Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery to bundle streaming services

In this photo illustration the Disney+ logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

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The bundle is back.

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are planning to offer their streaming services — Disney+, Hulu and Max — in a bundle mirroring the traditional cable TV package, the companies said Wednesday.

The latest iteration of the bundle, which will be available this summer, will be offered on both the ad-supported and commercial-free tiers. Pricing has yet to be disclosed, but the option will be offered at a discount, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Disney will essentially act as the distributor in this case, collecting subscription fees from subscribers and paying out Warner Bros. Discovery a percentage, the person added.

This mashup of Max, Disney+ and Hulu will give streaming subscribers access to a wide breadth of content from broadcast networks ABC and Fox, as well as cable networks including TNT, TBS, CNN, Discovery Channel, Food Network, Disney Channel and more. Fox, which doesn’t have its own entertainment streaming subscription service, licenses its content on Hulu.

The offering, which is reminiscent of the cable TV bundle that has been upended in recent years and continues to bleed customers at a fast clip, is the latest partnership between the two media giants in recent months.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney’s ESPN, along with Fox Corp., have also joined forces to offer a sports-streaming service, which is expected to launch this fall.

Earlier on Wednesday, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on an earnings call he thought the sports-streaming venture would likely be bundled with other entertainment streaming services.

Disney has been offering its streaming services — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — as a bundle for some time. ESPN+ will still coexist with the sports-streaming venture, but is not included in the Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney bundle. Hulu content has also been recently integrated into the Disney+ platform, though the two still require separate subscriptions.

Max costs $9.99 a month with ads, or $15.99 without. Disney+’s basic tier with ads costs $7.99 per month — or bundled with Hulu, $9.99 a month — while its premium plan is $13.99 per month, or $19.99 with Hulu. Meanwhile, Hulu on its own costs $7.99 with ads, or $17.99 ad-free.