Disney’s Investor Day: Everything About Disney’s Streaming Service, From Disney+ to Hulu

We’re only a quarter of the way into 2019 and this one’s already shaping up to be a major year for streaming. What’s long been a field dominated by Netflix with Hulu and Amazon’s Prime Video also in the game and winning awards is on the verge of becoming truly competitive. Not only are Hulu and Prime upping their game (Hulu’s currently on a critical roll and Prime’s got a little thing called Lord of the Rings waiting in the wings), but two potentially game-changing services are launching this year. There’s Apple’s original content platform Apple+ and, as we’re here to talk about today, there’s Disney’s new digital home Disney+.

It’s not only their names that link them, either. Apple and Disney are two of the largest companies in existence, and them getting into the streaming game could very well make Netflix flinch. They’re also linked by timing; Apple unveiled their content slate (but not much else) just a few weeks ago during a massive event at the company’s impressive Cupertino HQ. Our own Meghan O’Keefe was at that event, one packed with everyone from entertainment journalists to tech moguls to Oprah Winfrey. By comparison, Disney’s dropping details about Disney+ via a call with investors, albeit one that’ll be webcast instead of kept in conference rooms. So, that’s the difference; Meghan got to go to California, and I’m on my couch in Queens!

But jokes aside, Disney+’s slate is nothing to underestimate even based on what we know right now. There are something like 40 TV series and movies in various phases of development right now for Disney+, which is a bit more than what Apple’s announced. Among those projects are a number of shows set in the Star Wars universe and starring Marvel Studios superheroes. TV limited series starring A-list movie superheroes played by movie stars? That’s a big deal.

For all the info on Disney+, keep refreshing this liveblog and checking Decider during the duration of the event (and after, duh!).

5:15: The call began with Lowell Singer, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, running through the agenda for the night, which will include updates on Hulu, Disney+, and more.

5:20: Bob Iger took the stage to greet the investors, mentioning a video played in the room touting the merger between Disney and Fox. The video wasn’t played on the webcast, most likely due to the rights issues mentioned in Singer’s intro.

5:25: Kevin Mayer, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer International, took the stage to talk about Disney’s overarching plans involving Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar. Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu will all
likely be bundled at a discounted price and offered to subscribers. Mayer talked briefly about Hulu, touting its 25 million subscribers. Disney+ will be an ad-free service.

5:32: Michael Paull, President Disney Streaming Services, takes the stage to talk about, well, Disney’s streaming services and their history working with platforms like PlayStation Vue and HBO GO.

5:35: The Hulu portion begins as Hulu CEO Randy Freer takes the stage. Freer says Hulu was the fastest-growing service in 2018. Total hours viewed rose by 75%, and hours spent on the service per subscriber grew 20%. Disney+ will be available as an add-on on Hulu. The Act has driven more subscribers to Hulu in its first month than any other Hulu original.

5:46: ESPN president James Pitaro and ESPN+ General Manager Russell Wolff took the stage to intro the ESPN+ segment. ESPN+ will be the exclusive home of UFC pay-per-view events through 2025.

5:57: It’s while I’m waiting for the presentation to come back that I learn that Arcade Fire has a song on the live-action Dumbo soundtrack called “Baby Mine.” Wow? Anyway–now Uday Shankar, president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific comes on stage to talk about Hotstar, India’s largest premium streaming platform.

6:05: It’s at this point that I see that Variety just broke the news that a Sandlot sequel TV series is in the works at Disney+ from the film’s original director and co-writer, and will likely star the many of the original actors all grown up. The series will reportedly focus on the original cast’s kids and be set in 1984.

6:07: Lowell Singer comes back out to say they’re taking a 15 minute break before we get into Disney+ territory. The show’s about to really begin!

6:25: Kevin Mayer came back to the stage to kick off the Disney+ portion. He talks about how strong the brand awareness and fandoms are for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. They count over one billion fans, and he praises Disney for being the only studio in history to gross over $7 billion at the box office in a year… and they did that two years in a row. Mayer says that the same creative teams behind all those brands are also creating content exclusive to Disney+ on “an ongoing basis.” Mayer says all Disney+ content will be downloadable on an unlimited basis to all subscribers as long as they are a subscriber.

