M+E Connections

The long-awaited, Disney-branded direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service has finally been given a name – Disney Plus, matching the already-launched ESPN Plus – and it will launch in the U.S. late next year, according to company CEO Robert Iger.

Disney Plus will offer a “rich array of original Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ‘Star Wars’ and National Geographic content, along with unprecedented access to our incredible library of film and television content, including all of our new theatrical releases starting with the 2019 slate,” he said Nov. 8 on an earnings call for Disney’s fourth quarter (ended Sept. 29).

The Disney Plus platform is also “a perfect home for documentary series that will allow us to pull the curtain back and give people a behind-the-scenes perspective” on the company’s content, Iger said, noting the company has “several docuseries currently in production, including an exclusive unprecedented look at Walt Disney Imagineering, featuring stories we’ve never really told before and images we’ve never shared.”

Disney is developing a live-action series about the Marvel character Loki starring Tom Hiddleston, continuing the role he played in the company’s Thor and Avengers films, Iger noted. The company is also working on a second live action “Star Wars” series, a prequel to “Rogue One,” he said.

He added: “As with ESPN Plus, the launch of Disney Plus will just be the starting point. We plan to continually elevate the experience, and enhance the value to consumers with a constant pipeline of exclusive new content as we move forward.”

Disney plans to hold an investor conference in April to “provide more insight into our DTC strategy, including a first look at Disney Plus, along with some of the content we’re creating for it,” he said.

“Further development” of Disney’s DTC business is one of the company’s two “biggest priorities in fiscal 2019,” he told analysts. The other big priority is the “successful completion and integration” of Disney’s 21st Century Fox acquisition, he said, adding Disney “just received EU regulatory approval this week, another major milestone in the process, and we’re optimistic about securing the necessary approvals from the territories that remain.” Although Disney, in June “estimated it could take up to 12 months for the transaction to close,” he said, “we are increasingly optimistic it will be meaningfully earlier than that.”

The further development of the Disney DTC business Iger referred to also includes 
“adding new content and subscribers to ESPN Plus” and “gaining majority stake in Hulu,” he said.

Disney’s “strategic purchase of BAMTech allowed us to enter” the DTC “arena quickly and effectively, as evidenced by our successful launch of ESPN Plus six months ago,” he said. Since then, “more than a million users have already subscribed, and we continue to see impressive growth,” he said.

Iger went on to say: “The early growth trajectory of ESPN Plus is very encouraging, and we believe it bodes very well for our overall global DTC strategy.”

Total Disney Q4 revenue grew to $14.3 billion from $12.8 billion a year earlier, while profit increased to $2.3 billion ($1.55 a share) from $1.7 billion. Studio Entertainment revenue grew to $2.2 billion from $1.4 billion, while Media Networks revenue jumped to $6 billion from $5.5 billion. The increase in theatrical distribution results was driven by the success of “Incredibles 2” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” in Q4 compared to “Cars 3” and no Marvel release in the prior-year quarter, Disney said. Stronger TV and subscription video on demand (SVOD) distribution results were “due to growth in our international free and pay television businesses,” it said.