Which feature should Disney+ add? A live stream of ABC
Which feature should Disney+ add? A live stream of ABC
Customers can watch CBS on Paramount+, and NBC with a Peacock subscription. It’s time for ABC to join its peers.
Disney has done a lot of work to transform Disney+ from a kids and family streamer to a one-stop streaming destination. The final integration of Hulu into Disney+ will unite all of the company’s on-demand entertainment on a single app, and Disney+ has also begun adding a wide selection of sports content from ESPN.
The streamer has done a good job of updating its app to ease customers’ path of navigation amidst all of these additions. But for all the labor Disney has put into making Disney+ its flagship streaming platform, there’s still one glaring hole in the service’s viewing options: a live stream of ABC.
Disney still has yet to determine the future of its various linear channels. Unlike Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery, it has made no move to sell or spin off its cable networks into a separate business since 2023. Even if Disney does move to divest itself of cable channels, however, key networks like ABC and ESPN will undoubtedly stay in the company’s fold.
As one of the five major broadcast channels in the United States, ABC offers a diverse array of programming. It provides nightly news, primetime TV, live sports, and more, and offering a live stream of the channel on Disney+ seems like an incredibly logical step for the company to take.
It’s all the more logical considering that its biggest competitors have already taken steps to ensure the availability of their own broadcast channels via streaming. All customers around the United States can access a live stream of their local CBS stations on the Paramount+ Premium plan, and NBC viewers can do likewise with a subscription to [Peacock Premium Plus].
Disney could well choose to make an ABC a bonus feature of its ad-free Premium plan, which would help it recoup the costs associated with adding ABC to the platform in each market around the country. There’s no doubt Disney would have to pay more in fees to station owners to get the channels uploaded, and that bill could add up fast.
Still, Disney has deep pockets, and the addition of an ABC stream to Disney+ would likely boost engagement on the streamer materially. Broadcast TV still attracts a sizeable portion of overall TV viewership each month, and adding another key brand owned by Disney on Disney+ would certainly fit with the company’s philosophy of emphasizing the streamer.
It would undoubtedly take time and money to accomplish, but I think the choice for the feature Disney+ needs to add most is clear. The streamer should seriously consider adding a live stream of ABC to its platform — not just the ABC News free streaming channel that viewers can watch there now, but the real thing.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”