Good afternoon. I'm Lowell Singer, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at The Walt Disney Company, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to the webcast of our Disney Investor Day 2019. Over the past year and a half, you've had many questions about our direct to consumer strategy and services, And our goal today is to answer as many of them as possible. So let me provide some details for the day. Disney's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Iger will start us off.
Next, Kevin Mayer will discuss our direct to consumer strategy. We're going to follow that with presentations about all of our direct to consumer businesses. First, Hulu, then ESPN Plus and then Hotstar. We will then take a 15 minute break. Following the break, we will focus on Disney plus Our team will talk a bit about the Disney plus opportunity and some specifics around the launch as well as walk through a demo of the Disney plus app.
You will also hear from some of our company's amazing creative executives who are making content for this service. Disney Chief Financial Officer, Christine McCarthy will then wrap up the day by discussing some of the key financial implications of our business plans and we will follow that with a question and answer session. Due to some rights issues, we won't be able to webcast many of the videos that we're showing in the room, but we have worked hard to clear the rights on the most important ones that we think people should see during the day. In particular, during our Disney plus content section, some portions of the webcast will be audio only and some portions will be blacked out. We apologize for this necessity.
We will be posting the slides to our website shortly after the conclusion of the event. Let me note that statements made in today's presentation may contain forward looking information. Actual results may differ materially from what we are presenting today. The slide you now see gives you information about some of the risks regarding those forward looking statements as well as where to go to get more information about our risk factors. Finally, and most importantly, on behalf of all of us, we want to welcome you and thank you for taking the time to learn more about The Walt Disney Company.
Our presentation will begin shortly.
Thank you very much. Good afternoon to all of you. This is the first time that we've met with all of you since the Fox deal closed. And so we thought that we would open with a visual portrait of our newly combined company. Did we miss anything by the way?
The video that you just watched told a powerful tale about where we have been and what we've accomplished. It should also give you a strong sense of what we can do and what we're building from. For 2 decades, these companies have been entertaining the world at the highest levels, creating an indelible connection with billions of people and a treasure trove of long lasting valuable content. The Disney plus platform is being built on that foundation, one that no other content or technology company can rival. But this is an exciting time, but it's also a challenging time.
The pace of change is extraordinary and the dynamism of the marketplace is both powerful and permanent. Deciding how to navigate this was not difficult for us. We knew the best approach was to focus on exactly what was evident in that opening video and that's to create great content and to distribute it in innovative ways. It is that simple. And the combination of Fox and Disney unites businesses with the same mission and creates a team of talented, experienced and visionary leaders that will execute our vision and enable our 96 year old company to thrive and to grow to be more relevant than ever as we enter our 2nd century.
Now one of the many unique qualities of Disney films is their evergreen appeal. Starting with Snow White in 1937, our films were designed to entertain people of all ages and they're still entertaining people today passed on from generation to generation to generation because they hold their relevance having touched audiences in profound, heartfelt and deeply entertaining ways. My grandparents took me to see Cinderella when I was a young boy. And just this last Christmas, I watched it with my grandchildren. That's 5 generations of my family all entertained by the same film and a perfect illustration of what Evergreen means to us and just how much value it generates.
Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars films share that same powerful characteristic and they're all going to populate Disney plus Now we will of course augment those treasures with an array of quality storytelling from our strong successful creative engines and an unprecedented collection of talent, many of whom you'll hear from today. Today's presentation is aimed at showing you where we're going, but it was also important for us to remind you that we're starting from a position of strength, confidence and unbridled optimism. A core tenet of ours since Walt founded the company is to create change and not just to sit back and watch it happen. Now that's not easy. It takes commitment, it takes perseverance, it takes patience and a lot of talent.
And borrowing from one of Walt's greatest strengths, it takes courage. And as you'll see today, we have plenty of it. I hope you enjoy the presentation, which will also include a look at Hulu, ESPN Plus and Hotstar. Then I'll be back at the end to take your questions. And to get us started, I'm going to turn the stage over to Kevin Mayer, who'll give you an overview of our direct to consumer strategy.
Now as many of you know, Kevin led strategic planning for the company, playing a major role in acquisitions including Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox as well as BAMTech. And as part of our corporate reorganization last year, I named Kevin Chairman of our newly created Direct to Consumer and International segment. He has a deep understanding of the changing landscape and has been my partner in developing our ambitious DTC strategy. So please welcome Kevin Mayer.
Thanks, Bob, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for coming to learn more about our growing direct to consumer business. This is an exciting day for the entire Disney family. As Bob mentioned, our aggressive move into the space reflects a fundamental shift in the marketplace and growing consumer demand for streaming services, which is a tremendous opportunity for us given the unparalleled strength of our brands and the quality of our intellectual property. And we're confident in our unique ability to leverage all of our assets to drive long term growth.
