content they don't own, potentially hindering innovation and driving up costs for consumers. 

The coalition also argues that changing the rules would significantly impact the online video market, which has provided consumers with unprecedented access to diverse content, from news and entertainment to sports. 

LOS ANGELES—In a much-anticipated deal that will have major implications for the streaming landscape in the U.S., the Walt Disney Company has agreed to purchase the 33% stake in Hulu held by Comcast for at least $8.61 billion.

The agreement comes after months of speculation as to whether Disney would buy Comcast’s stake or sell its stake to Comcast. 

The price could go higher if the final appraised value is increased. 

Disney made the announcement following Comcast’s November 1 exercise of its right under the put/call arrangement between the two companies. 

The deal will strengthen Disney’s streaming ambitions by giving it more freedom to allocate investments across its Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN streaming services and to bundle the services. 

The sale will provide Comcast with cash to invest in Peacock and but it raises questions about the longer-term future of NBC broadcast network content on Hulu and Hulu's programming strategy. 

Under the terms of the put/call arrangement, by December 1, Disney expects it will pay NBCU approximately $8.61 billion, representing NBCU’s percentage of the $27.5 billion guaranteed floor value for Hulu that was set when the companies entered into their agreement in 2019 minus the anticipated outstanding capital call contributions payable by NBCU to Disney, the companies said. 

In announcing the deal, Disney said that under the appraisal process agreed to by Disney and Comcast, Hulu’s equity fair value will be assessed as of September 30, 2023, and if the value is ultimately determined to be greater than the guaranteed floor value, Disney will pay NBCU its percentage of the difference between the equity fair value and the guaranteed floor value. While the timing of the appraisal process is uncertain, Disney said the deal should be completed during the 2024 calendar year.

“We look forward to the appraisal process and the determination of Hulu’s fair market value which we expect will reflect the extraordinary value of the business," Comcast said in a statement. 

Disney and Comcast have agreed to speed up talks on the sale of Hulu, according to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology investor conference on Weds. Sept. 6. 

Roberts also said that he believed the price for Hulu could be worth more than the previously agreed minimum valuation of $27.5 billion. 

The two companies had previously agreed that Disney had the right to acquire Comcast’s one third stake in Hulu at a price that values the entire company at no lower than $27.5 billion.

Alternatively, Disney could sell its controlling stake to Comcast, a prospect that had seemed to be unlikely until this year, when Iger said he would consider selling Hulu given the company’s debt and ongoing streaming losses. 

During the Goldman Sachs conference, however, Roberts said he expected Disney would exercise its right to buy out Comcast’s stake and that it would be valued at at least $30 billion. Hulu is a “scarce kingmaker asset,” Roberts said. 

BURBANK, Calif.—Disney posted only slight direct-to-consumer subscriber gains in the quarter ending July 1, 2023, but saw significant progress on its plans to cut streaming losses as losses in its DTC segment fell from $1.064 billion a year ago to $512 million for the Q3 FY2023 ending July 1, 2023.  

Domestic U.S. and Canada Disney+ subs fell from 46.3 million subs for the quarter ending April 1, 2023 to 46.0 million in its Q3 FY 2023. But global core Disney+ subs increased to 105.7 million, up from 104.9 million in April. 

The global core Disney+ sub counts exclude Disney’s troubled Disney+ Hotstar in India service that saw a massive sub drop to 40.4 million in July 1, 2023 from 52.9 million in April. 

ESPN+ held basically steady, at 25.2 million in Q3, FY2023 from 25.3 million in April.

Hulu SVOD only service increased from 43.7 million in April to 44.0 million in Q3 FY2023 while Hulu’s vMVPD service saw slight decline from 4.4 million in April to 4.3 million on July 1 of Q3 FY2023. 

“Our results this quarter are reflective of what we’ve accomplished through the unprecedented transformation we’re undertaking at Disney to restructure the company, improve efficiencies, and restore creativity to the center of our business,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “In the eight months since my return, these important changes are creating a more cost- effective, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations that has put us on track to exceed our initial goal of $5.5 billion in savings as well as improved our direct-to-consumer operating income by roughly $1 billion in just three quarters. While there is still more to do, I’m incredibly confident in Disney’s long-term trajectory because of the work we’ve done, the team we now have in place, and because of Disney’s core foundation of creative excellence and popular brands and franchises.”

More to come after the completion of Disney’s earning’s call with analysts. 

BALTIMORE, Md.—Sinclair, Inc. has announced a new distribution agreement with Hulu that will add carriage of Tennis Channel, T2, Comet and Charge! to Hulu + Live TV, beginning January 2024.

The deal will give Hulu + Live TV subs access in early 2024 to Tennis Channel, which provides both coverage of the professional sports and tennis lifestyle content, T2, Tennis Channel’s first free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel, Sinclair’s Comet, which features sci-fi and fantasy entertainment programming, and Charge!, which offers a lineup of police procedural dramas.

BURBANK, Calif.—Disney reported declines in its flagship Disney+ streaming service in Q2 of its 2023 fiscal year ending April 1, 2023 while reducing the losses from its streaming services. 

Revenue slightly beat Wall Street expectations but earnings per share slightly missed. The  stock down by 8.2% by 11:25 a.m. ET on May 11.   

The quarter marked the second straight quarter of sub losses at Disney+.  

Disney+ subs fell by 4 million in the quarter ending April 1, 2023 to 157.8 million worldwide, while domestic U.S. & Canada Disney+ subs declined to 46.3 million from 46.6 million at the end of 2022.  

Meanwhile Hulu subscribers grew to 48.2 million in the quarter ending April 1, 2023, up from 48 million at the end of 2022. Hulu Live TV +SVOD fell from 4.5 million at the end of 2022 to 4.4 million in April 1, 2023.  

ESPN+ subs grew to 25.3 million by April 1, 2023 from 24.9 million at the end of 2022. 

The company did make good on its promise to reduce losses from its direct-to-consumer streaming efforts. 

Direct-to-consumer revenue grew by 12% from a year earlier to $5.514 billion while operating losses fell to $659 million in the quarter ending April 1, 2023, a 26% decline from the $887 million operating loss reported a year earlier. 

“We’re pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we’ve been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “From movies to television, to sports, news, and our theme parks, we continue to deliver for consumers, while establishing a more efficient, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations.”

ARLINGTON, Va.—PBS announced an agreement that will bring live streams of local stations and the PBS Kids channel to Hulu + Live TV, which has 4.5 million subscribers. 

Participating PBS stations reaching audiences in more than 300 markets and cities across the country will become available on Hulu + Live TV over the next few months, with the full launch slated for completion by the end of year, PBS reported. 

“We are thrilled that one of the largest live TV streaming services is now home to quality local programming from PBS Member Stations,” said PBS chief digital and marketing officer, Ira Rubenstein. “As more and more households look to digital streaming offerings, this announcement is part of our commitment to meet audiences where they are with the PBS programming they know and love. PBS will continue to make trusted content available to all households across as many platforms as possible. We thank Hulu + Live TV for working with us to provide our viewers with more ways to watch programs through their local PBS station.”

