Disney has announced plans to integrate content from its Disney+ and Hulu streaming services in the United States.
The move comes after Disney+ lost four million subscribers in the first three months of the year, and the company is under pressure to make its streaming business profitable.
The Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, and Marvel movie house plans to tie Hulu and Disney+ into a “one app experience.”
The plans for the app have met with mixed reactions from existing subscribers.
Some have expressed concerns on social media that it will lead to higher subscription fees when it is published at the end of the year.
However, the company said that Disney+ and Hulu, in addition to its ESPN+ platform, will also remain available as standalone services.
Hulu, which is jointly owned by Disney and NBCUniversal, is best known for adult television shows, such as The Handmaid’s Tale.
Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors Wednesday that he has been in “friendly” talks with NBC’s parent company, Comcast, about taking full control when the existing ownership agreement expires next year.
“I can’t really say where they ended up, just to say there seems to be real value in having general entertainment associated with Disney+,” Iger said. “If Hulu is ultimately that solution, we’re optimistic about that.”
Since returning to Disney last year, Iger has focused on improving the company’s financial performance — particularly at Disney+.
Losses in the streaming business were $659 million in the first three months of the year, down from $1.1 billion in the previous quarter.
But the decline in the number of subscribers was greater than expected, which led to a drop in the company’s shares by about 5% in after-hours trading in New York.
Most of the losses came from service Hotstar in Asia, which lost the rights to live broadcast Indian cricket matches last year.
Disney+ also lost about 300,000 customers in the US and Canada after the subscription price hike.
Mr. Iger said the improved financial performance reflects the “strategic changes we’re making across the company to realign Disney for sustainable growth and success.”
He previously said that Disney+ has reached a “turning point” and will be profitable by next year.
Earlier this year, the entertainment giant reported its first drop in streaming subscriber numbers and announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs.
The latest announcement comes after thousands of Hollywood writers and screenwriters last week held their first strike in 15 years.
They are calling for better wages and working conditions because the move to broadcasting has upended the traditional television and film industries.
The last writers’ strike was in 2007. It lasted 100 days and cost the industry an estimated $2 billion.
On Wednesday, Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, declined to say how much the latest blow has cost the company.
The strike has already shut down many Disney projects, including those slated to run on Disney+.
Disney has poured billions of dollars into its streaming platforms in recent years, transforming it from a company rooted in traditional TV, movies and theme parks into one of the major players in the streaming industry.
It now has a total of more than 231 million subscriptions across its three streaming platforms, which also includes sports-focused ESPN+ and broader entertainment site Hulu.
Disney+ has approximately 158 million subscribers worldwide, although this is still behind competitor Netflix’s 232.5 million subscribers.