Free Hulu and ESPN shows are coming to Disney+ in an update to the streaming app

Disney+ is getting a lot more grown-up, with a big update on Wednesday that will bring a special ESPN tile to the platform for Disney Bundle subscribers, and a selection of Hulu and ESPN content available to all subscribers to the platform, even if they don’t I’m not currently using a bundled offer.

“This launch will truly transform what Disney+ is, who it is for and what we have to offer,” said Disney+ President Alisa Bowen, calling the update “the next step in both the evolution of Disney+ and streaming.” Future of ESPN.”

With the updated Disney+, Disney Bundle subscribers who also have ESPN+ will have full access to the sports offerings within the main Disney+ app, while all Disney+ subscribers can experience live events such as the first day of the Australian Open and The Simpsons Funday Football and ESPN shows like Forgive the interruption And College game dayas well as Hulu programming like the first season of Shogun, Reservation dogs And Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Disney says it will initially unlock “more than 30” Hulu films and series).

“It’s a really simple series of compromises that we make to figure out what’s editorially relevant at the moment, what’s driving excitement in terms of audience reaction, and then of course there are ways to make the sampling experience as “An even fuller experience,” says Bowen when asked The Hollywood Reporter about how the company will program and update included Hulu and ESPN programming. “So in sport that could be the first day of the Australian Open, which would lead to additional coverage of the same event. Or in the case of general entertainment, the first season of a recurring season to really encourage wider choice and engagement with that content.”

“So we’re going to make sure that it’s updated, that we have something for everyone in terms of the audience segments that we’re targeting, that we have a really good balance between series and films and then of course an editorial connection to it.” refers to something that is current, be it a sporting event or (general entertainment) the launch of a new show or title,” she adds.

Disney believes that the addition of a selection of Hulu and ESPN programming can encourage new bundle subscriptions and that the addition of the ESPN tile will allow it to further retain its existing bundle subscribers, a critical factor in the Targeted streaming service is expand your advertising business. Executives note that by adding live sports content, Disney+ will enable dynamic advertising insertions into live content, marking a major step forward for this division.

According to Bowen, 40 percent of eligible bundle subscribers currently enjoy the unified viewing experience on Disney+, which led to the decision to further integrate ESPN into the core Disney+ offering.

“We are very optimistic that this will drive further adoption of the package,” says Bowen. “For the existing bundle subscribers, the second part of this strategy is really about making it easier for them to consume everything they pay for, giving them less friction when navigating between the different apps and allowing us to do better personalization .” to deliver the content of all these different services to these users in a holistic way, so that they can find what they are looking for better and more easily and get more value from the package they are already paying for.”

“In both of these ways, we believe it will be important for both customer retention and increasing the value perception of the package among existing package subscribers,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the ESPN tile also sets the stage for the sports giant’s big bet next year: the launch of its “flagship” streaming service ESPN.

John Lasker, senior VP of ESPN+, says the ESPN tile on Disney+ will initially only feature content from ESPN’s current streaming offering, but will be more comprehensive when the flagship service launches next year.

And the free ESPN+ content is intended to increase awareness and acceptance of what the current streaming service offers.

“The content that we make available to the broader Disney+ subscriber base is very, very limited, it’s a small fraction of the content that’s available on ESPN+, and part of the design is that we’re trying to do that “It sparks interest in sports among casual sports fans who might not otherwise come to ESPN as part of their normal media habits,” says Lasker. “So they’re not creating an alternative to ESPN or ESPN+, but rather an opportunity with greater reach.”