Bob Iger says next month’s beta launch of the combined Hulu-Disney+ app will “prepare parents” for the Union of Spicy and Kiddie Fare

Disney CEO Bob Iger says the beta launch of a combined Disney+-Hulu app next month will help families get used to the concept Bluish is just a few clicks away American Horror Story.

Speaking to Wall Street analysts about the company’s quarterly results, Iger did not mention specific programs or details about how the two services would be separated for parents who choose them. He said he previewed the new dual service on Tuesday and said it would be launched in beta in December and fully rolled out in March.

“We’re currently in beta so we can largely prepare parents to implement parental controls, as they’ll be able to access Hulu programming through the same app,” Iger said. Assuming these best practices are implemented and the tools work as intended, managers see opportunities in the form of “upsell opportunities, in the form of increased engagement,” Iger continued. “We have found that when we bundle, our sales decrease. And again, these are steps that must all be taken [streaming] a great company.”

Disney confirmed last week that it is buying Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu, which will give it more influence over pricing and bundling. Disney+ and Hulu are already part of a successful package with ESPN+, although the three are still separate apps. In an interview with CNBC shortly before the earnings release, Iger called the Hulu consolidation “a big step for the company from a strategic perspective.” He added that it “gives us an opportunity to further connect the dots between Disney+ and Hulu.”

As for the company’s overall streaming business, “the building blocks are in place,” Iger asserted on the conference call. Disney still expects to turn a profit in streaming by the end of fiscal 2024, as the company has claimed after many ups and downs. The company has moved away from the aggressive subscriber targets it first issued in 2019 and then ramped up in 2020.