“As one of the largest live TV streaming services in the U.S., we are committed to providing a best-in-class user experience and a premium national and local channel line-up for our millions of subscribers” said Reagan Feeney, senior vice president of live tv content programming and partnerships for Hulu. “PBS and PBS Kids are among the most frequently requested channels by our subscribers, and we’re thrilled to add them to our core line-up that now includes more than 90 live channels.”

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar Media Group has reached a new multi-year distribution agreement with Hulu that will make 122 of the  company’s local television stations and its cable news network, NewsNation, available to subscribers of Hulu + Live.

The deal also provides for the launch of Nexstar’s MyNetworkTV affiliates and independent stations on the virtual MVPD. 

Financial terms of the agreement were not released. 

A new survey of U.S. consumers by Reviews.org provides some good news for pioneering services like Netflix while highlighting some serious problems for the overall industry regarding subscription fatigue, password sharing and fickle subscribers who are cancelling subscriptions at alarming rates.  

On the positive side, some pioneering streaming services continue to maintain consumer interest despite growing streaming subscription fatigue. About 43% of U.S. consumers named Netflix as the service they would choose if they could only have one service, more than double those choosing Prime Video (17%), Hulu (16%), Peacock (8%), HBO Max (7%), and Paramount+ (5%). 

As streaming choices over the past 2 years have exploded, the survey also found that consumers are overwhelmed with choice – and not just from the amount of content itself, but the amount of streaming subscriptions to choose from. 

That helped convince 39% to cancel a service in the last six months and 55% to subscribe to a new service. Top reasons for canceling were cutting back on monthly expenses (44%), followed by not watching enough (37%), using a different streaming service more often (9%) and favorite shows no longer available (6%). 

While Netflix was the most valued service, it was also the most canceled, with 21% reporting that they had dropped their subscription in the last six months. Hulu was the second most dropped (20%), followed by Peacock (14%) and HBO Max (13%). 

Password sharing also remains rampant, with nearly two in four reporting that they shared a login. 

The complete report is available here. 

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—The Hulu original streaming series "Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part II" has launched an interactive gaming experience to help promote the eight-part series. 

In the interactive digital gaming experience, which is available to play online and on Xbox, fans can interact with the show's characters voiced by the star-studded cast, including Ike Barinholtz, Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Mel Brooks, who has been involved with several previous gaming projects.

The interactive website version of the History of the World, Part II gaming experience embraces the crass humor and absurd silliness of the show by beginning with a section showing that the world didn't begin with a 'big bang'. The real origin, which is shown by various characters farting and burping, was actually 'The Big Burp.' 

The History of the World, Part II digital gaming experience is available to download FREE on Xbox until March 31, 2023, and for desktop and mobile play until July 6, 2023. Players who complete the interactive gaming experience are eligible to win prizes, including a brand-new Xbox.

The game can be accessed online here.  

NEW YORK—Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger noted that media companies are in a “tricky” place these days, with their traditional pay TV and linear TV businesses collapsing and their new streaming businesses still too nascent to make up for lost revenue and push them into profits. 

“There are six or seven basically well funded, aggressive streaming businesses out there, all seeking the same subscribers in many cases competing for the same content,” Iger said in a transcript of an interview at the Morgan Stanley conference produced by Seeking Alpha. “Not everybody's going to win.”

“So what we're doing right now is we own two-thirds of Hulu, and we have an agreement with Comcast that may result in us owning 100%, is that we're really studying the business very, very carefully, all those competitive dynamics with an understanding that we have a good platform in Hulu,” he continued. “We have very strong original programming, actually highly awarded original programming, some delivered by FX, which is a great not only producer but brand. And we also have a good library. So it's a solid platform, and it's also a very attractive platform for advertisers. It's already proven to be valuable for them, and advertising has proven to be valuable for us.”

“But the environment is very, very tricky right now,” he admitted. “And before we make any big decisions about our level of investment, our commitment to that business, we want to understand where it could go. The whole streaming business other than Netflix, which is relatively mature, it's a nascent business for most of us. And we're also at an interesting point in the world from a media perspective where a lot of people are still getting linear programming or consuming media on traditional platforms.”

“And while I think I've said publicly that the future of linear I don't believe is very bright and eventually, I think everything will migrate to streaming, we're not quite there yet,” Iger said. “And so, you have erosion of a traditional platform and its economics and some growth in the new platform but not the kind of compelling growth that we’ll all need to be profitable. And I think it's just a tricky period of time.”

While Iger declined to say whether Disney would sell its stake to Comcast or buy out Comcast’s minority stake for full control this year, the Disney CEO stressed that “I’m generally bullish on streaming as a great consumer proposition, as a really robust platform to deliver high quality content under easily used circumstances. And I am extremely bullish on some of our streaming prospects, notably Disney+, which grew to just such an -- at such a meteoric rate.”

In terms of the challenges streamers face in reducing profits and producing profits, Iger noted that price hikes, reducing the cost of production and advertising would play a role. 

“I think, in our zeal to grow global subs, I think we were off in terms of that pricing strategy,” he said. “And we're now starting to learn more about it, and to adjust accordingly. And when you think about streaming in general, it's a consumer delight in the sense that we used to talk often when it came to linear programming about à la carte, it’s the ultimate à la carte proposition for the consumer. And while I'm pro consumer, generally, I think we have to take a look at how easy it is for the consumer to not just sign on, but sign on sometimes under promotional circumstances where it's not only less expensive, in some cases, it's free, and the signing you get for three months, you get one month free, watch all you want in a month, so sign off that and go to another one that's doing the same thing. So, I think we have a lot of rationalization to do from a pricing perspective. But, that's one path to profitability, another is we do have to grow subs. A third is basically coming to grips with rising costs of production, and also figuring out just how much volume we need for that platform.”

“The other thing I didn't mention in terms of path to profitability is advertising, which is also still very new on that platform,” Iger added later. “And when you think about a relatively reduced ad load, the purity of those brands and the specificity of that audience and an audience is not only very engaged, but loyal, it's an advertiser's delight. And that's very new for us.”

LOS ANGELES—In an interview with CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Iger noted that he was open to selling the streaming service Hulu, saying that “[e]verything is on the table right now, so I am not going to speculate whether we are a buyer or a seller of it. But I obviously have suggested that I’m concerned about undifferentiated general entertainment, particularly in the competitive landscape that we are operating in, and we are going to look at it very objectively and expansively.”

Disney has to either buy out Comcast’s one third stake or sell its stake to Comcast by 2024. 

It is currently facing pressure from Wall Street to make its streaming business profitable. In its quarterly earnings call this week, Iger announced plans to cut costs by $5.5 billion dollars and ax 7,000 jobs as part of a larger restructuring. 

