Was reading through a summary of Disney's investor call from yesterday and planning to buy this morning. By the time I got in front of my computer, apparently a number of others had the same idea. Disney up 10% on the day. But, some incredible content coming in the near future, which has been a bit of an issue for them recently. I also do not know a single family with kids between 2-10 that does not have Disney's streaming service. But here is a run down of what they have planned:
Disney investor day highlights (tl;dr expects 230-260 mil subs in 2024, tons of new content, price hikes)
Disney will reorganize to two departments: Disney Media and Disney Parks, Experiences and Product.
Disney+ now up to 86.8 mil subscribers. Fears subscribers and growth would drop a year after launch were unfounded. Growth. Says most current subscribers do not have kids.
Hulu currently 38.8M, ESPN+ 11.5M, 137M paying subs total. Disney still considers themselves in "launch mode" with most expenses in content development and brand awareness in new markets.
New Subscriber Expectations: FY 2024 = 230-260 mil Disney+ subscribers (up from 60-90 Mil originally). ESPN estimated 20-30 mil, Hulu estimated 50-60 mil in 2024. Expects profitability in DTC by 2024 with peak losses in 2021.
New ad-free Hulu + D+ + ESPN bundle for $18.99. Price hike of +$1 for D+, +€2 in Europe and other markets. Just one year before Disney's first price hike.
No info about the parks, now the black sheep of the disney franchise
Disney will Launch Star (Hulu for international markets) on 2/23/21 in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Singapore first with further launches planned. Star will be fully integrated in Disney+ (accessed like this). Star+ is an exclusive sports streaming app for Latin America.
Pixar Soul released free on D+ on Christmas. "Luca" & "Raya and the Last Dragon" released in theaters as well as Disney+ premiere (same way as Mulan) in 2021.
Announced new movie Encanta set in Colombia, music by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Comcast will make D+ available on xfinity platform
ESPN gets the SEC college football contract (CBS loses it). Hulu will add direct integration with ESPN. ESPN+ new studio show starring Stephen A Smith
There was so much new content announced that this is a pretty bad summary and I missed a lot, but overall idea is Disney is investing big into content and especially D2C content:
10 new Marvel and 10 new Star Wars series "over the next few years". 15 live action/animated/pixar series, 15 live action/animated/Pixar movies. All direct to Disney+
Wandavision in Jan, Falcon and Winter Soldier in March, Loki in May
FX producing lots of new content for Hulu. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 4 new seasons on Hulu, will be longest-running live action sitcom in TV history. Handmaid's Tale season 4 and 5 announced.
New Kardashian reality show to Hulu. Only Murders in the Building starring Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short to Hulu
Sequel to Enchanted, live action Peter Pan, live action Pinnochio, Sister Act 3 all Disney+ exclusives. Also Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Lion King prequel, live action Little Mermaid in theaters and then D+
New live action D+ shows targeting the entire family including Mighty Ducks starring Lauren Graham and Emilio Estevez, Turner and Hooch starring Josh Peck, Big Shot starring Yvette Nicole Brown and John Stamos. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Percy Jackson series in development.
New animated Disney+ tv shows starring Moana and Tiana (princess and the frog), Zootopia series. Cool new sci-fi animated series set in Nigeria.
New original movies inspired by the real-life stories of Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Keanon Lowe
National Geographic (on D+) releases new documentaries filmed while landscapes were closed due to covid 19, Jacques Cousteau biopic
Chris Hemsworth and Will Smith both have new documentary series on National Geographic