Original title: Hulu joins hands with FX, Disney hits another streaming combo. Source: 36Krypton

The streaming product Disney+ was officially launched. At the same time, Apple TV+ also entered the market. Under the influence of rising stars, established streaming giant Netflix only achieved 550,000 local user growth this season, instead investing more in the international market.

Also in the winter of 2019, during the third quarter earnings call, Disney focused on its determination to use Hulu to further seize the streaming media market, and introduced that it will promote the integration of content between Fox and Hulu in the spring of 2020.

On March 2, “FX on Hulu” was officially launched. The project involved Hulu equity and FX content transactions with a total value of over 71 billion US dollars. This also became Disney's biggest effort in the streaming business. This issue of All Media (ID: quanmeipai) compiles an article by The Verge to disassemble Disney's latest combo in the streaming business.

New engine: “FX on Hulu”

Currently, Hulu has about 30 million regular subscribers in the US market, which is about half of Netflix's US subscribers. In order to gain an advantage in the fierce competition in the streaming media market, Disney launched a combined subscription service in 2019. Users only need to pay $13 per month to enjoy streaming services that combine Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, which is equivalent to saving $5 per month.

The price war helped Hulu to buck the trend and achieve growth in local users to some extent, but compared to Netflix, original content has always been Hulu's shortcoming. Especially when HBO and NBC Universal launched HBO Max and Peacock one after another, high-quality copyrighted content became a new bargaining chip for leveraging the streaming industry pattern. In order to strengthen the need for users to subscribe to Hulu and enhance Hulu's reputation in the industry, it is imperative to enhance the supply of high-quality content.

Once the “FX on Hulu” project is implemented, regular Hulu subscribers will be able to watch exclusive FX content directly in the app. Unlike Disney+'s family fun method, “FX on Hulu” will mainly target adult users, and the project is expected to become a new growth engine driving Disney subscription services.

Classic copyright+exclusive original

“FX on Hulu” is mainly a collection of three parts. The first part is the most popular series in FX history, such as “American Horror Story” and “Plastic Surgery Room.”

The second part is classic works that were underestimated in the past, such as “The Thief” and “The Nonsensical Detective.” This will also be since Disney shut down FX Plus, a streaming service channel owned by FX in August 2019, and FX series will once again be concentrated on the Internet.

The third part is new original content for distribution on the Hulu network only. According to the plan, the four films “The Developer,” “Mrs. America,” “Teacher Affair,” and “The Old Man” will be exclusively broadcast through “FX on Hulu.”

On the other hand, “FX on Hulu” will also provide a next-day webcast service for FX TV content. In other words, after a new drama premieres on FX TV, it can be broadcast on “FX on Hulu” the next day.

Since some FX titles have previously signed copyright agreements with other streaming media such as Netflix, 21 titles such as “American Crime Story” and “Gesture” will not appear in “FX on Hulu” for the time being. In addition, Disney revealed that after the collaboration between the famous film and television content production studio “Fox Searchlight” (Fox Searchlight) and HBO ends, it will also switch to providing Hulu with exclusive original movie content.

Behind supporting Hulu, Disney's ambition

As one of the most famous TV channels in the US, FX is known for its absurd comedies and original feature films. Since 2014, FX has won 57 Emmy Awards, and has won more Golden Globes than HBO, Netflix, and Amazon Prime for works such as “American Crime Story,” “Gesture,” “Ice and Blood Storm,” and “American Spy Dream.”

As mentioned before, prior to the acquisition of Fox, Disney relied on entertainment copyright content for a long time compared to competitors such as Netflix, HBO Max, and Peacock, and was at a disadvantage in terms of copyright and production of original series. After the cooperation was reached, FX injected new vitality into Disney to break through the market in terms of content.

And this will also be an important step for Disney to acquire more adult users. Disney hopes to use high-quality television content to convey its new position of more than children's content to the public, and truly become a “necessity” that occupies people's screen time and living room scenes, and streaming media giants covering the US and abroad.

As a new experiment, “FX on Hulu” will provide users with platform-focused streaming solutions, which means that users will be able to fulfill their diverse video content needs within Hulu without having to repeatedly switch platforms to seek different content. Accordingly, users will also be more clear about their streaming media usage preferences and needs within such integrated services. “FX on Hulu” may become an important catalyst for users to subscribe throughout the year. From Disney's perspective, this is the only way to make Hulu a national-grade app.

On the other hand, Disney+ is stepping up expansion plans to other countries. In a previous investor conference call, former CEO Bob Iger (Bob Iger) said that Disney plans to promote Hulu globally starting in 2021, especially in emerging markets where Netflix and Amazon have not yet occupied, and Hulu will use FX's high-quality content to expand new international users.

From national-level apps to global platforms, Disney has drawn a grand blueprint for Hulu, and FX is an important part of protecting it. As Iger said in an interview with CNBC, FX provided the best endorsement of the impact and content quality of the two collaborations. “Hulu has joined hands with FX, which is a good thing for Hulu, and so is FX.”

Original link:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161171/fx-on-hulu-american-horror-story-streaming-disney-netflix-terriers-its-always-sunny-sons-of-anarchy

Reference links:

1. https://decider.com/2020/03/02/fx-on-hulu-what-to-know/

2. https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/7/20954171/disney-hulu-fox-fx-series-movies-searchlight-streaming-wars-netflix-hbo