The streaming wars have reached fever pitch with more advertising, higher prices and greater competition as platforms struggle to turn a profit and attract paying users.
With so many options now available to consumers, the media landscape appears to be returning to the cable TV package of years past – the very thing streaming sought to undo.
On Monday, telecom giant Verizon (VZ) announced it will offer a $10 bundle on the ad-supported plans of streaming services Netflix (NFLX) and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max (WBD), resulting in savings of more than $40 % leads.
The offer, available to Verizon myPlan customers, begins Thursday. The company will also offer an additional package that combines the ad-free Disney+ plan with the ad-supported tiers of Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix and Max for $20 per month.
The news comes after The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Paramount Global (PARA) and Apple (AAPL) are in early talks to bundle their streaming services at a discount. Paramount declined to comment, while Apple did not respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment.
The concept of bundling is not new. Companies in this space have recently started doing this with their own services. Apple, for example, offers Apple One, which combines Apple TV+ with other services such as Apple Music and Apple Arcade. The package was launched globally at the end of 2020.
On Wednesday, Disney, which also offers a bundle with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, officially began its national rollout of a one-app experience that integrates Hulu content through Disney+ – a similar play to Paramount’s Showtime combination and HBO integration Max and Discovery+, both of which merged their respective services earlier this year.
There were also third-party packages, with Walmart+ members automatically offered the ad-supported Paramount+ plan. Meanwhile, Instacart+ customers will receive Peacock’s ad-supported plan at no additional cost. Paramount also partnered with Delta earlier this year.
“Everyone is trying to come up with something of their own,” Mark Boidman, partner and global media director at Solomon Partners, told Yahoo Finance about the package. “If you can package something in the minds of consumers at an attractive price, then that makes sense.”
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