Disney announced plans to offer a bundle of its three streaming services Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for USD 12.99 a month. The new discounted package will go on sale 12 November, CEO Bob Iger announced on the media group's conference call on quarterly results.
The price compares with a normal fee of USD 5.99 per month for Hulu, USD 4.99 per month for ESPN+ and an expected USD 6.99 for Disney+, which will debut in November.
The streaming services are likely to be available through "Amazon, Apple, and other distributors," according to Iger. Disney has not finalized any deals with the aforementioned companies, but told investors "we feel it’s important for us to achieve scale quickly . . . They’re all interested in distributing the product."
The announcement came alongside disappointing results for the company's fiscal third quarter to June. Despite a record box office of USD 8 billion from its films, earnings fell 59 percent to USD 0.79 per share, due to the costs of integrating the acquired 21st Century Fox assets and developing the new streaming services. Revenues rose 33 percent to USD 20.2 billion, while operating profit fell 5 percent to USD 4.0 billion.
The direct-to-consumer business saw revenues jump to USD 3.9 billion from USD 827 million a year ago after Disney took control of Hulu. However, costs for Hulu and expanding the streaming services widened the operating loss at the division to USD 553 million from USD 168 million a year earlier.
