Recap: Hulu, ESPN+, and Hotstar Announcements From Disney’s Investor Day

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Earlier today, The Walt Disney Company revealed plenty of exciting details about their entire collection of direct to consumer, streaming services including: Hulu, ESPN+, India-based Hotstar, and of course Disney+. Disney CEO, Bob Iger, along with others made several big announcements during today’s Disney Investor Day presentation that can be reviewed in our Live Blog.

What’s happening:

  • Today’s Disney Investor Day, opened with Lowell Singer giving a brief outline of the day’s events starting with:
    • Disney’s direct to consumer (DTC) offerings
    • A brief break
    • Sole focus on Disney+
  • Presentations and introductions were made by:
    • Bob Iger
    • Kevin Mayer
    • Michael Paull
    • Randy Freer
    • Jimmy Pitaro
    • Russell Wolff
    • Uday Shankar
  • TWDC will be offering three (DTC) services in the United States:
    • Disney+
    • ESPN+
    • Hulu
  • In India DTC services will include:
    • Star
    • Hotstar

Hulu

  • When Hulu launched in 2008 it originally only offered next-day viewing for current TV episodes but has since evolved into a full-on streaming video on demand (SVOD).
  • Users have many price point options to choose from when subscribing to Hulu including: with or without ads, with or without live TV and more.
  • Hulu hosts 85,000 episodes of TV — more than any other SVOD with more than 80% of Emmy nominated shows available on the streamer.
  • Visit our Upcoming Hulu Releases page to stay up to date with the latest additions to the streamer.

ESPN+

  • During the ESPN+ presentation, Jimmy Pitaro highlighted the success they’ve experienced since launch, and mentioned how ESPN networks are among the most trusted sports networks across all age groups.
  • One of the unique things about ESPN+, is that it serves fans of underserved teams, by granting them access to matches that aren’t normally broadcast.
  • Attendees also learned that ESPN+ continues to offer impressive exclusive content and this year (2019) alone will feature over 24,000 live streamed events.
  • Last month ESPN announced a multi year agreement to exclusively broadcast UFC PPV events.
  • In addition to PPV events, it was revealed that ESPN+ will also launch a UFC version of ESPN+’s Detail with Daniel Cormier.
  • Visit our ESPN+ Listings page to stay up to date with what’s currently airing and what’s coming soon.

Hotstar

  • Uday Shankar took the stage to discuss Hotstar, a Disney India streaming service.
  • One of the notable takeaways from this presentation is that India has 600 million+ consumers under 25 — the largest youth population in the world.
  • By 2023, India will have one billion video screens and mobile is expected to be a huge market.
  • Hotstar currently hosts 100,000+ hours of content and plans to focus on mobile and more specifically Android, in the near future.

ICYMI Disney+: