Disney To Launch Single App In The Us With Disney+ & Hulu, Questions Lurking Over Star

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During Disney’s quarterly results, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that in the United States, they will be launching a single app, which will incorporate Hulu content into Disney+.

Each app will still be available individually, and this might be a way around Disney getting ready to bring together Hulu and Disney+, until Disney sorts out its ownership of Hulu from Comcast.

Bob Iger stated that the one-app experience will offer a better service to its subscribers and increase advertising revenue.

“While we will continue to offer Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our [direct-to-consumer] offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience,”
This follows other moves being made by studios, like Comcast and Warner Brothers Discovery, who are consolidating their apps. Disney feels it can spend more money advertising its major movie and show releases by marketing a single app.

The single-app experience will launch in the United States by the end of the year. Disney’s tech teams have been working on migrating the Hulu legacy system into the Disney+ tech, since early last year, and the teams referred to the project as “Nu-Lu”.

Bob Iger has had conversations with Comcast about buying its stake in Hulu, which Disney can force to happen in 2024. In the last few months, Bob Iger has come to the conclusion that offering more general entertainment with Disney+ content is what they need to do.

“What we’re doing right now — because we own two-thirds of Hulu, and we have an agreement with Comcast that may result in us owning 100 percent — is we’re really studying the business very, very carefully, all those competitive dynamics with an understanding that we have a good platform in Hulu.

We have very strong original programming, actually highly awarded original programming, some delivered by FX, which is a great not only producer but brand, and we also have a good library, so it’s a solid platform. And it’s also a very attractive platform for advertisers. It’s already proven to be valuable for them and advertising is proven to be valuable for us. But the environment is very, very tricky right now and before we make any big decisions about our level of investment, our commitment to that business, we want to understand where it could go”.

Bob Iger has said that the addition of Star to Disney+ internationally has been very successful and they want to offer more general entertainment alongside Disney, to reduce churn, increase revenue and reduce costs.

For more Disney+ and Video Entertainment updates head over to Insidus Plus

CNBC To Relaunch In Turkey As CNBC Turkiye By The End Of 2023

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According to the statement made by İlbak Holding, CNBC Turkiye will evaluate the global developments in the business world from the perspective of Turkey with its objective and accurate news content. The channel, which will convey the developments in the global financial markets with comprehensive reports and exclusive interviews, will convey the local perspective to the global as well as how global events affect local markets.

CNBC Turkiye, headquartered in Istanbul, will include finance, economy and business news with live broadcast content of at least 10 hours a day. The channel's broadcast content will be supported by international broadcasts from CNBC offices around the world, including Abu Dhabi, London, New York and Singapore.

CNBC Turkiye, which is scheduled to be launched in October 2023, will offer widespread and easy access to viewers across the country through platforms that offer satellite, cable, terrestrial broadcasting networks, internet broadcasting platforms and broadband services.

John Casey, President and General Manager of CNBC International, who included his assessments on the subject in the statement, stated that as a global brand, they are aware of the importance of delivering business news, insights and analysis at the local level.

"We are very excited to herald CNBC Turkiye together with Ilbak Holding and to bring CNBC's unique and dynamic content back to the audience in Turkey," Casey said.

Murat İlbak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of İlbak Holding, stated that they are happy to bring CNBC back to Turkiye with its Turkish content and made the following evaluations:

"CNBC Turkiye will undoubtedly break new ground in the business markets in our country with the complete, impartial, accurate information and news content we have committed to. Turkey has a vibrant and versatile economy with a population of 85 million and a growing investor base. Our aim is to provide an advanced information flow that will facilitate decision-making processes and to reveal the full potential of the business world and markets in Turkey. CNBC Turkey will help its audience make informed decisions and seize opportunities in an ever-changing global business environment.”

Noting that the TV channel will also play an important role in the development of Turkey, which is among the top 20 economies in the world, İlbak emphasized that this strong partnership with CNBC International will also show the strength and dynamism of the Turkish economy.

