Disney Plus could soon make big Netflix-style changes to keep you glued to its shows

Disney has plans to boost your watch time across its apps

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Disney is developing a bunch of new features that it hopes will encourageDisney Plus,Huluand ESPN subscribers to spend much more time watching its movies and its TV shows, according to a new report.

According to theWall Street Journal[paywall], Disney is following in the footsteps of Netflix and aiming to boost what’s known as user engagement in the next six months. In short, the more time we spend on the service the less likely we are to jump ship to rivals, and it increases the amount of advertising opportunities, too.

So what might these features be? Aswe’ve heard previouslyfrom a report in April, one of them could include new channels dedicated to specific shows or franchises such asThe Simpsonsor theMarvelCinematic Universe. Apparently, these ‘live’ channels could play through an entire series or franchise from start to finish.

Other features that could be coming soon, according to the report, include a “more-personalized algorithm to power content recommendations”, some “customized promotional art for new shows and movies” that are based on your viewing history and, less excitingly, email prompts to remind you to finish a series that you’ve abandoned halfway though.

The house of mouse is apparently considering multiple options for these new features, including ad-supported, ad-free and sponsored content.

Churn baby churn

For streaming services, reducing ‘churn’ – when subscribers cancel or jump ship to rivals – is a key priority; streamers spend huge sums on trying to attract new subscribers, and the longer those subscribers stay the more effective that spending is.

A2021 report by Deloitteestimated that the cost per new subscriber for streaming services is around $200 per sign-up, and that cost represents many months of subscription fees – so someone who signs up for the likes ofThe Bear(above), binge-watches it and then quits again is a loss to the streamer.

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One of the ways streamers have chosen to battle churn is via bundling with other services. That’s something that Disney has been doing, too – for example, there’s aDisney+, Hulu and Max bundledesigned to take on Netflix. But the WSJ says that boosting engagement is now a key priority.

According to the report, Disney execs are studying the way we use its streaming services and tagging us as “Disney+ dominant” or “Hulu dominant” based on our usage; the firm has found that by targeting Hulu content towards “Disney+ dominant” viewers they can significantly increase the amount of Hulu shows those subscribers are watching. Disney is reportedly planning to do the same with the Max viewers joining via the aforementioned bundle.

According to the obligatory “people familiar with the matter”, Disney is looking at moving away from human creation to “a more Netflix-like” model that uses user data to drive recommendation algorithms. Disney boss Bob Iger has previously said that he sees personalization systems as a key way to reduce marketing costs.

Whatever Disney is cooking, we won’t have to wait too long to experience it: according to the WSJ, some of the new features could roll out within the next few months.

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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.

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