6:31 Mayer walked through a working protoype of Disney+, starting with the smart TV interface. Mayer said that all the content visible on the homepage will be available on the service either at launch or soon after. The titles included include Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, which will be the first time it’s ever been available to stream.

The home page has a top carousel of the brands (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic) and clicking on their icon takes you to a brand page.

Mayer notes that Captain Marvel will be available to stream at launch.

Also visible during this section was a photo for Disney+’s live-action Lady and the Tramp as well as a logo for the original Marvel series The Falcon and Winter Soldier.

On the NatGeo page, Mayer reveals that a series called The World According to Jeff Goldblum is coming.

There will be a page dedicated to the Disney+ Originals, which includes Encore! hosted by Kristen Bell. Images from Anna Kendrick’s Noelle is shown, as is key art from Monsters at Work and Timmy Failure.

Disney+ subscribers will be able to customize profiles from their vast library of characters similar to Netflix. Multiple profiles will be available, as well as parental control.

6:39: Mayer then walked the audience through the tablet and mobile phone interfaces. He pointed out again that you will be available to download all of the content for on-the-go viewing.

6:40: Michael Baldwin came back on the stage to talk about which devices Disney+ will be available on. Roku and PlayStation 4 will have Disney+, and more will be available by the time of launch. He says they will launch in North America in Q1 of Fiscal Year 2020, and will roll out between the next two fiscal years.

6:43: Ricky Strauss, President of Content & Marketing came onstage. Disney+ will be marketed at Star Wars Celebration this weekend, Comic-Con International in San Diego, and this year’s D23 convention.

6:48: Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO Jennifer Lee came out on stage to talk about the platform’s animation catalogue. All 13 films in the Disney Signature Collection will be available after being stuck in the vault, and will stay available on the service. The vast majority of recent films, including Moana, Zootopia, Big Hero 6, and Frozen will be available on launch. Disney+ will be the home of Frozen II in summer 2020 after it runs through its theatrical run. Additionally, a documentary about the making of Frozen II, called Into the Unknown: Making of Frozen II will be on the service.

6:52: Pixar CCO Pete Docter came out to talk about Pixar. 18 of the Pixar movies will be available on launch; Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, and Coco will come shortly after. The theatrical shorts will be available, including Bao.

Docter said that Forky, Toy Story 4’s new character, will have a new series of shorts where he will ask questions about the nature of life. Bo Peep will get her own Toy Story spinoff film titled Lamplife, which will detail where she was between Toy Story movies. Docter briefly talked about the new Monsters at Work series, and a docuseries that will be about the animators at Pixar.

7:00: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took the stage to talk Marvel and Disney+. On day one, Captain Marvel will be available to stream right when Disney+ launches. Avengers: Endgame will stream on Disney+ during the first year. Then Kevin Feige played a clip from Endgame, which of course could not be shown over the webcast.

Available at launch will be Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, all of which are currently on Netflix. Behind-the-scenes footage from Marvel Studios’ decade will be showcased in documentaries Marvel 616 and Marvel Heroes.

Feige talked about the TV shows coming to Disney+ featuring the actors from the films. The shows will be on the same level of quality of the movies, Feige said, and said they will explore the MCU over multiple episodes. He says these will be major storylines that will be felt in the other shows and movies.

The shows include Wanda Vision starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany; Falcon and Winter Soldier starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan; and Loki starring Tom Hiddleston. Feige talked about the animated What If…? series which will take moments from the MCU and “turn them on their head,” and ask questions like “What if Peggy Carter became Captain America?” or “What if scrawny Steve joined World War II in a suit built by Howard Stark?” The movie actors will voice the characters.

