Disney to bundle Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ at popular Netflix price

[LOS ANGELES] Walt Disney Co on Tuesday said it would offer a US$13-per-month bundle of its three streaming services starting in November, a move to attract audiences who have embraced digital services such as Netflix Inc.

Disney's bundle includes family-friendly digital offering Disney+, sports service ESPN+, and Hulu, which will cater to adults, for a US$5-per-month discount. The Hulu offering in the bundle will include commercials.

That price is the same as Netflix's most popular plan, which allows streaming on two devices simultaneously.

Disney "hamstrung Netflix by announcing a bundle of Disney+ and ESPN+ and ad-supported Hulu at the same price point," said Kamal Khan, analyst at Investing.com.

Executives at Disney and Netflix have said they believe there is room for both services in the growing market of digital options that are luring customers away from cable TV.

Video streaming competition will intensify soon, with Apple Inc, AT&T's WarnerMedia's HBO Max and Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal planning to roll out new services. Customers are dropping cable TV but now must decide how much they want to pay for digital offerings.

Hulu is currently available for US$5.99 a month with ads, or US$11.99 without ads. ESPN+, which offers sports that are not shown on ESPN's cable channels, including Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, rugby and some professional baseball and soccer games, costs US$4.99 a month. Disney+ on its own will cost US$6.99 when it starts streaming on Nov 12 with a slate of new and classic TV shows and movies. Disney shares were trading 5 per cent lower after it reported a steeper earnings decline than Wall Street expected on Tuesday.

REUTERS