"We are targeting $5.5 billion of cost savings across the company," Iger said. "First, reductions to our non-content costs will total roughly $2.5 billion not adjusted for inflation. $1 billion in savings is already underway....But in general, the savings will come from reductions in SG&A and other operating costs across the company. To help achieve this, we will be reducing our workforce by approximately 7,000 jobs. While this is necessary to address the challenges we are facing today, I do not make this decision lightly. I have enormous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees worldwide and I am mindful of the personal impact of these changes. On the content side, we expect to deliver approximately $3 billion in savings over the next few years, excluding sports."

Most analysts had expected Disney to buyout Comcast but the pressure to cut costs and reduce debt may give Comcast an opening. 

Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in Sept. that it would like to buy Hulu, calling it a "phenomenal" business. 

In its earnings report for Q1 of its 2023 fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2022, Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer revenues increased 13% to $5.3 billion and operating loss increased $0.5 billion to $1.1 billion. The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+ and a decrease in results at Hulu, partially offset by improved results at ESPN+, Disney said. 

Disney+ subs in the U.S. and Canada were virtually flat, rising from 46.4 million in October 1, 2022 to 46.6 million at the end of Dec. 31, 2022 while total Disney+ subs globally declined from 164.2 million to 161.8 million.

Hulu’s subs grew slightly from 47.2 million to 48 million, including its virtual pay TV service Hulu+ Live TV, which had 4.5 million subs.

ESPN+ also saw slow growth from 24.3 million to 24.9 million

LOS ANGELES—Fox Entertainment and Hulu have signed a new multi-year content deal and an extensive multi-platform strategic marketing alliance that will keep Fox’s primetime shows on the streaming platform. 

As usual financial terms of the carriage deal were not disclosed. 

Under the terms of the agreement, all Fox primetime entertainment programming – ranging from "Family Guy" and "The Cleaning Lady" to "The Masked Singer" and "Next Level Chef" -- will continue to stream on Hulu the next day following its linear telecast. 

Additionally, the deal includes a major marketing alliance, whereby Fox and Hulu will work together on messaging for Fox's live and on-demand content.

When Disney bought most of 21st Century Fox’s assets, it got Fox’s stake in Hulu, giving it majority control, and studio operations that produce a number of Fox shows. 

“Our long-standing, valued partnership with Hulu consistently generates impressive results and creates an important pathway for our scripted, unscripted and animated series to maximize viewer reach,” said Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment. “Under this new deal, Fox solidifies its longer-term streaming strategy, while harnessing the power and strength of both Hulu and Fox to better serve our audiences and bring visibility to premium content across our streaming and linear platforms.”

“Continuing to be the next-day streaming home for current Fox hits, along with out-of-season episodes of well-loved Fox titles, reinforces Hulu’s unique position in the streaming space – as the only SVOD service to carry next-day series from multiple broadcast networks,” said Joe Earley, president of Hulu. “Fox has always been a great partner, but now Rob and his teams are leveling-up our relationship with their new marketing commitments, helping viewers understand where they can watch all of these shows.”

The new deal follows the major program output deal between the two companies unveiled last February that allows Hulu to stream all out-of-season episodes of key Fox unscripted and animated programs.

Fox’s series produced by Disney Television Studios include "9-1-1", "9-1-1: Lone Star" and "The Resident", and the animated series "The Simpsons", "Family Guy", "Bob’s Burgers" and "The Great North".

LONDON—As SVoD services in the US mature, pricing and bundling are key to retention, according to a recent report by Ampere Analysis. Newer platforms (including Disney+) tend to have higher levels of both sign-up and churn as they rely more heavily on individual title launches, while established SVoD platforms’ sign-up and churn rates are much more affected by pricing changes, Ampere said.

Ampere’s latest analysis shows that bundling is key to help mitigate price sensitivity, with Hulu and Disney+ having both benefitted in terms of sign-up and churn from the strength of the Disney Bundle.

With U.S. SVoD homes now having access to an average of 4.5 streaming services, newer SVoD players are continuing to see strong gross additions to their subscriber base. But the increasingly saturated SVoD market presents growing challenges for established services to maintain success, according to Ampere. As U.S. consumers edge closer to the stacking “ceiling,” attracting new subscribers and mitigating churn is more important than ever.

Because of this, retention is becoming a key battleground—for all SVoD platforms, leavers are primarily in younger, lower-income demographics, who are more sensitive to pricing and content offering. Discounted ad-supported tiers will mitigate churn here.

Another option to address price sensitivity is bundling. Hulu’s US sign-up and cancellation rates now mimic those of Disney+, as its users increasingly purchase their subscription through the bundle. Almost one third (32%) of Hulu subscribers have bundled with Disney+.

Pricing is key for established players, while new services rely on regular content releases, Ampere said. Disney+ uses franchise title releases and its first live broadcast to drive sign-ups. 

The first large peak in daily sign-ups seen on Sept. 8, 2022 corresponds with Disney+ Day, an annual event that marks the release of exclusive premieres and the announcement of upcoming content. This year’s Disney+ Day saw the release of big franchise titles including Thor: Love and Thunder, Pinocchio, and Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return. The next large peaks fall on Sept. 19, 2022, with the premiere of season 31 of Dancing with the Stars, and on Sept. 30, 2022, with the release of Hocus Pocus 2.

“The increasingly competitive SVoD market makes it hard for established services to maintain growth, while newer players continue to see strong gross additions but struggle to retain those customers,” said Mayssa Jamil, analyst at Ampere Analysis. “Pricing and content offering being the main drivers for sign-up and churn, a great way to aid customer retention is through bundling: it combines both of the above by offering larger catalogues and more frequent content additions at cheaper prices. We see this at play when looking at the way Hulu and Disney+ sign up and churn rates increasingly mimic one another thanks to the strength of the Disney Bundle.”

LOS ANGELES—A combined offering of Disney+ and Hulu would account for the largest share of the 100 most popular titles of any U.S. subscription video on demand service, accounting for approximately 30%, a comprehensive lead over second place Netflix’s 23% according to a recent study by Ampere Analysis. 

Hulu is currently owned by Disney (67%) and Comcast (33%), who are due to reach a sale agreement in January 2024. However, recent reports suggest that Disney intends to close a deal earlier to take a 100% stake and integrate the streamer into Disney+ as a combined offering, giving subscribers access to popular titles from Disney’s Marvel Studios or Lucasfilm and Hulu originals like Only Murders in the Building and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Currently, subscribers to Hulu Plus Live TV already get a free subscription to premium or ad-supported versions of Disney+ at either $70 or $76 per month

Amper says a merger “seems logical,” as Disney’s share of Hulu content has grown significantly, suggesting that the company has continued to invest considerably in the platform. Since September 2016, the proportion of Hulu’s catalogue to which Disney owns the distribution rights has tripled, from 6% of all movies and TV shows to 19% by September 2022.

Meanwhile, the major studios without streaming platforms have reduced their contribution to Hulu’s content slate (down from 81% in 2016 to 71% in 2022), and those with their own streaming services have generally maintained or reduced their input. Specifically, the combined content from NBCUniversal, Paramount Global, and Warner Bros. Discovery now makes up less than 10% of all TV shows and movies on Hulu.