7:08: Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm took the stage to talk Star Wars. She confirmed Disney+ will host the entire collection of Star Wars, pre-Last Jedi. Last Jedi and Solo and Episode XI will be available in the first year. The Rogue One prequel series is in production. Alan Tudyk will be back as K-2SO, and Americans showrunner Stephen Schiff is running that spy series. Additionally, Kennedy said that more live-action shows are on the way, in addition to a new season of the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

7:12: Jon Favreau, the creator of The Mandalorian, joined Kennedy on stage, saying that they’re making the finished footage “look like Star Wars.” The Mandalorian Season 1 will last 8 episodes. Favreau said that The Mandalorian will stand alone but also have lots of stuff in there just for the lifelong fans. Favreau said that The Mandalorian will mix modern technology with the classic puppetry, and Favreau introduced a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel that, again, could not be shown to those not in the room.

7:18: Sean Bailey, head of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, took the stage to talk about the live-action slate. The 2019 film slate, including Lion King, will all make their streaming debut on Disney+.

Disney+ will have a slate of live-action movies, and Bailey runs through some of those. Noelle is up first, a holiday comedy that will be available soon after launch. Anna Kendrick stars as Santa’s daughter and Nick (Bill Hader), her brother, is next in line. But when he goes missing, Noelle has to go into the real world to find him. Footage from Noelle was shown, but not to us.

Timmy Failure was next, from Spotlight director Tom McCarthy. Timmy and an imagined polar bear friend run a detective agency. Footage was shown from this, as well, that was not streamed. Next came Stargirl, based on a YA novel about an average teen whose life is upended when a new girl comes to school. America’s Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal is the lead. Footage was shown, but not streamed. Coming to Disney+ after launch is the true story drama Togo, starring Willem Dafoe.

And there’s a live-action Lady and the Tramp that will be available on launch, and features Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux as Lady and the Tramp. Behind-the-scenes footage was shown, but not streamed.

7:35: Courteney Monroe, President National Geographic Global Television Networks, took the stage. Over 250 hours of NatGeo series and docs will be available on day one. This includes Jane and Free Solo, the series Brain Games, One Strange Rock, Cosmos, and the new series Gordon Ramsay Uncharted.

There will be two new series, one being The World According to Jeff Goldblum. Monroe says they “tapped into his passion” for the series and will be available on day one. Goldblum will get curious about topics from sneakers to ice cream to reveal a “wonderful world of fascinating science, little known history, and big ideas” said Monroe. They just started production but showed a brief bit of footage that was not streamed. Another seires, Magic of the Animal Kingdom, will be exclusive to Disney+. The series will focus on veterinarians and offer viewers an all access pass to the work being done to protect endangered species. “You will get to see so many cute animals,” Monroe adds.

7:42: Gary Marsh, President and CCO Disney Channel came out on the stage. He says 5,000 episodes of Disney Channel and Disney Junior content and over 100 movies will be on Disney+ on day one. There’s an all-new Phineas and Ferb original movie coming to Disney+, focusing on Candace getting abducted by space aliens while Phineas and Ferb go off to rescue her. All 127 episodes of Phineas and Ferb will be available on launch.

A trailer for the new High School Musical show debuted, but not streamed. The show is High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, set at the “real” East High as students at that school star in a high school musical version of High School Musical.

7:49: Now it’s Senior VP of Content Agnes Chu’s turn. She calls Disney+ an “unbridled living, breathing ecosystem of content.” She mentions Kristen Bell’s unscripted series Encore! that reunites old high school classmates to put their old productions on. She mentions Supper Club, the team behind Chef’s Table, who will create a slate of Disney+ content. 9 exclusive episodic series, including The Mandalorian and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Also available will be The Imagineering Story: A Film by Leslie Iwerks. In the first year, Disney+ plans.

In year one, Disney+ will have more than 25 series and more than 10 movies/specials. Fox titles like Malcolm in the Middle and The Sound of Music will also be available. Additionally, there will be 7500 episodes of TV, over 400 library titles, and over 100 recent titles on the service. By year 5, Disney+ plans to have 50 original series, over 10 movies a year, 10,000 episodes, 120 recent titles, and over 500 library titles.

Additionally, The Simpsons will stream exclusively on Disney+ and all 30 seasons will be available on day one.

Disney+ will launch on November 12. It will cost $6.99 a month. It will also be available for an annual cost of $69.99.