The streaming bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max is hitting the market today at the price of $16.99 a month with advertising and $29.99 without.The package gained wide attention earlier this year when it was announced by media rivals Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. Disney and others have long been bundling their own streaming outlets, but no major players have teamed up with each other. The joint venture Venu Sports involves the same two companies along with Fox in a sports-focused linear aggregation service due to launch this fall.Customers can save up to 38% on the bundle of Hulu, Max and Disney+ compared with the stand-alone prices of the three.While the news of the bundle earlier this year made waves, the combined offering falls short of the bolder transformation anticipated by many industry veterans and consumers. Subscribers to the bundle, at least for now, will save money but still will need to visit different apps in order to access the programming. Years down the line, many observers believe, the experience of streaming will need to reduce a lot more of the friction that currently exists in order to unlock greater financial returns for media companies.The pricing news comes just a week after Netflix dismissed the idea of being part of any bundles, apart from more marketing-oriented packages with what it termed “operator partners” like Comcast and Verizon. “We haven’t bundled Netflix solely with other streamers like Disney+ or Max because Netflix already operates as a go-to destination for entertainment thanks to the breadth and variety of our slate and superior product experience,” Netflix wrote in its quarterly letter to shareholders. “This has driven industry leading penetration, engagement and retention for us, which limits the benefit to Netflix of bundling directly with other streamers.”On Warner Bros Discovery’s most recent earnings call last May, streaming chief JB Perrette called the three-service bundle “robust” and said the company didn’t believe it needed “anybody else in that package to make it incredibly compelling.” Netflix and Prime Video, which had a decade’s head start on most of the streaming field, are viewed as “utilities,” Perrette added.In support of the launch, the bundle partners said, a national marketing campaign will roll out across broadcast TV, social, digital, and owned-and-operated channels.
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