Ampere says the removal of content from Hulu to support newer services like Peacock, Paramount+ and HBO Max poses a threat to Hulu’s competitiveness. The streamer has already lost highly popular titles like America’s Got Talent (to Peacock), movies and TV shows set within the Star Trek universe (to Paramount+) or Family Matters (to HBO Max).

If major studios reclaim their proprietary content, Hulu could lose 10% of its overall catalogue. This figure rises to 37% of Hulu’s 100 most popular titles, using Ampere’s Popularity Score metric, which tracks overall online engagement with a title, the research firm said.

“The threat of further popular or critically acclaimed titles leaving Hulu for rival platforms is a concern as engaging content is critical for subscriber retention, especially as the US SVoD market nears saturation,” says Christen Tamisin, Analyst at Ampere Analysis. “This risk makes the argument for Disney to merge Hulu and Disney+ into a single platform stronger.”

“On the other hand, Disney+ and Hulu’s complementary catalogues mean a combined platform would have a more diverse content offering—akin to other major market players—than the two standalone platforms have currently. While the Disney brand has long been associated with family-friendly content, Hulu has a broader, general-audience appeal, offering a wide range of genres and more adult-targeted titles.”

The report was issued a day after Disney announced the return of former CEO Bob Iger, replacing Bob Chapek, who is stepping down. 

LOS ANGELES—Disney reported large subscriber gains for its direct-to-consumer offerings in the company’s Q4 earnings for fiscal year 2022 ending Oct. 1 as its top executives told investors that it had lined up more than 100 advertisers for the launch of the Disney+ offering with ads in December and that operating losses for its streaming services have peaked. 

The company is still expecting the direct-to-consumer services to become profitable in fiscal 2024. 

Overall, global subs for Disney+ increased by 39% year over year to 164.2 million in Q4, while ESPN+ grew 42% to 24.3 million and Hulu recorded a more modest 8% growth to 47.2 million. 

Hulu’s sub counts included its Live TV + SVOD virtual MVPD offering that increased 10% to 4.4 million subs from a year earlier. 

Total global subs hit 235 million. 

Direct-to-Consumer revenues for the quarter increased 8% to $4.9 billion and operating loss increased $0.8 billion to $1.5 billion, the company reported. The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+ and a decrease in results at Hulu, partially offset by improved results at ESPN+.

However in the earnings call with investors Disney CEO Bob Chapek said losses from its streaming services had peaked based on several factors and that the company still expects them to become profitable in fiscal 2024. 

"First, the benefit of both price increases and the launch of the Disney+ ad tier next month,” will help reduce losses, he said. “Second, a realignment of our costs, including meaningful rationalization of our marketing spend. And third, leveraging our learnings and experience in direct-to-consumer to optimize our content and distribution approach to deliver a steady state of high-impact releases that efficiently drive engagement and subscriber acquisition."

Chapec also said that “Disney+ has secured more than 100 advertisers for our domestic launch window, spanning a wide range of categories and our company has over 8,000 existing relationships with advertisers who will have the opportunity to advertise on Disney+.”

The National Association of Broadcasters is planning to ask the FCC to adopt new regulations that would recognize changes in the television marketplace and force streaming services to be regulated more in line with existing rules for broadcasters. 

In a Politico article, NAB President Curtis LeGeyt said that the effort to re-open rules that had been proposed during the Obama administration was discussed during a recent private board meeting. Such changes would be more inline with “changes in the marketplace” LeGeyt told Politico. It would also reflect comments NAB made to the commission earlier this year in an ex parte filing, which, while it dealt mainly with radio ownership issues, also touched upon reforms to existing rules that would include streaming companies. 

"While this submission primarily responds to invalid claims made by those opposing reform of the local radio rule, NAB’s legal and economic analyses also refute arguments against ownership rule reform more generally, including for local TV broadcasters," NAB said at the time.

Top of mind is retrans: broadcasters want the commission to look into expanding broadcasters’ ability to negotiate contracts beyond traditional cable and satellite pay-TV providers to services that carry broadcasters’ local channels, so-called “virtual multichannel video program distributors” (vMVPVDs) like YoutubeTV, Hulu and SlingTV.  

The move doesn’t come without opposition, however from within NAB, where the networks have differed with the association’s decision to pursue updated rules and the local stations, who are pushing to extend retrans rules to apply to streaming platforms. 

LeGeyt acknowledged this reality, telling Politico, “NAB membership is a large tent, and it is not uncommon for there to be differences of views among our companies. Like any member-driven organization, we move forward when a critical mass of our membership is in agreement, and even in those instances we strive for advocacy that maintains unity for the good of the broadcast industry and the tens of millions of Americans who rely on our service every day.”

The American Television Association, a critic of the NAB, especially over retrans battles that often result in broadcast stations pulling their signals, responded to the Politico article, saying the FCC should pay more attention to updating rules and protecting consumers from rising costs. 

“The broadcast industry wants to take the current framework, which is already responsible for thousands of consumer blackouts and massive annual price increases, and expand it to streaming,” stated ATVA spokesperson, Jessica Kendust. “The FCC should focus on modernizing and fixing the broken system, not imposing new costs on streaming customers.”

BURBANK, Calif.—Disney’s results for the second fiscal quarter ending April 2, 2022 showed there is still a lot of growth in the streaming business, with Disney+ adding 7.9 million subs from a year earlier and the company as a whole hitting 205 million direct-to-consumer subs. 

Disney+ ended the quarter with 44.4 million subs in the U.S. and Canada, up 19% from 37.3 million in 2021 and 137.7 million subs worldwide, up 33% from a year earlier.

ESPN+ also saw significant growth, hitting 22.3 million subs in the quarter, up 62% from the same quarter in 2021.

Hulu’s SVOD service ended the quarter up 10% to 41.4 million while its Hulu Live TV + SVOD service grew 8% to 4.1 million. 

Direct-to-Consumer revenues for the quarter increased 23% to $4.9 billion, but operating losses increased $0.6 billion to $0.9 billion as programming costs continued to rise. 

“Our strong results in the second quarter, including fantastic performance at our domestic parks and continued growth of our streaming services—with 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in the quarter and total subscriptions across all our DTC offerings exceeding 205 million—once again proved that we are in a league of our own,” said Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “As we look ahead to Disney’s second century, I am confident we will continue to transform entertainment by combining extraordinary storytelling with innovative technology to create an even larger, more connected, and magical Disney universe for families and fans around the world.”

The bigger losses at Disney+ reflected higher programming and production, marketing and technology costs, partially offset by an increase in subscription revenue, the company said. 

Meanwhile, higher sports programming costs and a decrease in income from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view events, partially offset by an increase in subscription revenue due to subscriber growth produced larger losses at ESPN+.

Hulu also saw higher programming and production, marketing and technology costs, partially offset by subscription revenue growth and higher advertising revenue. 

SANTA MONICA—Hulu has announced that it will introduce an Unlimited DVR service to all Hulu + Live TV subscribers at no additional cost on April 13. 

“Hulu + Live TV is becoming even more valuable and attractive to consumers,” said Joe Earley, president of Hulu. “Through one single subscription, users get access to 80+ live channels—including all the major broadcast networks—as well as Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ and soon Unlimited DVR.”

