Disney to Shift Focus onto Streaming and Direct-to-Consumer Content. With the successful launch of Disney+ in November 2019 and the announcement of “Star” Disney’s upcoming international streaming service mimicking Hulu’s format, there was plenty of speculation that the entertainment conglomerate was planning to shift focus onto streaming and direct-to-consumer entertainment content.
The Walt Disney Company CEO, Bob Chapek shared an announcement on Monday that confirmed Disney is in fact going to be putting a spotlight on their streaming service and shift the focus of future projects to “maximize the lifetime value” of said projects and intellectual properties.
“Given the incredible success of Disney+ and our plans to accelerate our direct-to-consumer business, we are strategically positioning our Company to more effectively support our growth strategy and increase shareholder value,” shared Chapek in the announcement.
CFRA Research stock analyst Tuna Amobi is responsible for tracking Disney’s business practices and shared, “Prior to this, you had separate units that have been focusing on different areas, sometimes giving the impression they were operating in silos,” he said. “This is going to allow then … to choose the best distribution for any given content to hopefully make it easier to maximize the lifetime value of (it).”
“Managing content creation distinct from distribution will allow us to be more effective and nimble in making the content consumers want most, delivered in the way they prefer to consume it,” Chapek stated in the announcement on Monday.
The new “Star” international streaming service would feature shows and films from ABC, FX, Freeform, Searchlight, and 20th Century Studios. Though many of the shows and movies from these television networks and film studios are featured on Hulu, Chapek wants to reroute those offerings to the more internationally recognized “Star” brand, rather than the US based identity of Hulu.
The Walt Disney Company CEO shared: “And to this end, I am also pleased to announce that we plan to launch an international, direct-to-consumer, general entertainment offering under the Star brand in calendar year 2021. Mirroring the strategy we successfully pursued with Disney+, the offering will be rooted in content we own from the prolific and critically acclaimed production engines and libraries of ABC Studios, Fox Television, FX, Freeform, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight.
In many markets, the offering will be fully integrated into our established Disney+ platform from both a marketing and a technology perspective. And it will be distributed under the Star brand, which has been successfully utilized by the company for other general entertainment platform launches, particularly with Disney+ Hotstar in India. The fact that Disney+ has grown as rapidly as it has, both domestically and globally, clearly demonstrates the value of our content. And through the addition of our Star-branded general entertainment offering, we are further extending the value of that content internationally.”
Bob Chapek also shared that more details on the “Star” streaming service will be revealed at the next Investors Day event. Be sure to check back here at Chip and Co. for updates and all things Disney!
Featured Photo Credit: Disney+
Source: USAToday
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