Disney+ Loses Another 4 Million Subscribers

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Today, the Walt Disney Company has released its latest quarterly results for the fiscal second quarter 2023, and that means we get an updated look at how many subscribers Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ have.

This gives us a clear indication of how the apps are doing, especially with growth or decline in subscriber numbers. These subscriber numbers are based up to April 1st 2023.

Disney+ now has 157.8 million subscribers globally, down over 4 million subscribers from 161.8 million subscribers last quarter. All of these losses have come from subscribers leaving Disney+ Hotstar in India, following the loss of the cricket and, most recently, HBO content. In the US and Canada, they lost 300,000 subscribers, likely due to the recent price rise, less content and political issues. However, Disney+ subscribers in other areas, including Latin America, Europe and Asia, increased by 900,000.

While Hulu has added around 200,000 subscribers, ESPN+ has also added 400,000 subscribers in the US.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement:

“We’re pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we’ve been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success. From movies to television, to sports, news, and our theme parks, we continue to deliver for consumers, while establishing a more efficient, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations.”

More importantly, Disney’s streaming businesses have been able to increase its revenue by 12% to $5.5 billion and decrease its operating lost by half a billion dollars, which mainly came from better Disney+ and ESPN+ results, partially offset by lower operating income at Hulu.

The improvement at Disney+ was due to higher subscription revenue and a decrease in marketing costs, partially offset by higher programming and production costs and, to a lesser extent, increased technology costs. Higher subscription revenue was attributable to subscriber growth and increases in retail pricing, partially offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange impact. The increase in programming and production costs was due to more content provided on the service. Improved results at ESPN+ were attributable to growth in subscription revenue due to an increase in retail pricing and subscriber growth.

The decrease in operating income at Hulu was due to higher programming and production costs and lower advertising revenue, partially offset by subscription revenue growth and, to a lesser extent, lower marketing costs. The increase in programming and production costs was attributable to more content provided on the service and an increase in subscriber-based fees for programming the Live TV service, partially offset by a lower average cost mix of SVOD content. Higher subscriber-based fees for programming the Live TV service were due to rate increases and more subscribers. The decrease in advertising revenue resulted from lower impressions, partially offset by higher rates. Subscription revenue growth was due to increases in retail pricing and subscribers.

Disney has also provided a detailed breakdown per region: (Million)

Disney+ – Global – 157.8

Disney+ – Domestic (US & Canada) – 46.3

Disney+ – International excluding Disney+ Hotstar+ – 58.6

Disney+ Core – (excluding Hotstar) – 104.9

Disney+ Hotstar – 52.9

ESPN+ – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 25.3

Hulu – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 48.2

To compare, here are the subscription numbers (Millions) from November’s Investor Call:

Disney+ – Global – 161.8

Disney+ – Domestic (US & Canada) – 46.6

Disney+ – International excluding Disney+ Hotstar+ – 57.7

Disney+ Core – (excluding Hotstar) – 104.3

Disney+ Hotstar – 57.5

ESPN+ – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 24.9

Hulu – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 48.0

How Will Disney+ Adding Hulu Content Work?

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It’s finally happening. Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced plans to bring together its streaming services in the United States under one app, bringing Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ content all together to offer subscribers a better experience but it also comes with many business benefits.

The details of how all of this will work are still very much unknown. Bob Iger was very vague about how Hulu content would be added within Disney+, but there are some key things we know.

• It will be happening by the end of 2023

• Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu will still be offered as separate services

• Hulu content will be available within Disney+

• More advertising is going to be offered

• Price rises for Disney+

However, we still know very little about how all of this will work out because the Hulu situation is very complicated. First off, Comcast still owns 33% of Hulu and due to a contract that was put into place when Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, which means Disney or Comcast can force Disney to buy out the 33% stake, for a minimum of around $9 billion. Bob Iger has said he has had meetings with Comcast over Hulu, but ultimately, the deal hasn’t been finalised, which is why the information has been so vague.

