A Bloomberg a report last week claimed that Disney intends to make Disney+ a “super app” that offers much more than just a streaming service. And today, during Disney’s earnings conference call, that direction was strongly signaled by the company’s leadership.
Disney announces plans to create a “super app” in the following earnings call Bloomberg report
The idea of ”super apps” is starting to be a trend, with Disney apparently following in OpenAI’s footsteps.
Thomas Buckley and Lucas Shaw, writing to Bloomberg:
Walt Disney Co. executives are discussing how to unify the company’s disparate mobile apps and make its streaming service the first stop for all things Disney, a place where users can reserve park tickets, buy merchandise, play games and watch movies, according to people familiar with the matter.
New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro is trying to break down silos within the company and simplify the way customers interact with his brand. The new app would marry Disney+ with mobile platforms such as the Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line Navigator apps in what is described internally as a “super app,” said the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private.
This report was released last Friday, but today it was not so subtly corroborated by Disney in the company’s quarterly results.
The company’s official letter to shareholders, for example, says: “As we seek to build Disney+ beyond a premium video streaming service…”
And during the earnings conference call, CEO Josh D’Amaro explained his vision. By Variety:
“Disney+ becomes the core relationship between Disney and its fans, the place where everything comes together…(the parks are) essentially the physical centerpiece of the company. And in the same way, we’re building Disney+ to serve as the immersive, interactive digital centerpiece of the company. And in the long term, what you’ll see is that these elements of the company will be more and more connected.”
Disney is clearly signaling its ambitions for Disney+ to become much more than a streaming platform. Bringing together the company’s physical and digital centerpieces looks an awful lot like merging Disney+ with the Disney Parks apps, Disney Cruise Line, potentially the Disney Store, and more.
Bloomberg said these efforts are still “at an early stage,” so it’s a bit surprising how intentionally Disney is hinting at its direction.
But if efforts continue as planned, the Disney+ app could look dramatically different in a few years than it does today.
What do you think of Disney’s announced plans to make Disney+ a “super app”? Let us know in the comments.
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