Our confidence is bolstered by a number of favorable industry trends, including the explosive growth in the number of households with broadband connectivity sufficient to deliver high quality video streaming and the rise of 5 gs in the future will only accelerate this trend going forward. We're further encouraged by the sizable increase in the number of direct to consumer subscriptions globally, which is growing by 37% annually to top 800,000,000 by the end of next year. We're also seeing a significant rise a day in 2020. That implies an annual a day in 2020. That implies an annual growth rate of 50% per year over this 10 year period.
Given these consumer trends, it's easy to understand why we're so excited about our unique opportunities in direct to consumer and also so confident in our strategy. And while the direct to consumer space is growing, it is also becoming a crowded marketplace in which brands matter more than ever. And with Disney, ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars, we have the brands that matter most to consumers when it comes to great entertainment. And we continue to strengthen those great brands with fantastic franchises and compelling new intellectual property that we leverage across our entire company. All of the content we produce under these brands becomes part of our library.
And as Bob said, it's an evergreen library and it holds its values to consumers better than any other in the industry. The acquisition of 21st Century Fox last month further strengthened our hand, adding more powerful brands, world class content, creative engines, a wealth of stellar management talent around the world as well as Star India's television and over the top properties and a controlling interest in Hulu. We will fully leverage all of these assets to generate maximum value, as we've done exceedingly well with our previous strategic acquisitions. When it comes to delivering a world class direct to consumer experience, phenomenal content is only part of the equation. It also requires cutting edge technology and design capabilities, which is why we moved quickly in 2017 to acquire a controlling interest in BAMTech, a company at the forefront of providing live and on demand video streaming with incredible quality and great reliability.
It was a significant investment in our future because it gave us the ability to move into the direct to consumer space quickly and effectively, as evidenced by the tremendous success of ESPN plus We've renamed BAMTech Disney Streaming Services to reflect our growing D2C presence. Armed with exceptional content and innovative technology, we're offering 3 direct to consumer services in the U. S, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu, each built for a specific target audience, each offered as a standalone service, which we will likely bundle at a discounted price to create even more value for consumers. Our family friendly Disney Plus service will feature a robust and ever growing slate of original content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, as well as recently released films and iconic content from our extensive libraries. As you'll see later in the presentation, we'll continually create new original content and expand access to recent releases to make the experience even more valuable and compelling for consumers.
Switching gears a bit, ESPN plus has been super serving sports fans since its launch a year ago. The service has more than 2,000,000 paid subscribers and continues to grow at an impressive pace as we enhance the experience and the content mix. We've carefully assembled sports rights in verticals where having a sufficient amount of quality programming makes ESPN plus truly a must have subscription for fans, and we'll continue to aggressively grow these offerings. Finally, we're thrilled to now have majority stake in Hulu, which is our most established D2C service with more than 25,000,000 current paid U. S.
Subscribers. Those of you using Hulu already know it offers access to the best of television, including current and past seasons of hit shows, as well as high quality movies and original series. So those are our domestic D2C offerings, but we're also expanding our global footprint over time. Given its content and brand mix, Disney plus is obviously a global product with universal appeal, one that we will launch in just about every major market over time. We also see potential for a Latin American launch of ESPN plus and with our newly acquired majority stake of Hulu, we're actively evaluating international rollout strategies for that service.
One of the main drivers behind our acquisition of 21st Century Fox was to accelerate and enhance our D2C businesses overseas. So we are very excited to gain access to Star and Hotstar in India that excels at delivering high quality video streaming in low bandwidth environments. Hotstar had more than 300,000,000 monthly active users in March And the service also set a world record by serving almost 13,000,000 concurrent viewers for Indian Premier League matches. That's really incredible. As you can see, there's tremendous potential for continued expansion across our global direct to consumer businesses.
And our strategy for maximizing the value of each opportunity includes using a variety of business models. For example, Disney plus will be a wholly subscription supported service. On the other hand, ESPN Plus does have limited advertising. There are no pre roll or banner ads, but there are natural ad breaks during live events. Hulu offers consumers a choice.
They can buy a service with or without ads. They can also subscribe to Hulu Live, a digital MVPD service that includes expanded basic channels. Hotstar has a free ad supported business models with an optional upgrade for premium content. So our D2C mission is to provide consumers the content they want on the devices they use at the time and place of their choosing all at a reasonable price. Throughout today's presentation, you'll hear from key leaders who are charged with delivering on that promise.