Disney is being open about its plans to consolidate its streaming services, similar to how HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge and how Paramount+ and Showtime have recently done. It’s setting the tone for the future, which Disney knows will be all about the streaming business as the linear business is declining yearly.

There are many reasons why the merger of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ will make sense. It will drastically reduce costs for the company. They can make less content and stretch it out easier, because when you look at all of the content being created across Disney’s studios, they release lots of shows and films. Publicity costs can be reduced, since they will be only promoting one app. Bob Iger even mentioned in the quarterly conference call that they’ve been releasing so much content on their streaming platforms, they’ve not been advertising them properly to get the most out of their investment. That’s in addition to savings that can be made on just running one platform, reduced overheads etc.

The merging of the platforms also will help reduce churn, as subscribers of the Disney Streaming Bundle have been generally less likely to unsubscribe, since there is usually something someone wants to watch on one of the three platforms.

ESPN+ is already available within the Hulu app, so Disney has already begun getting subscribers used to them being together. However, adding ESPN+ into Disney+ should hopefully be something that can happen easier, since they are built on the same tech. Disney has also already added ESPN content onto Disney+, but with the high costs of sports, it’s likely this will remain a premium add-on or as part of a bundle.

Internationally, Disney+ has had lots of success with the addition of the Star brand, which offers the majority of Hulu Originals and other general entertainment from Disney’s studios like 20th, FX and ABC. Bob Iger has said that it’s been a huge success and one of the reasons why they want to merge the platforms.

Unfortunately, with the Hulu contract, Disney has never been to share its plans for the future properly, but now with just over six months until 2024, it is starting to let subscribers know what’s going on. It makes the recent decisions for Disney+ to make more sense, such as moving to the next-day programming for Disney Channel and National Geographic content. Or why more Disney+ Originals have been added to Hulu and why “A Small Light” and the next Searchlight Pictures film, “Flamin’ Hot”, are being released on both Hulu and Disney+ simultaneously. Slowly blending together the two platforms.

Disney’s CFO Christine M. McCarthy also revealed during the quarterly results that they are going to be taking an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion, due to them planning to remove content from their streaming platforms. Disney+ in the United States generally probably doesn’t have a huge amount of content to remove, but Hulu has thousands of titles, many of which aren’t owned by them, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see lots of content removed from Hulu in the coming months, ahead of the merger.

There will no doubt be many more questions about how all of this is going to work in the coming months ahead. We know that Disney has been working on incorporating Hulu’s legacy system into the Disney+ tech since last year. Plus, the Disney Streaming Bundle accounts already use a single login, so that’s something that will hopefully make this smoother, but it’s bound to be a bit bumpy.

There are so many questions that we know nothing about such as:

• How much is the combined app going to cost?

• When will it happen?

• Will Hulu + Live TV continue?

• Will the Hulu brand continue?

• Will ESPN+ be a paid add-on?

• What will happen to other add-ons like HBO within Hulu?

• What will happen with the Star brand internationally?

Ultimately, the direction for a combined streaming platform for Disney makes sense. Offering multiple outlets is more expensive, and one platform will offer more content to more people. It’s already proven to work, but there are lots of hurdles, including Disney paying Comcast a huge cheque for billions of dollars. But now we know there is a plan to combine Disney’s streaming services under a single offering.

Eventually, a single app for all of Disney’s content is going to make it much easier for both subscribers and Disney, but it will also likely lead to less overall content being available, as Disney is looking to scale back its general entertainment side, but pairing it with Disney+, which has been lacking general entertainment, means the combination will result in us getting regular content constantly.

Paramount Division Run By Chris McCarthy Lays Off 25% Of Domestic Staff; MTV News Among Units Shut Down

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In the latest wave of industry layoffs, the recently combined Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios as well as Paramount Media Networks, overseen by the division’s President and CEO Chris McCarthy, is reducing its domestic team by 25% today. McCarthy addressed the cuts, which he called a “very hard but necessary decision”, in a company memo.

