As bundling becomes an important part of most streamer’s subscriber growth strategy, Disney has definitely taken the lead. Last week, Disney+ announced a new partnership with both TSN and Crave for its Canadian viewers. To fill us in on the details, we have entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, from Blake & Wang P.A.
Expanded Bell Media Deal
Disney has had a deal with Bell Media in Canadian territories for a while now, but under the new deal, subscribers will now also have access to not only HBO, but also sports programming, as a single, lower-cost package. This will kick off later this year, although launch timing and pricing have not yet been revealed.
This builds on Disney’s deal with Charter Communications to offer Disney+ to Spectrum Select TV customers at no additional costs, which was signed earlier this year.
The Battle of the Bundles
Bundling as a way to expand subscriber access in markets where the subscriber base has matured is becoming a go-to strategy for streaming services at present. Not only does it help access the last few hold-outs who have not signed on for the service itself, but it also helps offer lower entry points and tighter costs for subscribers.
Bell Media, as a traditional linear TV channel, has not been immune from the overall decline in viewership we’re seeing on legacy channels, and they have been looking for a jumping point into the streaming space for a while now. In fact, Crave and TSN themselves entered a bundle deal earlier this year. The combined Crave/TSN bundle is currently priced at $16.10 a month. That may give us an idea of where the pricing for the new bundle will land.
Disney has bought into the bundling idea in a big way currently, and it’s a strategy that seems to be paying off for them, so it will be interesting to see how this cross-border partnership works out for them.
Film and Television 