I've mentioned the importance of our great technology to deliver our services. So without further ado, please welcome from the direct to consumer and international team, Michael Paul, President of Disney Streaming Services. Michael?
Thanks, Kevin. Shortly after I joined BAMTech back in 2017, Disney began the process of purchasing a majority stake in the company, which brought hundreds of technologists to the Walt Disney Company, along with world class expertise in both live and on demand video streaming. Our product and technology team has been a pioneer in the video streaming space. In fact, our team with Major League Baseball had the 1st sports app to be offered in the iTunes store back in 2008. Since then, each product launch has helped us advance our features and expand our capabilities, which positioned our team for rapid build and deployment of ESPN plus last year, 7 months post acquisition and now Disney plus later this year.
To give you a few examples of innovative services that we've launched, we partnered with Discovery and completely rebuilt and expanded its Eurosport Player Service into 45 markets across Europe ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The event marked the first fully digital Olympics for Europe with all events streamed live and on demand. The launch expanded our international capabilities significantly, adding new languages, currencies and payment mechanisms. With the launch of PlayStation Vue, our team developed expertise to support linear channels and was the first to market with a cable bundle that included local channel feeds. We also launched HBO NOW and demonstrated our ability to support a high volume of concurrent viewership during the Game of Thrones Season 7 finale.
Over the course of rolling out all these services, our underlying platform has continued to evolve. We optimize video for quality to the consumer, while minimizing latency. Our video can be streamed at 60 frames per second, which is critical for viewing quick action sequences associated with sports content. In addition, our innovative platform has been designed to scale to over 10,000,000 concurrent viewers at HD quality at any given moment. With live sports, we understand that most people subscribe right before the event happens and designed our platform to support high transactional velocity, which was demonstrated during ESPN Plus' UFC Fight Night on January 19.
We anticipate that this will be critical to managing not only the surges around large sporting events, but also the unveiling of Disney Plus. We have a legacy of best in class product development with elegant and functional user interfaces across a wide device footprint. Lastly, our advanced data analytic tools and deep machine learning allows us to better serve consumers by delivering a highly personalized experience. This is the platform which drives ESPN plus and will drive Disney plus A bit later in today's presentation, you'll get to see some of these capabilities in action. Thank you.
Thanks, Michael. Okay, we're now going to switch gears and we're going to turn to our services. We're going to start with Hulu. So Hulu launched in 2,008 as a free ad supported VOD service for next day access to recent episodes of current season broadcast TV shows. Hulu has since evolved into a comprehensive SVOD service and also launched its digital MVPD service in May of 2017.
We are thrilled that with the closing of the Fox acquisition, we now own 60% of Hulu. And here to discuss Hulu in greater detail is its Chief Executive Officer, Randy Freer. Please join me in welcoming Randy.
Good afternoon. Thank you, Lowell. Hulu entered the direct to consumer video market 10 years ago, giving consumers a new and different television experience. It was TV delivered directly to the viewer. Television has seen more change in innovation in the last 10 years than it did in the previous 50 years.
Technology has transformed the way media companies create and distribute TV programming and streaming media has changed what consumers expect from TV. As you saw in Kevin's presentation, streaming is TV. It's simply better TV. It's on demand. It's live.
It's direct to the consumer. It's past and current. It's in your living room, on your phone, your tablet, on your time, with and without ads and untethered from the confines of homes and wires. It's the stories you love delivered to you whenever you want in a curated personalized user experience. Its foundation is based on consumers having choice and being in control.
That's Hulu's foundation as well. Hulu has always been right at the center of media and technology, and the consumer is always at the center of Hulu. In 2018, Hulu experienced tremendous growth and was the fastest growing video service in the U. S. Hulu's customer base grew by 50%, adding nearly 8,000,000 subscribers.
And those customers are spending more time with Hulu, making Hulu a part of their daily routine. They are more engaged and watching more of everything Hulu has to offer, license shows, movies, news and sports and Hulu Originals. With our subscriber growth last year, total hours viewed on Hulu rose by 75%. Equally important is the average time spent on Hulu per customer, which grew by more than 20% year over year. And there is still tremendous upside.
For many of our customers, the lines between live and on demand are blurring. Hulu is the only TV provider that has a direct to consumer relationship with viewers across every way they watch, current season, past season, library and live. This allows us to operate diversified business models across Hulu's 3 product offerings. And Hulu can monetize all viewing behaviors and patterns in a way that no other video offer does. Consumers can choose Hulu at multiple price points, with or without ads, with or without live TV and with premium add ons like Showtime, HBO, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus Hulu makes these choices easy.