According to sources, the basic cable networks were most heavily impacted, with a number of units being shut down as part of consolidation, mostly on the operations side.

Also folding is MTV News, the news production division of MTV, which was launched in the late 1980s. The unit already had undergone significant downsizing over the last six years. MTV News staffers took to social media to share the layoff news.

Among the senior-level executives impacted are Jessica Zalkind, SVP, Talent and Series Development, MTV Networks, and Todd Radnitz, SVP of Original Unscripted Series at MTV Entertainment Group and Paramount+, we hear. East Coast casting is being folded into the West Coast operation.

Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, has been largely spared this time, I hear, after it was hit hard in February when the two studios were combined, with Showtime taking the brunt of the cuts.

“This is a tough yet important strategic realignment of our group,” McCarthy said. “Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward.”

The new wave of cuts comes on the heels of Paramount Global falling way shy of Wall Street forecasts last week when the company reported a loss of $1.1 billion for Q1, leading to a 25% stock price drop.

Here is McCarthy’s full note:

Team,

As we finalize the integration of SHOWTIME and continue to transform our business for the future, we have set a great foundation for continued success by consolidating our group into two functions:

• Studios – integrating SHOWTIME and MTV Entertainment Studios into one powerful studio team
• Networks – combining nine separate teams into one portfolio group

This combination has resulted in an incredible track record of hits including Yellowstone, 1883, Tulsa King, South Park, The Challenge, Teen Wolf, 1923, Drag Race, Mayor of Kingstown, Your Honor, George & Tammy and Yellowjackets – which, taken together, drove record subscribers across Paramount+ and Showtime and helped Paramount+ lead the industry in new subscriber growth.

However, despite this success in streaming, we continue to feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers. To address this, our senior leaders in coordination with HR have been working together over the past few months to determine the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business.

As a result, we have made the very hard but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%. This is a tough yet important strategic realignment of our group. Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward. Today we will notify employees whose positions are being impacted with leaders communicating the news directly to those teams/or individuals. These meetings will be followed by individual 1:1s with our HR partners.

I realize these decisions will be very hard for everyone, most of all, those who will be leaving. It’s not something we take lightly. We have some of the most passionate and dedicated team members, who bring their full selves to drive our brands and business forward. This is why it’s so difficult to say goodbye to our friends and colleagues. To those impacted, we deeply appreciate the passion and creativity you have brought every day. I want to thank you for your many contributions.

Our leadership team and HR partners are committed to ensuring this process is done with empathy and respect.

Sincerely,
Chris

Nickelodeon Refreshes Its Look For The First Time In 14 Years

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The network will spend the rest of 2023 rolling out a new brand identity and refreshed on-air look that’s designed to invoke nostalgia and return to its history.

“It was time for us to really look at the brand, and look at our audience, and talk with our audience and revisit all the pieces of Nickelodeon,” Sabrina Caluori, evp of global kids and family marketing at Nickelodeon and Paramount, told sources.

The “Portal to Fun” campaign launched yesterday with the first of five spots. “Quartet” shows a bored kid at a family dinner, who then notices the orange splat above them on the ceiling. After sticking their head through the splat, the kid finds a barbershop quartet performing.

Nick found after internal research that the “core DNA” of the brand still resonated with kids today, according to Caluori.

“We take that to the best and the mess of being a kid,” said Caluori. “We did learn that, what’s fundamentally different now than when the brand was initially taking shape, is kids’ relationship to their parents and parents’ relationship to their kids.”

Research found that kids and their parents are looking for more ways to connect, and Nickelodeon saw an opportunity.

“That was an exciting unlock for us because it meant while we can continue to be the best and the mess of being a kid, we can use that to actually bring kids and families closer together, which they are longing for in this time,” said Caluori.

The marketing executive has been with Nickelodeon for less than two years and, as a self-described Nick kid, can personally relate to the familial relationships the new campaign brings.