Unlimited DVR will allow on-demand playback and fast forwarding capabilities on recordings up to 9 months. Prior to the upcoming launch, Hulu + Live TV subs had access to up to 50 hours of DVR storage, with an add-on option to upgrade to up to 200 hours for an additional monthly feed. 

Hulu + Live TV virtual MVPD service currently has about 4.3 million subscribers.

NEW YORK—The ABC Owned Television Stations group has announced that it is expanding its true-crime and "Unsolved" slate and will start to make them available on Hulu on Dec. 21.

The station group's slate of documentaries highlights greed, murder and a mysterious disappearance, produced by 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia, ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston and ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles. 

The ABC Owned Television Stations' slate, set to be released Tuesday, Dec. 21 on Hulu, includes the following productions:

• 6ABC/WPVI-TV Philadelphia premieres the documentary "No Good Deed: A Crowdfunding Holiday Heist," about what started as a heartwarming 2017 holiday story that turned into the biggest scandal in GoFundMe history, which WPVI investigated and  reported. WPVI also created a detailed "No Good Deed" immersive experience site that takes viewers through a timeline of events. The immersive page shares actual social media posts, audio recordings, text messages, court documents and other factors of this scandal.
• ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston releases "Texas True Crime: The Candyman Murders" on Hulu about a case that haunted a Texas community nearly 50 years ago. ABC13 reporter Jessica Willey revisits killer Dean Corll's horrific mass murders that dubbed him a "serial killer" before the term was widely used. 
• ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles, the most-watched station in Southern California, releases "Unsolved LA: The Disappearance of Mitrice Richardson" on Hulu about a 2009 unsolved mystery of a young woman who vanished near Malibu Creek State Park.

LOS ANGELES—The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) has welcomed Hulu’s decision to update its parental controls by adding PIN-restrictions to prevent kids from flipping between child and adult profiles. The PTC had asked Hulu to make after finding that Hulu’s parental controls were the worst of all the top streaming platforms.

“We are glad Hulu made an improvement to its parental controls by adding PIN-restrictions to a user’s profile,” said PTC president Tim Winter. “This is a simple, yet critical, change that we had urged Hulu to implement after our research found were extremely lax compared to other top streamers.” 

Winter warned however that “Hulu still has to make significant improvements to make its parental controls as good as or better than the other top streamers. For instance, children can still access age-inappropriate PG-13 and TV-14-rated content through a ‘kid’ profile, and Hulu should work on a solution to prevent that from happening. Even a ‘teen’ profile allows the user to access TV-MA or R-rated content. With Hulu’s platform containing adult content like ‘teen comedy’ `PEN15,' `A Teacher,' `Harlots,' among others, it is imperative that Disney-owned Hulu is prioritizing child safety.”

“All streaming platforms should work together to develop and implement standardized industry best practices for parental controls, given the lack of uniformity between platforms,” Winter continued. “Parents should be able to trust that all platforms are prioritizing consistent parental controls, especially given the popularity of streaming. Just as car manufacturers must meet the same safety criteria, so should streamers with influential – and potentially harmful – content.” 

The Parents Television and Media Council was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media and currently has more than 1.4 million members. 

DURHAM, N.H.—New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group (LRG) finds that 78% of all U.S. households have a subscription video on-Demand (SVOD) service from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or Hulu. 

That is flat from the 78% reported in 2020, and up from 74% in 2019, and 59% in 2016, according to a survey of 2,000 households nationwide that is part of a new LRG study, “Emerging Video Services 2021”. This is LRG’s fifteenth annual study on this topic.

Overall, 58% of U.S. households now have more than one of these SVOD services – compared to 55% in 2020, 51% in 2019, and 28% in 2016.

The survey also found that 41% of all adults stream a top SVOD service daily – compared to 40% in 2020, 33% in 2019, and 24% in 2016. 

When the researchers asked about eleven additional streaming video services, it found that 82% of all households have at least one SVOD or DTC service, and 53% have three or more services. 

The mean number of SVOD/DTC services among all households is 3.1 – compared to 2.9 in 2020, LRG reported. 

The report noted that 54% of adults watch video on non-TV devices (including mobile phones, home computers, tablets, and eReaders) daily – compared to 55% in 2020, 51% in 2019, and 41% in 2016, with higher usage among younger people. 

The survey found that 81% of people aged 18-34 watch video on non-TV devices daily – compared to 59% of aged 35-54, and 25% of who are 55 and older. 

“The percent of households with a top SVOD service held steady in 2021, and those using any of these services daily also levelled off after being pulled forward last year due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc.  “While the breadth of households with a major SVOD service is similar to last year, those with multiple top SVOD services continued to expand.  And, including eleven additional streaming video services, 27% of households now report having five or more SVOD or DTC services.”

LONDON—As the streaming wars rage on, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu have enacted new strategies designed to entice older consumers (35+) by producing programming in genres that are of more interest to them—most notably, drama, documentary and crime & thrillers.

According to a new study from Ampere Analysis, younger SVOD subscribers are reaching a saturation point. However, 55% of consumers who don’t engage with VOD in a typical day are aged 45-64. Rather, many are keeping with their linear TV habits. A reported 50% of medium linear TV viewers (watching two to four hours per day) are over 45 years old, while 57% in the same age group are classified as high linear viewers (more than four hours a day).

This is inspiring the larger push in producing programs that are of more interest to those older consumers.

Documentaries, drama and crime & thrillers are among the most popular for consumers over the age of 35. And now, these genres are in the top five of commissioned projects by VOD players. For example, in March, Netflix ordered more documentary titles than any other genre, with more than half of those described as true crime.

Keeping up this investment into factual and crime & thriller content is one of the keys to persuade older viewers to make the switch to streaming, per Ampere. They should also work to expand their sports-related content (something Amazon Prime Video is already pushing with the NFL) and, on a global scale, more local language programming is needed in markets like France, Germany and Japan.

“The fastest growth in uptake of Video on Demand viewing is now in the 35-44-year-old age bracket,” said Minal Modha, principal analyst, consumer research lead at Ampere. “Nearly twice as many in this age group are now high VOD viewers compared to two years ago. The laser-like focus on matching commissioning strategies with the favorite genres of the older demographics in question is evident, but to more fully compete with linear TV players, local language content is going to be key, as will some sports content, be it live or ancillary.”

For more information, visit www.ampereanalysis.com.  

LOS ANGELES—Hulu + Live TV is adding to its portfolio of live channels, announcing that nine ViacomCBS networks are now available as part of its service. The additions come with no rise in Hulu + Live TV’s $64.99 per month price, Hulu says.

Coming to Hulu + Live TV are ViacomCBS networks Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., VH1, CMT, MTV, TV Land and Paramount Network. In addition, subscribers also now have on-demand access to classic shows like “Freaks and Geeks,” “Moesha” and “Sister Sister.”

Five ViacomCBS networks are also now available as add-ons to the Hulu + Live TV service. BETher, MTV2, NickToons, TeenNick and MTV Classic are now included in Hulu’s Entertainment add-on, which goes for an additional $7.99 per month.

Even as ViacomCBS has launched its own streaming service, Paramount+, it is still licensing its networks out to vMVPD services like Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.

NEW YORK—Hulu and NFL Media have come to terms on a multi-year carriage agreement that will bring NFL Network and NFL Redzone to the Hulu + Live TV service in time for the 2021-2022 NFL season.

NFL Network provides year-round coverage of the NFL, including exclusive live games and studio shows like “Good Morning Football,” “NFL Total Access” and “A Football Life.” NFL Redzone, meanwhile, provides coverage of NFL game action, showing every touchdown scored on Sunday afternoons during the regular season.

“We are excited to bring NFL Network and NFL Redzone to Hulu + Live TV subscribers,” said Hans Schroeder, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NFL Media. “One of our top priorities as a league remains broadening the distribution platforms for NFL content, and we’re so very pleased to bring our lineup of award-winning shows and live games to Hulu’s live subscribers starting in the 2021 NFL season.”

This deal with Hulu is a continuation of the NFL’s push into digital/streaming platforms. When the league announced its new 10-year broadcast deal, it included Amazon Prime Video exclusively carrying “Thursday Night Football” games.

NFL Network and NFL Redzone will debut on Hulu + Live TV on Aug. 1.

WASHINGTON—The FCC has clarified its position in regards to the ongoing dispute between Hulu and Sinclair Broadcast Group over carriage of certain regional sports networks, with Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel saying that the commission is not able to wade in to help with any negotiations.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote a letter in January to execs of The Walt Disney Company, which owns Hulu, and Sinclair, about the desire to end the dispute that has seen 21 Sinclair-owned RSNs unavailable on the Hulu + Live TV service, which threatens to cut off more than 100,000 Ohio Hulu subscribers' access to local sports content. In the letter he asks that the FCC monitor and help facilitate a resolution.

“As the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen and more sports venues close their doors to fans, it is more important now than ever that we foster community, hope and social connection by offering Ohioans and communities across the country reliable access to local sporting events,” wrote Sen. Brown.

However, Rosenworcel pointed out in a response dated Feb. 16 (released by the FCC on Feb. 25) that the FCC’s program carriage rules only allow it to govern negotiations between third-party video programming vendors and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). Hulu + Live TV is a non-MVPD over-the-top linear video provider, Rosenworcel explained, meaning the FCC does not have jurisdiction over carriage disputes.

“Nevertheless, I share your interest in the parties continuing to negotiate in good faith and hope they will come to agreement to minimize any disruption to Hulu + Live TV subscribers,” Rosenworcel wrote.

TV Tech’s sister publication Multichannel News reports that there have been some talks to revive the effort previously led by Tom Wheeler when he was FCC chair to classify OTT platforms as MVPDs, especially as the role of streamers has grown in recent years. 

ATLANTA—The fight to make streaming video companies like Netflix pay the same local 5% regulatory fees already paid by cable companies still in the TV/video business is picking up steam.

Three Georgia municipalities have sued Netflix, Hulu and Disney, seeking to collect millions of dollars in fees dating back several years. 

The suit, first reported by the Atlanta Business Journal, and filed by the counties of Gwinnett and Athens-Clark, as well as the city of Brookhaven, also names satellite TV operators DirecTV and Dish Network as defendants.

The federal lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated a 2007 state law called the Georgia Consumer Choice for Television Act. That law stipulates that companies supplying video services to local residents have to pay quarterly franchise fees to local governments. 

Nationally, a number of similar lawsuits are ongoing. In August, four Indiana cities, including Indianapolis, jointly filed suit in a local state court against the same defendants, seeking payment under Indiana’s Video Services Franchise Act of 2012.

And in 2018, the city of Creve Coeur, Mo., filed a similar suit against Netflix under its state’s Video Services Providers Act. As The Hollywood Reporter noted earlier this month, a Missouri judge refused Netflix’s request to have the case tossed. 

At the heart of the franchise fee burden is the notion that cable operators pay municipalities in order to have the right to festoon their jurisdictions with wires. And big video operators also do use infrastructure like content delivery networks (CDNs), the judge noted. She also rejected that the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act provides blanket protection to streaming companies. 

The possible impact from all of these relatively small suits are huge. Gwinnett County estimates that Netflix has generated $103 million in revenue over the last five years streaming video to the county with just over 1 million residents. That video franchise bill alone would come to $5.15 million for just one supplier.

Most cable companies don't include these costs in their advertised price, but rather consign them to the dreaded realm of hidden fees. 

“These cases falsely seek to treat streaming services as if they were cable and internet access providers, which they aren’t,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Verge. “They also threaten to place a tax on consumers that the legislature never intended, and we are confident that the courts will conclude that these cases are meritless.”

IRVING, Texas—Nexstar-owned ABC TV stations will be once again available to viewers using Hulu + Live TV, as the company announced the channel’s restoration on the streaming service as part of a broad-ranging deal.

Twenty of Nexstar's ABC-affiliate stations had been off the streaming service since October, replace by ABC's network national feed in affected markets. Among the stations returning to Hulu +Live TV are WKRN (Nashville), WTNH (Hartford, Conn.), WOTV (Grand Rapids, Mich.), WHTM (Harrisburg, Pa.), WGNO (New Orleans) and WRIC (Richmond, Va.) 

In addition to Nexstar’s ABC stations, the agreement with Hulu will also bring Nexstar’s wholly-owned cable network WGN America to Hulu as of Jan. 19, 2021, making it available for 4 million Hulu + Live TV subscribers.

This is the third agreement with a subscription-based streaming service Nexstar has made recently. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Nexstar still is in a retrans dispute with Dish, which has resulted in a blackout of 165 stations across 115 markets.

BURBANK, Calif.—Disney+ has been a force of nature since it arrived one year ago, having amassed 86.8 million subscribers as of Dec. 2, according to the latest numbers from The Walt Disney Company. Upon its release in November 2019, Disney’s stated highest expectations was that Disney+ would reach 90 million subscribers by 2024.

The updated figures came from Disney’s 2020 Investor Day, which in addition to unveiling subscriber numbers for Disney+ and its other streaming platforms (Hulu and ESPN+), the company announced future strategies based around its streaming services, which are becoming a central figure in the company’s strategy.

In addition to Disney+’s 86.8 million subscribers, Disney reported that Hulu now has 38.8 million subscribers and ESPN+ has 11.5 million subscribers. This brings the total number of people subscribing to Disney-owned streaming services to 137 million. As Disney plans to boost its content output on streaming services, it now expects that by 2024 its streaming services will have 300-350 million total subscribers.

Beyond the numbers, Disney announced that it will be raising the price of Disney+ by $1 come March 26, 2021. At that point, the service will cost $7.99 per month, or $79.99 per year. The Disney Bundle, which packages Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, will be $13.99 per month.