In a matter of seconds, a subscriber can choose whatever plan is right for them at any point in time. Hulu is going to give its customers the choice of the right product for the right program at the right time at the right price. This unique ability differentiates us in the market and keeps Hulu subscribers happy. And we know they're happy. Recent price changes have had a positive impact across all three of Hulu's products.
In fact, a large percentage of those customers who did not want to pay more for Hulu Plus Live TV chose to stay with us as Hulu ad free or Hulu with ads customers. And just last month, our churn rates hit an all time low. Hulu is the only ad supported premium video service today with a fully addressable audience on all devices, including connected TVs. This uniquely positions Hulu to benefit from and lead brands into the digital video ad market, a market projected to be over $50,000,000,000 within 3 years. Hulu does this with a viewer first ad experience that has less commercial interruption with ad breaks that are shorter and ads that are more relevant.
And we are investing heavily and even heavily in even less intrusive ad formats as well as sophisticated targeting and automation to provide an even more satisfying experience for viewers and for brands. Hulu's 1st party data provides greater ability to reach the right customer at the right time in a fully viewable environment. That's right. Advertisers only pay for completed ads. And we give them a world class attribution capability to measure ROI as well.
No other TV partner can deliver the same combination of viewability, brand safety, targeting and measurement, all inside the best storytelling and the largest selection of shows anywhere. In 2018, our ad revenue grew by more than 45% and Hulu increased its advertiser base by 50% to nearly 2,500 clients. That will grow to more than 10,000 unique advertising partners, while more than doubling ad revenue over the next few years. Our mission is simple, to captivate and connect people with the stories they love. This past year, more than 80% of Emmy nominated shows were available through Hulu.
With our award winning originals and current and past seasons of hit shows and classic TV series, we have more than 85 1,000 episodes of television, more than any other TV streaming service and add to that documentaries, box office hit films and live news and sports, Hulu gives viewers a complete TV choice. And of course, there's original programming. Hulu Originals are key to driving acquisition and engagement. Unique distinctive programs and original series will play a bigger role in defining our brand and consumer choices. When it comes to originals, we look for great stories that are authentic, reflect culture and become part of the conversation.
Who will achieve that with The Handmaid's Tale, the first streaming show to win a Series Emmy? And we'll continue to connect with audiences through shows like Catch-twenty 2, Little Fires Everywhere, our Oscar nominated documentary Minding the Gap, our newest comedies Shrill and 10/15 and our most recent original series, The Act, which has driven more new subscribers to series than any other Hulu original in the 1st month. We plan on increasing the number of originals and continuing to elevate our slate with prolific talent like George Clooney, Kerry Washington, Reese Witherspoon, Martin Scorsese, Kristen Bell, JJ Abrams, the Wu Tang Clan and so many more. When it comes to content, Hulu's future is bright. With the support of ownership as well as continuing to work with partner studios, Hulu has an access to an unending stream of iconic characters, recognizable IP and the most sought after storytellers today.
Hulu has the resources and creativity to go head to head with any TV product out there and win. Wrapping up, Hulu is in an incredible place to be and an incredible choice for customers. Hooligans have never been more optimistic and more excited about the future and laser focused on providing the best consumer experience and achieving the best results in 2019 and beyond.
Thank you, Randy. Google is doing just great. We are really pleased. As I mentioned earlier, we've been thrilled with the success and growing popularity of ESPN plus during its 1st year in the market. And we believe that bodes well for our global direct to consumer strategy.
It's a prime example of the value created by combining a powerful brand in a traditional business with innovative technology. And to give you a better idea of how that collaboration works, we're very happy to have Jimmy Pitaro and Russell Wolfe with us today. As you know, Jimmy is President of ESPN and Co Chairman of Disney Media Networks. And Russell oversees ESPN plus part of the direct to consumer and international team. First up, please welcome my colleague, Jimmy Pitaro.
Good afternoon. September marks ESPN's 40th anniversary. That's 4 decades of innovation and risk taking, 4 decades of industry leadership and growth and 4 decades of unparalleled success. In those 40 years, we built an unrivaled multi platform brand that speaks directly to sports fans anytime, anywhere. And how important is that brand?
ESPN is the most well known and trusted brand in sports, and that's across all age groups. And that trust has led to industry leading reach across all of our platforms. In fact, we reach nearly 200,000,000 people a month across TV and digital in the U. S. Alone.
ESPN remains the top rated cable network among men, a leader in this demographic for 13 straight years. And the ESPN app is the 1st sports app to reach 20,000,000 users per month in the U. S. Since the relaunch of the app last April, we've seen an average year over year growth of 18% for unique visitors and 29% for total minutes of usage. We also rank a clear number 1 in the global digital sports category for unique users and minutes consumed.
