CEO David Zaslav
CEO Zaslav: Disney+/Hulu/Max Bundle to Offer ‘Compelling’ Consumer Experience
May 9, 2024
The pending launch of a SVOD bundle featuring the Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services represents the media companies’ combined efforts to give consumers a more-compelling user experience, according to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Speaking on the company’s May 9 fiscal call, Zaslav said he hoped the bundle would rival the success of the Max/Netflix bundle currently offered to Verizon wireless subscribers. He said there is a need for industry change in the consumer experience when it comes to streaming video.
“[The bundle] is just much more efficient. We need to come together and provide a more exciting and compelling offering. Or other companies will do it for us,” Zaslav said, alluding the bundled services marketed by Roku, Apple and Prime Video.
“They’re doing a terrific job of aggregating services,” he said, but added that it would be much better if “we did it ourselves.”
Citing the recent Centennial celebrations for Disney and Warner Bros., Zaslav said the companies’ combined content offerings would result in a “truly extraordinary offering” on SVOD that would be “priced well,” featuring both ad-supported and ad-free subscription options.
The executive said he believes the bundle underscores an industry mind shift that previously focused on distribution (i.e., subscriber growth) instead of content, as media companies raced to narrow the gap between SVOD juggernaut Netflix. Now, Zaslav said “great storytellers” such as Disney and Warner Bros. working together in streaming can be the winning ticket.
WBD’s combined streaming and pay-TV services (Max and HBO) ended the fiscal quarter with almost 100 million paid subscribers. Disney+ ended the quarter with 117.6 million subs globally, excluding India. Hulu ended the quarter with 45.8 million subs.
By comparison, Netflix ended the most-recent fiscal period with more than 270 million subscribers worldwide.
“Ultimately, the best content wins,” Zaslav said. “This will be a great opportunity to provide [that] for a reasonable price to consumers.”
The executive believes there is a restructuring of sorts in the streaming business, with significant changes coming over the next two years. “It does feel like this is a moment,” Zaslav said. “It will be a lot better for consumers.”
JB Perrette, CEO of global streaming and games for Warner Bros. Discovery, said the pricing for the bundle would reflect current standalone pricing for Max ($9.99 with ads, $19.99 without ads), and and the existing $14.99 Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle with ads, and $24.99 without commercials.
“It will be priced very attractively,” he said.
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