Image: Succession, HBO
Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney have recently announced a groundbreaking deal to launch a bundled streaming platform combining Max, Disney+, and Hulu. This collaboration reflects the most recent attempt of the two longtime competitors in the TV and movie industry to challenge Netflix's dominance in the streaming business.
Although no pricing or dates have yet been announced, it’s anticipated that the new platform will significantly reshape the streaming landscape. According to Parrot Analytics Demand 360, if the bundle had already been launched in April 2024, the total demand for its catalog would be more than twice as high as the demand for Netflix’s catalog.
One of the bundle’s main advantages is combining three very different platforms that cater to varied audiences. Parrot Analytics’ Content Panorama, which tracks streaming platforms catalogs, shows only a minimal overlap between the TV catalogs of the platforms involved. Less than 5% of titles are shared across Max, Hulu, or Disney+, underscoring the uniqueness of each catalog. Of these, 2.3% can be found in both Hulu and Disney, 2.0% are shared between Hulu and Max, and only 0.3% between Disney+ and Max.
The combined platform will largely consist of content previously unavailable on the other platforms. Hulu, the largest TV catalog of the three, will provide 42% of the new platforms catalog, while Max’s shows would account for 39.7% and Disney+, the smallest of them, only 13.7%.This small overlap means that there will be little to no cannibalization between the platforms involved, greatly expanding the viewing options for subscribers who switch from one of the platforms to the new service.
This new bundle marks a shift from WBD’s strategy when it merged HBO Max and Discovery+ into Max. Initially positioned to become a platform for the whole family, it appears now that Max will be refocusing on its core strengths—HBO's signature dramas and Discovery's reality programming. This shift allows WBD to concentrate on these areas, while the more family-oriented programming and animations are covered by Disney+ and Hulu in the bundled service.
