Disney is developing a bunch of new features that it hopes will encourage Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN subscribers to spend much more time watching its movies and its TV shows, according to a new report.
According to the Wall Street Journal [paywall], Disney is following in the footsteps of Netflix and aiming to boost what's known as user engagement in the next six months. In short, the more time we spend on the service the less likely we are to jump ship to rivals, and it increases the amount of advertising opportunities, too.
So what might these features be? As we've heard previously from a report in April, one of them could include new channels dedicated to specific shows or franchises such as The Simpsons or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apparently, these 'live' channels could play through an entire series or franchise from start to finish.
Other features that could be coming soon, according to the report, include a "more-personalized algorithm to power content recommendations", some "customized promotional art for new shows and movies" that are based on your viewing history and, less excitingly, email prompts to remind you to finish a series that you've abandoned halfway though.
The house of mouse is apparently considering multiple options for these new features, including ad-supported, ad-free and sponsored content.
Churn baby churn
For streaming services, reducing 'churn' – when subscribers cancel or jump ship to rivals – is a key priority; streamers spend huge sums on trying to attract new subscribers, and the longer those subscribers stay the more effective that spending is.
A 2021 report by Deloitte estimated that the cost per new subscriber for streaming services is around $200 per sign-up, and that cost represents many months of subscription fees – so someone who signs up for the likes of The Bear (above), binge-watches it and then quits again is a loss to the streamer.
One of the ways streamers have chosen to battle churn is via bundling with other services. That's something that Disney has been doing, too – for example, there's a Disney+, Hulu and Max bundle designed to take on Netflix. But the WSJ says that boosting engagement is now a key priority.
According to the report, Disney execs are studying the way we use its streaming services and tagging us as "Disney+ dominant" or "Hulu dominant" based on our usage; the firm has found that by targeting Hulu content towards "Disney+ dominant" viewers they can significantly increase the amount of Hulu shows those subscribers are watching. Disney is reportedly planning to do the same with the Max viewers joining via the aforementioned bundle.
According to the obligatory "people familiar with the matter", Disney is looking at moving away from human creation to "a more Netflix-like" model that uses user data to drive recommendation algorithms. Disney boss Bob Iger has previously said that he sees personalization systems as a key way to reduce marketing costs.
Whatever Disney is cooking, we won't have to wait too long to experience it: according to the WSJ, some of the new features could roll out within the next few months.
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