“It’s the first brand I ever had any passion for as a kid, and now I’m a mom of three kids who are in the demo,” said Caluori. “It’s been really exciting for me to be able to look at the brand and look at everything that we’re doing through the eyes of my kids while also ensuring that everything that we’re doing still spoke to the Nick kid inside me.”

In the splat zone

To create the new identity, Nickelodeon partnered with six U.S. and international agencies. The company asked the agencies to come back with a spot that used the new brand work and represents Nick’s energy and identity through the lens of its most notable IP—SpongeBob, Paw Patrol, Blue’s Clues, Baby Shark, Loud House and Monster High—making sure there is a moment of the iconic Nickelodeon slime.

The first step came through Nick’s internal marketing team and its creative partner Roger. Once that was determined, the IP went out to other animation houses around the globe.

All five spots will run across Nickelodeon’s linear and digital social platforms in three phases.

The network teased the first phase during the Kids’ Choice Awards in March. There, observant viewers may have noticed Nickelodeon brought back its iconic “splat” and wove the new look into design elements throughout the broadcast and weekend-long coverage.

The second phase began yesterday with the launch of “Quartet.” And expect a second spot, “Rollercoaster,” to debut later this week. This spot depicts a kid in a waiting room who sees the orange splat, and then sticks their hand through, only to be dragged along a crazy rollercoaster ride—ending in, you guessed it, splat.

The third marketing phase begins in July and will run through the end of the year when Nick’s new branding look and feel debuts internationally in the U.K., followed by Latin America and further markets.

Why now?

The refresh comes ahead of a big upcoming slate for Nickelodeon, including theatrical releases for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Paw Patrol, as well as upcoming Paramount+ films like Good Burger 2 and Zoey 102.

“We have these movies that have some of the callbacks that we’re referencing and reinforce everything that’s great about this studio, but that are directed at either families or this more ‘adult’ Nick kid,” said Caluori.

To help further the marketing push, starting at the end of this month, Nickelodeon will be on the ground at 400 schools around the country, reaching 250,000 kids—and kids can vote to slime their favorite teacher. There will also be two large events coming in Philadelphia and D.C.

Nickelodeon was among the brands Paramount spotlighted at its upfront dinner for clients in late April. Paramount ad sales chief John Halley told Adweek that after the success of its decision to exit its usual upfront week presentation this year, the company is “not going back” to its traditional approach.

“Moonbug Kids” Linear Channel Rebrands And Changes Name To “Moonbug” As It Aims To Expand Global Access To Popular Kids’ Content

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Moonbug Entertainment, a subsidiary of Candle Media, today announced a new refreshed look of the company's 24/7 linear channel, “Moonbug KIDS”, and a new name, “Moonbug”, in line with its wider corporate rebrand. The new “Moonbug” channel identity aims to convey the same energy and fun as its colourful shows and characters.

While streaming and content on demand continue to gain popularity, linear channels are still relevant and, in 2022, Moonbug saw a big expansion of its linear channel, reaching 75+ countries across the globe. Moonbug has provided dedicated feeds to leading partners across EMEA and APAC including O2, Multichoice/DStv, OSN, Turktelekom/Tivibu, Cignal, Astro, Turkcell/TV+, Telekom Malaysia/Unify TV, Telekom Indonesia/Indihome and more.

“We want to give every family the opportunity to enjoy our shows on their preferred and go-to platforms, whether it is on the go or at home on an ad-free linear channel,” said Moonbug’s Managing Director EMEA and APAC, Nicolas Eglau. “Especially with a preschool audience, linear channels can be a huge help for young families trying to establish healthy routines. Whether it is bedtime, mealtimes or brush your teeth moments, our programming finds the suitable content to mirror families' daily life.”

“Linear TV remains extremely relevant across many territories, where viewers favour ad-free content and a curated experience. It is also particularly relevant in markets where streaming penetration is not as extended and there is a big demand for linear services,” adds Dilek Doyran, Moonbug Director, Distribution & Content Partnerships in EMEA.