That's 44% higher than our closest competition. We've earned this reach by offering the most compelling sports content in the industry across live events, studio programming and original series. ESPN offers the most comprehensive live event portfolio in the business. In fact, we'll do over 24,000 live events this year alone. And through smart scheduling and innovative production, we capture the most can't miss moments in sports, all of which elevate our ratings and our brand.
And we combine our live event programming with industry leading studio shows and original series, immersing our fan and our brand with substance, heart and humor. Continuing our legacy of innovation and risk taking, ESPN plus is now the newest foundational pillar of our brand. The industry's leading multi sport direct to consumer experience offers a fresh way to deliver all this content to our fans and to serve our partners like leagues and conferences and content creators. As you'll see, our traditional and modern businesses have truly come together to complement one another here. And through the power of the ESPN brand, we've created a rising tide, driving both viewership and subscriptions, while offering our sports fans multiple points of entry with ESPN.
It demonstrates our commitment to expanding our audience and serving a wider array of sports fans. To tell you a bit more about ESPN Plus and the incredible collaboration between ESPN and the direct to consumer and international segment, I would now like to turn it over to Russell Wolfe, Executive VP and General Manager of ESPN Plus. Russell?
Thanks, Jimmy. Good afternoon. ESPN at its core is a multifaceted sports offering, which focuses on establishing leadership in live events, high quality on demand sports programming and exclusive editorial and interactive features. The power of live sports is unquestioned and it's at the heart of the ESPN plus value proposition to our fans. For live sports, we are a marketplace that offers what fans care about most.
From the biggest events like blockbuster, UFC and top ranked boxing fights to major league competitions like Major League Baseball, NHL, MLS, Italian Serie A, the FA Cup, Wimbledon, the U. S. Open and much more. And ESPN Plus is also serving passionate fans of teams who've been underserved in the past. That includes hundreds of live college football and basketball games, including conference championships for more than a dozen college conferences.
Plus, our college sports offering delivers baseball, softball, lacrosse, volleyball and much more and brings hundreds of events to fans of popular global sports like world class soccer, international cricket and rugby. Similarly, for on demand content, we have a few categories. First, original programming which has already received critical acclaim like detail with Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning and soon a UFC edition with Daniel Cormier And series like More Than an Athlete with LeBron James and Maverick Carter, we also offer regular studio shows that give fans insight, analysis and opinions like ESPN FC for soccer, In The Crease, The Fantasy Show and more. And of course, we have the groundbreaking entirety of the 3430 Library, whose breadth and depth continues to grow with films focused on Dennis Rodman, Lance Armstrong and Michael Vick all coming to ESPN and ESPN plus this year. ESPN plus also gives subscribers premium editorial and interactive features that they won't get anywhere else.
We've just come off a March Madness season where ESPN plus drove new subscribers by bringing fans deep analysis, a popular daily show with Dick Vitale and a unique interactive tool like the bracket analyzer that help fans make better bracket picks. And we're just getting started with this aspect of ESPN Plus with more enhancements to come in the year ahead. For only $4.99 a month and $49.99 a year, ESPN plus puts all of this content in the hands of our subscribers and allows them to choose how, when and where they want to consume it. Our best in class product and technology teams are constantly improving our tech platform and innovating around the fan experience. Less than a year in, ESPN plus is virtually on every connected living room platform device and the team has developed a dynamic and engaging user interface, which maximizes the native capabilities of leading platforms, including in some cases, letting voracious sports fans multicast up to 4 live events of their choosing simultaneously and never miss a moment.
We want to give choice to fans to watch as much as they want in a user friendly environment. And since launch, we've given them a lot to choose from, delivering over 10,000 events and originals. The appeal of ESPN plus was on full display for our fans as we launched the UFC on January 19 across all of ESPN's platforms. Our reach, engagement and promotional muscle resulted in success across every medium and created a major subscription catalyst for ESPN plus which we believe can be replicated across key sport categories. The fight drew approximately 600,000 ESPN plus subscriptions in a 48 hour period.
1,800,000 unique visitors to our MMA related content across our digital platforms and over 2,000,000 average viewers across ESPN and ESPN Deportes on our linear platforms. ESPN has been a key driver of ESPN Plus' early success and the UFC launch is a great example of the power and scale of those ESPN platforms.
In
fact, this is a big week for ESPN Plus headlined by the first in a long line of exclusive UFC pay per view events, a perfect example of the combination of product and content. ESPN plus will be the exclusive distributor of UFC pay per view events in the U. S. Through 2025, making our service a must have offering for fans of combat sports. In addition, the electric boxer Vasily Lomachenko will fight tomorrow night right here in L.
