The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery and planning to team-up to take on Netflix and Amazon in the on-going battle for market share in the streaming space.
The two entertainment giants will launch a bundle this summer that combines the Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services. Specific pricing is still to be determined, but there will be both ad-free and ad-supported options of the bundle.
Disney+, Hulu and Max all offer both less expensive ad-supported plans and more premium ad-free options.
The deal between the companies is significant, as a Max-Disney+ bundle is filling a niche not currently served in the market. In their announcement, the companies are framing the bundle as the “best value in entertainment.”
Disney has been reticent to partner with other competitive companies on streaming bundles until now. The company has instead leaned on its own Disney Bundle, with options including Disney+ and Hulu, or Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
“On the heels of the very successful launch of Hulu on Disney+, this new bundle with Max will offer subscribers even more choice and value,” said Joe Earley, president of direct to consumer for Disney Entertainment. “This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster films, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the very best brands and entertainment in streaming today.”
“This new offering delivers for consumers the greatest collection of entertainment for the best value in streaming, and will help drive incremental subscribers and much stronger retention,” added JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games for Warner Bros. Discovery. “Offering this unprecedented entertainment value for fans across all the complementary genres these three services offer, presents a powerful new road map for the future of the industry.”
