DIS
New content, same old streaming arms race
Disney+ and Hulu are adding video podcasts from iHeartMedia, starting with Hey Jonas! on August 14th. The lineup also includes Pod Meets World, Desperately Devoted, Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald, StraightioLab, and Thanks Dad with Ego Nwod.
Why this matters
This isn’t the kind of announcement that makes Wall Street pop champagne. But it does tell you what Disney is trying to do: keep people inside its apps longer, more often, and maybe just a little more addicted to the next thing in the feed.
That’s the streaming game now. If Netflix is the big buffet, Disney is trying to become the place where you stay for dessert, then a podcast, then maybe one more episode.
The investor angle
For Disney, the upside is less about one podcast and more about the strategy:
- more licensed content without building everything in-house
- more reasons for subscribers to open Disney+ and Hulu
- a little extra differentiation in a crowded streaming world
Big picture: this is a modest deal, not a market-moving blockbuster. But it fits Disney’s broader playbook of turning its streaming platforms into habit-forming media malls instead of just places to binge cartoons and Marvel reruns.