We’ve known for a while that Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ all had one major thing in common: being run by parent company Disney. This week, however, news broke that the three major services would all be available in a reasonably priced bundle for families. Given FX programming can often be found over at Hulu (at least after FX's own subscription service dies off later this month), FX President John Landgraf told CinemaBlend he thinks the new bundle will be a great deal.
Why? Namely because bundling the three properties will appeal to three different audiences, many of whom live in the same households. ESPN+ is for sports fans, Disney+ has been clear it will mostly feature family-friendly fodder and Hulu has edgier programming, from FX’s own American Horror Story to originals like The Handmaid’s Tale.
I think part of what's cool about the way they've set it up is, now that you can buy Hulu plus Disney+, plus ESPN+ for 12.99, it's just such a good value, the bundle. I think all those different services kind of reinforce each other now, so it doesn't really matter. Like, I just think a lot of people are going to have both Disney+ and Hulu.
So, while Disney+ is an imminent new product heading to the market, John Landgraf doesn’t seem to be sweating it to much. In fact, it looks as if he thinks this new bundle will only get more FX products into homes that aren’t paying for the traditional cable model, which is a win for all Disney-owned products. He doesn’t seem to worried any of them will compete.
Personally, I still think it’s weird to be talking about former Fox or FX products in the same breath as Disney products, but apparently those working in the various branches of the brand are starting to get over it. Speaking to CinemaBlend’s Nick Venable, the head honcho says things between all of the branches of the company have gotten clearer in the months since the Disney and Fox deal officially went through. Per John Landgraf:
You know, obviously we're focused on programming right now, and there's a lot in terms of distribution strategy we're talking about now. But yeah, it really has [gotten clearer].
FX has a lot of great original projects. This week, a third cycle of American Crime Story was announced at TCA as well as a renewal for the critically acclaimed Atlanta to return for Season 4. There’s a lot looking up for FX both on its traditional cable platform and in its Hulu offerings.
If those sorts of things are more up your alley, you’re going to want to look toward Hulu+, rather than the upcoming Disney+, which will offer more kid-friendly fodder, including stuff from Disney’s Marvel and Star Wars brands.
Related: Everything We Know About Disney+
As for the bundle itself, John Landgraf’s comments basically reveal the major details about the lineup, which will include three streaming brands for the low cost of $12.99 per month while each of the brands builds a subscriber base. I’m not sure that will be sustainable in the long run -- even given the bundle will include ad-driven versions of products --but get it while the price is cheap, people.