Disney also announced a new agreement with Comcast that will bring Disney+ and ESPN+ to Comcast X1 set-top boxes and Flex platforms in the first quarter of 2021. Hulu customers will also now be able to subscribe to ESPN+ within the Hulu user interface and access ESPN+ content there as of early 2021, the company added.

In addition, Disney announced a new international general entertainment content brand, Star. Star will be included as part of Disney+ in some international markets and offered as a separate streaming service in Latin America, known as Star+. Star will host content from Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, as well as local programming where available.

As part of its strategy to continue to grow the Disney+ brand, Disney announced a slew of news about upcoming content. The company announced that it will offer 10 new “Star Wars,” 10 new Marvel and 15 Disney live action, Disney animation and Pixar series to the streamer. There will also be 15 live action, Disney animation and Pixar movies released on the platform as well.

Another strategy that was revealed during the Investor Day was what Disney would do with its 2021 slate of films following the news that Warner Bros. plans to release its 2021 films on HBO Max the same day as theatrical at no additional cost to subscribers. Disney has not taken such a bold step. While some titles were moved exclusively to streaming (live-action “Pinocchio” and “Peter Pan and Wendy” movies) the studio’s upcoming animated movie “Raya and the Last Dragon” will be released the same day on Disney+ as in theaters, but for a $30 premium price on top of monthly subscription fees; this is the same strategy Disney took with “Mulan” over the summer. Other major Disney movies, like "Black Widow," are still scheduled to play exclusively in theaters.

For more information and news from Disney’s 2020 Investor Day, visit The Walt Disney Company website. 

LOS ANGELES—Hulu Live TV is hiking the price of its monthly subscription, notifying its subscribers that the current $54.99 per month price will increase to $64.99 per month as of Dec. 18.

The news was delivered by an email to subscribers, Deadline reported, with no additional comment by Hulu’s parent company, the Walt Disney Company.

Hulu Live TV is a vMVPD service that offers more than five dozen TV networks. The increase to $65 per month puts the service in line with other vMVPDs, including YouTube TV.

In Disney’s end-of-year financial report, it said that Hulu Live TV had 4.1 million subscribers.

For more information, read Deadline’s original report. 

TEXARKANA, Texas—Netflix and Hulu are behind on their bills, according to a lawsuit filed by the City of New Boston, Texas, on Aug. 11.

The class action lawsuit claims that Netflix and Hulu “should be and are required by law” to pay municipalities statewide a franchise fee of 5% of their gross revenue because they use broadband wireline facilities located partly in public rights-of-way.

According to the City of New Boston, since the streaming giants rely on these facilities to deliver their services, the companies were required to file an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas for a state-issued certificate of franchise authority (SICFA) prior to providing video streaming services. Per the lawsuit, Netflix and Hulu have failed to apply and obtain a SICFA, and therefore provide their streaming services without authorization.

Had the applications been submitted, the suit says that a SIFCA would have been authorized as long as Netflix and Hulu made quarterly franchise payments to each city where it provides services—which would equate to the aforementioned 5% of gross revenues.

“Plaintiff New Boston, individually, and on behalf of other Texas municipalities, seeks to require Defendants to abide by the Texas Utility Code, and pay what they owe to these municipalities,” the complaint reads.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the City of Creve Couer, Mo., filed a similar lawsuit in 2018 against Netflix, Hulu and other companies. Netflix argued in that case that it is not a video service provider and as result not subject to those rules. The case is still pending.

Neither Netflix nor Hulu has offered a comment regarding this new lawsuit.

The full lawsuit can be found online. 

ADDISON, Texas—OTT platforms like Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV+ are finding that a trophy is more than just a nice thing to have on the mantle, but that it can also be a way to maintain subscriber numbers. This is an element covered in Parks Associates’ latest “OTT Video Market Tracker.”

The “OTT Video market Tracker” updates monthly on the latest trends and market activities in the OTT video space. The latest batch of research finds that awards—like the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Emmys, etc.—benefit OTT services, particularly at launch.

“Awards recognition brings legitimacy to the original content in a streaming service and can be a significant boost especially in the early days after its launch,” said Steve Nason, research director, Parks Associates. “Such recognition certainly helped Netflix when the company first ventured into original content.”

Parks Associates found that 64% of Netflix subscribers feel it would be difficult to give up the service—47% feel it would be very difficult—which was the highest when compared to the other top OTT video services measured, including Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.

For more information, visit Parks Associates’ website. 

SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Subscribers to Hulu no longer will need to be in front of their TV, or connected to the internet, to watch their favorite shows, as the popular streaming service has announced that it is rolling out download capabilities.

The now available feature is currently available on iOS devices for subscribers to the Hulu (No Ads) plan; the download feature is expected to be available for Android devices soon. Users can download TV and movies like Hulu originals “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Act,” as well as the library of syndicated content available on Hulu.

To search for available TV shows and content, you click “See What’s Downloadable” and browse through the titles that are currently available for download. Users can download up to 25 titles across five devices, which will be available for up to 30 days to view.

The content is available to access by going to the downloads tab at the bottom of the screen. Once a piece of content is watched, it will expire two days after starting playback. After downloaded content expires, viewers can renew it online if the content is still available.

To download content, iOS devices must be updated to the most recent version.

DURHAM, N.H.—Nearly three out of four U.S. households subscribe to at least one video-on-demand service, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu, compared to 64% in 2017 and 52% in 2015, according to research released today by Leichtman Research Group (LRG).

Of the 74% of SVOD households, 69% have more than one SVOD service, an increase from 51% and 38% in 2017 and 2015, respectively, the research organization said.

“Nearly three-quarters of all U.S. households have at least one SVOD service, and one-third of all adults stream an SVOD service daily, including half of all ages 18-34,” said Bruce Leichtman, LRG president and principal analyst.

The research, which is laid out in LRG’s new “Emerging Video Services 2019” report, polled 1,116 households around the country on their use of video services. The study also found:

• 64% of all adults stream an SVOD service at least monthly, and 41% stream more than one SVOD service at least monthly;
• 33% of adults stream an SVOD service daily; 29% did in 2017, and 16% in 2015;
• 51% of those 18 to 34 years old stream an SVOD service daily, compared to 34% of those 35 to 54 years old and 15% of those 55 and older;
• 27% who subscribe to Netflix agree that their subscription is shared with others outside their household, compared to 19% with Hulu and 10% with Amazon Prime; and
• 51% of adults watch video on non-TV devices, including mobile phones, home computers, tablets and eReaders daily—up from 43% in 2017 and 31% in 2014.

“With over half of all households now getting multiple SVOD services, and new streaming services on the way, it is inevitable that the number of households having and using multiple services will continue to grow,” said Leichtman. “However, with expanded options, consumers will increasingly decide which streaming services they pay for directly and which they share with others.”

More information about the “Emerging Video Services 2019” study is available online.

NEW YORK—When 2019 comes to a close, Netflix will still be the most popular OTT streaming service in the U.S., but it isn’t all sunshine and roses according to a new report from eMarketer. Netflix will have 158.8 million viewers of the 182.5 million people using OTT services in 2019 (87%), and yet its share of the market has declined as other services, most notably Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, have made inroads.

