Two entertainment giants are joining forces to form an unexpected alliance, creating a competitive new offering that could finally dethrone Netflix as the king of streaming.
Disney will combine its two hero streaming platforms – Disney+ and Hulu – with Max, the streaming home of Warner Bros. content. Discovery. If you want to know more about this new offer, we have answered all your questions below.
When will the Disney+, Hulu and Max bundle launch?
According to official communications, Disney and Warner want to launch the bundle this summer. However, no specific date has yet been confirmed.
What will the bundle be called?
At this point, we don’t know – but we’ll let you know what you should look out for as more details are announced in the coming months.
In which countries is the Disney+, Hulu and Max bundle launched?
Hulu is a US-exclusive platform, so we can assume that this bundle is limited to America.
Max is available in Europe and Latin America, but not in the UK. Additionally, Hulu content is typically featured on international versions of Disney+ through the Star brand.
We might see future plans in different countries, but that doesn’t seem to be a priority for companies at the moment.
How much will the Disney+, Hulu and Max bundle cost?
Unfortunately, neither company has revealed the exact prices yet. That said, ad- and ad-free options will be available. Therefore, we can look at current costs to try to predict what they might be.
Here’s what current Disney packages cost:
- Disney Bundle Duo Basic (Disney+ and Hulu with ads): $9.99 per month
- Disney Bundle Duo Premium (Disney+ and Hulu ad-free): $19.99 per month
- Disney Bundle Trio Basic (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ with ads): $14.99 per month
- Disney Bundle Trio Premium (Disney+ and Hulu ad-free and ESPN+ ad-supported): $24.99 per month
And here’s how much customers pay for Max:
- Max (with ads): $9.99 per month
- Max (no ads): $15.99 per month
- Max Ultimate (no ads and 4K supported content): $19.99 per month
The deal that gives us the best idea of what to expect is the Disney Bundle Trio Basic, as it includes a third streaming service along with Disney+ and Hulu: ESPN+.
ESPN+ alone costs $10.99 per month, which is $1 more than the ad-supported version of Max.
Therefore, it would make sense to also price the ad-supported Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle at around $14.99 per month.
The ad-free plan is harder to predict, as Disney doesn’t yet offer a similar plan with all services ad-free. Additionally, Max offers two ad-free tiers: the Standard tier (with 1080p content) and the Ultimate version (with 4K support).
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Assuming the plan includes the cheaper version of Max (keeping the 4K content for standalone subscribers), we estimate it would be more expensive than the current ad-free Disney+ plan – probably more likely to be around $30 $ per month.
These estimates depend on current prices – companies may increase their subscription costs to account for these new plans.
We should learn more in the coming months.
What TV shows will be available in the Disney+, Hulu and Max bundle?
As far as we know, there will be no restrictions on the content included in the pack. It will include series and films from the likes of ABC, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar and Warner Bros.
This means you will be able to stream movies like House of the Dragon, X-Men ’97, Only Murders of the Building, The White Lotus, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Last of Us, The Bear, Bluey, Succession. , Shogun and Doctor Who.
Additionally, Disney+ will offer live sports before the end of the year, so that could also be included in the package. Users have to pay extra on Max to play sports through Discovery+.
Will the Disney+ and Max interfaces be merged into a single application?
In March, Disney+ integrated the Hulu interface into its library, so all content is accessible in one place.
No promises about this have been confirmed for the new trio pack. However, customers will be able to register via the three platforms. We imagine Disney and Warner will still want to market their own streaming services, so it would be surprising if all the content was bundled into one interface.
Why are Disney and Warner launching this new streaming pack?
If we only take into account official communications, here are the official quotes from each company:
Following the highly successful launch of Hulu on Disney+, this new package with Max will offer subscribers even more choice and value. This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster movies, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the best brands and entertainment streaming today.
Joe Earley, President, Direct to Consumer, Disney Entertainment
This new offering provides consumers with the largest collection of value-for-money entertainment in streaming, and will help drive additional subscribers and much stronger retention. Delivering this unprecedented entertainment value to fans across all of the complementary genres these three services offer, presents a powerful new roadmap for the future of the industry.
JB Perrette, CEO and President, Worldwide Streaming and Gaming, Warner Bros. Discovery
The final quote clearly implies that this package is created to attract more subscribers, which IGN says is extremely important, with both services reporting subscriber losses in the millions in 2023 and 2024. Ultimately , it’s a return to traditional cable TV — and quite possibly an attempt to finally challenge Netflix once and for all.
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