Disney and Fox to launch joint online TV bundle via Hulu, report says
LOS ANGELES -- Soon you may be able to stream Empire and college football all on one online service -- through Hulu.
The Santa Monica-based streaming service is working with Fox and Disney (its co-owners) to launch a subscription service that would stream broadcast and cable TV channels in a package offering, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday night.
The service -- which would have live and on-demand programming from a handful of companies including ESPN, ABC, Fox and FX -- is reportedly going to launch in early 2017. It would cost an estimated $40 a month.
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The news comes just days before the company's annual New Front presentation, scheduled for early Wednesday in New York City.
Hulu representatives declined to comment to Mashable on Sunday night.
However, if the report is true, it will definitely be a game changer for the entertainment industry.
As Mashable previously reported, bundles are becoming more popular in the streaming service space as consumers increasingly ditch cable. A Pew Research report from December found that one in seven Americans is now a cord cutter.
The economics behind the bundle are relatively simple. Services that operate on their own stand to incur major marketing and distribution costs that require them to charge higher prices. Bundled services can spread those costs out or transfer them entirely to distributors while accessing a larger customer base, lowering the price considerably.
Amazon Prime was considered the leader of a new kind of bundle, as it included delivery service, music and video all in one. Though recently it went the opposite direction and announced it will offer a standalone video service.
Google also began experimenting with bundles through YouTube Red, which offers a music service along with the site's vast video library and new original content.
Meanwhile, companies like satellite TV provider Dish Network and Sony have been trying to sell this idea of cable TV for online.
Dish has Sling TV (which costs $20 a month) and Sony has its Playstation Vue (which costs $30 to $40 a month). Both are both available nationwide and offer similar perks.
SlingTV even offers both a single stream and multi-stream option.
However, Hulu may have the advantage as it is co-owned by two major entertainment giants.
Notably, neither NBCUniversal nor Disney have agreed to place their channels on the multi-stream version of SlingTV.
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Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