Moonbug is known for being a trusted brand for families around the world, and for delivering great entertainment for young kids. By listening to its audience and incorporating feedback from parents, Moonbug’s linear channels are designed to support families and their routines.

This rebrand further contributes towards moving everything under a cohesive Moonbug umbrella, elevating its brand positioning and encouraging industry and consumer recognition as the company behind some of the most beloved shows in kids’ entertainment.

Rumour: Paramount Global To Be Closing More MTV Feeds Internationally

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Paramount Global has been active across the market for almost a year. Prior to the time it was known as ViacomCBS, they have been various adjustments and now that we've managed to wrap up 2022 we can finally see the extent and the justification to all that.

For those who watch MTV and Nickelodeon (or in this case Nick Jr.) may have noticed some a number of changes. For starters, MTV became a music channel once more with a bit of Catfish and Ridiculousness while as the preschool hotspot Nick Jr. has learnt a number of new languages.

As mentioned sometime ago, Paramount is cutting back on costs for their linear offering and these two were a result of that. My guess has to do with Paramount+ I presume they want to get as much fresh content onboard to attract potential clients.

Although there has yet to be confirmation of a closure, I wouldn't be surprised if we got to that position already Nickelodeon has been scrapped in most of Asia and i have seen various MTV channels mostly irrelevant close in various parts of Europe.

According to sources, Paramount might be looking into closing down MTV in the coming future (2023/4). Not sure whether this would affect their music portion but I don't see why it should as it's more like what NBCUniversal got with Peacock and it's linear offerings - variations.

As mentioned, I wouldn't be surprised if it were true especially with various local feeds merging which was the case for Disney XD before closing down. In the end, I do feel shows like Ridiculousness would make a perfect fit on Comedy Central and BET.

Compared to MTV, these two function in a way that doesn't collide with Paramount+ I mean one has The Nanny And Modern Family on repeat while the other offers All Of Us and plays second fiddle with The Neighborhood and Martin.

Recap To The Year: Moonbug Kids To Fold Under The Moonbug Brand, Dumps Kids From The Name

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Moonbug Kids (DStv 314) is a preschool channel owned by Moonbug Entertainment (a subsidiary of Candle Media). It supplies shows such as CoComelon (also seen on Cartoonito), Oddbods, Blippi, Little Baby Bum and Supa Strikas (also seen on Cartoon Network).

During the year, Moonbug Entertainment had unveiled their first ever refresh of the brand in 5 years following the increased popularity of their content which they've managed to licence to various broadcasters (as mentioned) alongside the Moonbug Kids channels.

As stated by Moonbug prior to the rebrand:

Moonbug was created on the basis of acquiring IPs and growing them into fully established franchises. This rebrand marks a shift that will see everything move under a cohesive Moonbug umbrella, elevating its brand positioning and encouraging industry recognition as the company behind the most beloved shows in kids’ entertainment.

DixonBaxi created a new strategy and creative platform which is says are inspired by Moonbug’s bold attitude.

At the heart of the new identity sits a bespoke animated logotype that ‘fizzes and pops with a playful personality’, hinting at the entertainment that makes Moonbug content unmissable. A flexible brand system with a fresh colour palette, super-sized art direction and activity-focused icons fill every space with the same bright, playful personality.

“It has been a unique challenge to create a new brand that captures the magic of the shows that billions of kids tune in to over and over again, but still feeling distinctly Moonbug,” said Harry Ead, creative director, DixonBaxi. “We feel that we have created a brand that will match Moonbug’s ambitious plans without losing what makes them so special.”

MultiChoice on top of providing various material acknowledging the rebrand they recently updated their EPG to commemorate the long-awaited rebrand of the Moonbug channel.

Moonbug Channel joins other existing brands Da Vinci, History, eNCA, Nickelodeon, Cartoonito (formerly Boomerang), Max and PBS Kids that have or are expected to rollout on air look later in the year.