A. Exclusively on ESPN Plus and the lineup this week is also packed with Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, Italian Serie A, rugby and college sports. And this incredible content lineup integrated into the largest scale digital sports platform in the world has powered our 1st year success, reaching 1,000,000 paid subscribers in just over 5 months and topping 2,000,000 paid subscribers in less than a year. We're especially pleased that ESPN Plus has helped expand the overall audience for the ESPN brand, bringing in new, younger and more multicultural fans, while helping drive new registered digital users. In our 1st year, we've also learned that combining a great complementary offering for fans who want more with can't miss events for fans across a range of sports, that's a recipe for success.
ESPN Plus has already made itself a must have subscription for any UFC fan, but it doesn't stop there. If you're a baseball fan, a hockey fan, a soccer fan or a boxing fan, ESPN Plus is a great value way to get more of your sport. And if you're a college sports fan devoted to any of a dozen conferences and you want to see your team play, ESPN plus is a must have. And if you want to see Peyton Manning, help see how Peyton Manning helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl by breaking down Jared Goff and the Rams offense, that's only available on ESPN Plus. So where does this all lead us?
Takes us to the future. In just 1 year, ESPN Plus has already developed a business with 3 distinct components: subscription, which we've already talked about and is at the core of ESPN Plus pay per view, a new exciting business for those blockbuster events and which will also help drive both trial and subscription and advertising. Sports is a natural habitat with regular and accepted breaks and invested and engaged viewers. We'll continue to grow our subscriber base and leverage those multiple business streams against a fixed cost base to reach breakeven in the coming years and then accelerate into profitability. Take a quick look at ESPN plus Thanks.
Thanks to Russell and to Jimmy. So we'll switch gears again. One of the compelling assets that we acquired with Fox is Star India, along with its rapidly growing Hotstar direct to consumer business. And we thought it was important to include Hotstar in today's program. So we're delighted that our new colleague, Uday Shankar, the President of Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and Chairman of Star and Disney India has joined us in Burbank today.
And with that, please join me in welcoming Uday to the
stage.
Thanks, Rahul, and hello, everyone. Let me start with some background to the market that we operate in. India is the fastest growing major economy in the world. Currently, the 6th largest, it has hit this milestone in less than 3 decades. GDP growth has averaged 8% over the last decade, and the trend is projected to continue.
By the end of the next decade, it will be the 3rd largest economy in the world. A key driver of this growth is favorable demographics. We are talking about a market that has 600,000,000 consumers below the age of 25. That, by the way, is the largest youth population in the world. Besides the general power of consumption of this demographic, this is also a population that is extremely comfortable with modern trends, including digital media consumption.
Additionally, we are seeing growth in purchasing power. India has a strong and rapidly growing middle class. The number of households earning more than $8,500 a year has grown by 10% annually, and this segment will constitute almost half of the population by 2028. If you consider purchasing power parity, discretionary consumer spending in this market is going to be extremely attractive, and the media industry is set to be a key beneficiary. And there is every indication that mobile is set to be the primary screen for the largest segment of Indian population.
The ones who are affluent are opting for mobile as their personal screen, and the not so affluent are having their first screen experience on mobile phones. The trend will continue to get stronger. And as a result, India is set to have more Internet users than the entire population in the G7 countries put together. In the next 5 years, India will have over 1,000,000,000 video screens. However, what is most exciting is the rate at which wireless data is becoming available and affordable.
From one of the most expensive data markets in the world, data costs have crashed to as low as $0.02 per GB today. All of this while access to data has dramatically exploded. In just over 3 years, per capita data uses has started 12 times, and almost all of it is on account of video stream. Today, an average Indian consumer already spends 2.5 hours on video every day. In the next 5 years, this is set to double to 5 hours a day, and smartphones are going to drive that search.
That is why India has emerged as a thriving market for advertising as well as consumer payments. Together, advertising on TV and digital screens is projected to grow at about 20% annually to $14,000,000,000 in the next 5 years. Hunger for content and ability to pay are also unlocking growth in consumer payments for video. That market is expected to be $12,000,000,000 in next 5 years. No wonder that India has become a magnet for all global media and content companies.
Our business, STAR India, has played a key role in shaping this market so far, driven by our strength in content and our uniquely successful digital video delivery platform, Hotstar, we have a pole position in this incredible market. In the last 2 decades, Star has created an unparalleled capacity to produce market leading entertainment and sports content in no less than 8 languages. For every 4 hours of TV watched in India, 1 hour is on Star. Star broadcasts 250 days of live sports every year and has a 65% share of the sports viewership in India. Hotstar has just broken the mark of 300,000,000 monthly active users.