In 2014, Netflix had a 90% share of the streaming market. Now, even as its subscriber base is expected to grow from 158.8 million this year to 177.5 million by 2023, its share of the total market is expected to continue to decrease to a projected 86.3% in 2023.

Hulu is one of the streamers taking the biggest bite out of Netflix’s share. Estimates from eMarketer expect Hulu to reach 75.8 million viewers in 2019, 41.5% of the subscription OTT market and a 17.5% growth in viewers year-over-year with 2018—though that is down from the growth Hulu say in 2018, when it shot up 49.6%.

Amazon Prime Video is slated to remain the second most-popular service behind Netflix, with 96.5 million subscribers (52.9% market share). OTT subscribers across all of the services account for 55.3% of the U.S. population, says eMarketer.

“The market for streaming video has been driven by an explosion in high-end original content and low subscription costs relative to traditional pay TV,” said Eric Haggstrom, eMarketer forecasting analysis. “A strong customer appetite for new shows and movies has driven viewer growth for services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, as well as the broader market.”

That appetite will continue to be satiated with the launches of new streaming services from Disney (which also owns Hulu), Apple and NBC Universal, which will all start to earn their own shares of the market. Haggstrom concludes that the biggest challenge to Netflix may come from Disney.

“While there is no true ‘Netflix killer’ on the market, Disney’s upcoming bundle with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ probably comes closest,” he said. “Netflix’s answer has been to stick to what made it the market leader—outspending the competition on both licensed and original content, offering customers a competitive price.”

For more information, the full report is available here.

Hulu now provides 4K UHD streaming of a selection of its Hulu Originals but only for Google’s Chromecast Ultra and Apple TV 4K, according to Apple Insider. The streamer had offered 4K support previously before dropping it in 2018.

The selections, including Handmaids Tale, Catch-22 and Castle Rock are streamed at 16 Mbps. It supports Standard Dynamic Range only.

Hulu competitors Netflix and Amazon Prime offer support for 4K UHD HDR for selected programming.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—Netflix accounts for the most time spent streaming video content by Latinx millennials, according to a new report from Horowitz Research.

The report, “FOCUS Latino: The Media Landscape 2019,” finds 34% of the time Latinx (a gender-neutral term for a person of Latin American origin) millennials spend streaming content is with Netflix. That compares to 28% of the streaming time spent by non-Hispanic millennials, the researcher said.

Among Latinx millennials, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu both follow Netflix with about 10% each, while the remaining 46% of the time this group spends streaming is done via YouTube, network sites and apps, TV provider sites and apps and others. A total of 38% of Latinx millennials with a TV identified Netflix as their “go-to” source, compared to 29% of all Hispanic TV viewers and 20% of viewers overall, the research organization said.

“Netflix has transformed the media landscape for Latinx millennial audiences by providing access to the innovative, culturally resonant and differentiated content they crave—in English, in Spanish and even bilingual—that many other mainstream media companies have been slow to lean into,” said Adriana Waterston, SVP of Insights and Strategy for Horowitz Research.

Latinx millennials find Netflix original content as well as well-branded content from major studios, mainstream broadcast and cable networks and Spanish-language networks, such as Telemundo, attractive, it said.

The research also examined Latinx millennial attitudes about Netflix content. Fifty-two percent of respondents from this group said they find it very relatable when a TV show or movie features characters who are bilingual or bicultural. Fifty-eight percent reported wishing there were more such content.

A total of 73% agreed Netflix does a good job offering content that appeals to people like themselves—a figure higher than any other streaming service tested, Horowitz Research said.

However, Latinx millennials share a frustration of other millennials with the ability to find new content. Nearly 40% of Latinx millennial streams said they feel that the “amount of content available today is overwhelming” and are finding it “harder and harder to find new shows to watch.”

The research also revealed an Achilles’ heel for Netflix. Forty-five percent of Latinx millennial Netflix users and 52% of non-Hispanic millennials users said they would consider cancelling their subscriptions if major networks like NBC and others pulled their content from the streaming service.

More information is available on the Horowitz Research website.

NEW YORK—Subscribers to streaming/OTT services generally are OK with the concept of advertising in exchange for ad-supported or free subscriptions. However, they are sensitive about the value of ads in exchange for lower subscription rates and are not interested in ads in a traditional linear format.

These are a few of the findings in Hub Entertainment Research’s “Monetization of Video” report, which surveyed 1,764 broadband subscribers last month.

According to the survey, an equal percentage of respondents are cool with advertising on OTT services in exchange for free or lower-cost subscriptions, even without the capability to skip ads. However, the preference falls with age; 20% of respondents 18-24 do not support ad-supported streaming services, but that figure is 10% for older viewers.

Streamers that do use ads to subsidize subscription costs have to be sensitive to viewer perceptions of ad/price balance, according to Hub. “If Netflix is considering including ads in its service, the results show that the monthly subscription fee would need to be significantly lower than the current fee—to avoid losing subscribers,” the researcher said.

Subscribers also don’t want their streaming service to reflect a traditional linear TV service either. “Almost no respondents who viewed a show recently on linear through an MVPD considered the ad load reasonable—and a third felt it was unreasonable,” Hub said.

Another attractive feature for OTT services is the absence of term contracts that pay-TV providers traditionally require. Among 18-34 year olds, a seven-day free trial has become more important in attracting new subscribers in recent years, with the percentage rising from 29% to 38% in one year, Hub said.

Hulu is tops in customer satisfaction, with 80% of respondents rating it an “excellent” or “good” value, while Netflix came in second at 75%. That’s also the percentage of respondents who say that having access to Netflix on their cable box makes their cable TV subscription more valuable.

LONDON—Disney may have figured out how to maximize its streaming services so it becomes a top choice for the streaming generation according to insight from Ampere Analysis.

On Tuesday, Disney announced that it had assumed full operational control of the streaming service Hulu. This, according to Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger in a speech after the announcement, represents the “third prong” of Disney’s streaming strategy, along with its ESPN+ and upcoming Disney+ streaming services. Ampere agrees, calling Hulu the “missing piece” in creating a streaming bundle that could rival Netflix and Amazon.

Even as studios begin to take back their own content from third-party streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, the amount of content available through those platforms far exceeds what other SVOD platforms are able to offer, including what Disney hopes to provide with Disney+. However, with the acquisition of Hulu and the Disney/Fox merger, Ampere believes that not only can Disney match or perhaps surpass Netflix and Amazon, but it also allows Disney to build a “channel family” for the streaming generation.

Disney can offer a streaming bundle that combines some combination of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, and it can be flexible with its pricing to maximize the possible revenue; Disney has already announced that Disney+ will be available for $6.99/month, lower than that of Netflix.

“With full operational control of Hulu, Disney’s streaming jigsaw puzzle is complete,” said Guy Bisson, research director at Ampere Analysis. “The concept of building a family of services to capture audience in a fragmented and competitive world is not new—it was first explored when digital TV came along in the early 1990s—Disney now needs to update that model for the 21st century and Hulu is the key to doing that.”