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Just a few short weeks after Disney officially integrated Hulu into Disney+, another huge change is reportedly in the works. According to The Information, Disney is going to bring live channels to its streaming service in the coming weeks, similar to old-school TV channels or the increasingly popular FAST channels from Pluto TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.
The report claims that there will be a variety channels for different brands or genres, including a Star Wars channel and a Marvel channel. These channels will feature “a continuous, scheduled stream of shows,” just like you’d find on Disney Channel or ABC.
Despite the fact that these live channels will only be accessible to Disney+ subscribers, they will likely still contain ads. For some, that will be a small price to pay for not having to decide what to watch next when you tune in to one of the channels.
It’s still unclear how many channels will be available on Disney+ or when the channels will arrive. That said, it’s an understandable move from Disney, considering how popular free, ad-supported streaming services have become in recent years.
In a recent edition of his Screentime newsletter on Bloomberg, Lucas Shaw reported that Tubi is now more popular than Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+. More people are watching ad-supported TV shows and movies on Tubi than are tuning in to watch new episodes of buzzy shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sugar, or Quiet on Set.
It’s no wonder Disney wants a piece of that pie.