That makes it one of the largest video platforms in the world. So how did we achieve this? 1st and foremost, we were ahead of the curve. When everybody was dismissing India as a data dark market, we anticipated the impending shifts and built hot stock. We also kept mobile and in particular Android at the center of our strategy and created an app that was high quality and feature rich, but it was also extremely light and nimble.
We also put all of our television content on Hotstar almost simultaneously with its linear airing. Given the large Indian population, we built Hotstar for scale and focused on creating a scaled advertising platform too, rather than focusing only on the nascent subscription market. Today, Hotstar accounts for 40% of all long form digital video consumed in India. Star has always been focused on creating and owning intellectual property. Today, that rich library is serving us very well.
Hotstar is home to over 100,000 hours of drama, movies, sports and news on a single platform. And several times this volume is available in our library. We have also localized our sports offering. Cricket has always been an obsession in India, but for decades, its reach was limited because it was served largely in English. We took cricket deeper and made it more accessible in Indian languages.
The success of our strategy is reflected in the improved performance of the IPL last season. Localization and creativity have also led us to develop uniquely Indian sports like Kabaddi, which has already become the number 2 sport in India. We have always been aware that our ability to invest in content and delivery is only as good as our ability to monetize it. And hence, we are focused on developing resources and tools for better monetization. Today, Star captures almost 30% share of all TV advertising and almost 30% share of all digital video advertising as well.
It also takes 40% share of all TV affiliate revenues. Our goal is to improve these shares further with a cross screen advertising engine. In this enterprise, a key goal has been to enhance viewer engagement. Hotstar is arguably more advanced in engagement initiatives than any other service in India. These include gamification of content, a social experience around video and even allowing in app transactions now.
As a result, an active viewer spends 2.7 times more time on video than a passive viewer, and we are pushing for even deeper engagement. We believe that now that the Indian market is ready for a subscription push, and that's why we are on the path to use Hotstar's massive scale as an AVOD platform to establish compelling SVOD service for the top end of our consumers. This is driven by premium content and an easy transaction experience. It is satisfying to see what we have created so far. However, we realize the potential of this amazing market is infinitely more.
Using our deep technology bench, our intellectual property and our understanding of the Indian consumer, we have created one of the most exciting video platforms in the world that will redefine the future of delivery and consumption. Let me leave you with a snapshot of the scale and centrality of the business that we have built in India. Thank you very much.
Thanks to Uday. Reaching 300,000,000 active users in a month is truly astounding. What's also astounding is that we have a lot more ground to cover, but we are first going to take a short break. So we will reconvene here in 15 minutes when we will turn our attention to Disney plus Thanks.
Please welcome back to the stage Chairman of Direct to Consumer and International, Kevin Mayer.
Thank you. Welcome back. Hope you enjoyed the break. We're excited to now focus the rest of our time with you on Disney plus We talk a lot about our portfolio of great brands because we're extremely proud of them and for good reason. These are brands that are recognized around the world.
They are relevant across generations and geographies. They resonate with consumers everywhere and they attract a 4 quadrant audience, adults and children, males and females. The sheer scope of these brands is truly unrivaled. As you can see on the screen, Disney, the largest and broadest of our brands, has tremendous depth with both families and individuals. Pixar resonates with millennials of both genders.
Marvel is strong with young adults, especially its core male audience. Gen X males make up the core Star Wars audience and National Geographic resonates with all 4 quadrants. Together, our brands serve a broad array of consumers across all demos. And as a result, almost all consumers in our major markets around the world are familiar with our brands and more than a 1000000000 people identify themselves as true fans. And when I say true fans, I don't mean folks who casually click the like button every now and then.
These are passionate consumers with a strong or very strong relationship with our brands. And they're spending real money on our products. This deep emotional connection creates opportunities for tremendous success. Just look at our movies. And by the way, hats off to my colleagues at the studio who are here today and have had an incredible run and just huge success.
Thank you. We're the only studio in history to ever top $7,000,000,000 in total box office in a single year. And last year, we did it for the 2nd time. Consumers around the world bought over 900,000,000 tickets to our movies in 2018. They bought almost 300,000,000 tickets to see Avengers: Infinity War.
And we believe that demand will translate to Disney plus because the service will be fueled by the same brands and many of the same creative teams. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at our theatrical success with a particular focus on our brands. Since acquiring Pixar, we've released 22 Walt Disney Animation Studio and Pixar Animation Films with an average of almost $700,000,000 per movie. We've released since our Marvel acquisition, 2018 movies and they average almost $1,000,000,000 per film. And the average global box office for our Star Wars movies we've released since our 2012 Lucasfilm acquisition is about $1,200,000,000 Overall, we've released 44 Disney Animation Studio, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars branded films since 2,006, driving more than $37,000,000,000 in box office, which averages out to about $850,000,000 per movie.
This tremendous success is a direct reflection of the unsurpassed quality of our content and the unrivaled strengths of our brands. And this year's slate may actually be our strongest yet. And all of these films will be available on Disney plus immediately after their theatrical and home entertainment windows. Starting with the incredible Captain Marvel. Looking ahead through the end of the year, we've still got Avengers: Endgame, Disney's live action Aladdin, Pixar's Toy Story 4, Disney's live action version of The Lion King, Disney's Artemis Fowl, Disney's Mistress of Evil, Disney Animation's Frozen 2 and Star Wars Episode IX, that is truly astounding.
And while I'm on the subject of our unrivaled film slate, I should note that one of the many things that sets Disney plus apart from every other service in the market is that we are guaranteed access to the content that millions of consumers want. Another distinction is that the same creative teams behind the phenomenal success of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and National Geographic are creating content exclusive to Disney plus on an ongoing basis. And this is something consumers will really love, we're allowing them to download all of our content and access it offline on an unlimited basis for as long as they're subscribers. You'll hear directly from the content creators a bit later. They'll talk you through their vision and development slides, but first, I thought it might be helpful for you to see the app itself.
Before we get started, I have to say how proud I am of the work that's been done and especially proud of the team that's done it. They've worked really hard for a long time and some of them are here today. And once you see it in action, I think you'll agree that it is more than just a highly functional and intuitive interface, it is that, but it's also extremely beautiful and unique. So now I'd like to take you through a working prototype of Disney plus which will be available via connected TVs, tablets, smartphones and the web. The content we're showing here includes originals and feature film releases that will be available on Disney plus within our 1st year.
Most of them will be available at launch and others will roll onto the service post launch. Since most viewers will use Disney plus on their connected TVs, let's first take a look at that interface. For the first time, our incredible brands, Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic are together in one deeply engaging experience. We've worked extremely hard to ensure that our content shines through with a simple, easy to use interface that is also visually stunning. The Hero Carousel at the top of the page enables us to feature what's new and noteworthy, while allowing easy access to the content consumers want to see, whether it's their favorite Disney princess movie like Frozen, a heartwarming animated hit like Coco, a recently added theatrical film like Captain Marvel, a Disney Plus original like The Mandalorian or an inspiring real life story like Free Solo.
As we've said, the fact that we have the brands that matter is the single biggest differentiator for our service. This is captured by the brand tiles at the center. These brand tiles animate as we move over them and lead to areas of the service that showcase the very best of that particular brand. Each brand area provides a unique opportunity for us to surprise and delight our consumers. So let's look at Disney first.
When you click on the Disney tile, you'll land in an area that's entirely Disney. You'll discover all of our Disney branded content there, such as our Disney plus original movie, Lady and the Tramp or great animated Mickey Mouse shorts or our feature film, Moana or thousands of Disney Channel episodes, including fan favorites like Lizzie McGuire and much, much more. Next, let's return to the homepage and move over to Pixar. As you can see, the Pixar tile features the clouds from the wallpaper in Angie's room in Toy Story. Click on the tile and once inside Pixar, you might choose to watch the animated hit film, The Incredibles 2 for your family movie night Or you might scroll to find cars.
Disney plus will have all of the films that make up that popular franchise. And here you'll also find the Disney plus original short series, Forky asks a question based on one of the newest characters to join the Toy Story family in the upcoming Toy Story 4. So let's come out of the Pixar section, go back to the home page and hover over the Marvel tile. This is really cool. You'll see the iconic comic book flip playing in the background.
Clicking into Marvel, the brand page, you'll find your favorite superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in one epic collection that includes Captain Marvel, which is our 1st pay TV window film to be featured on the service, and it will be available at launch. When you click on a title like Captain Marvel, you're taken to a movie page where you'll find further information, including a film synopsis, cast credits, trailers, extras and behind the scenes footage. From this page, you'll also be able to add it to your watch list or simply play the movie all the things you'd expect. These titles will be available for viewing in 4 ks HDR. Again, all movies will have a landing page just like this.
Now let's come out of the marble and move on to Star Wars. You can see the star field animated in the background of the Star Wars tile. And when you click on it, you're immediately transported to a galaxy far, far away. And once there, you'll find our collection of theatrically released Star Wars titles, along with fantastic new original series like The Mandalorian, as well as animated series like Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Finally, let's go back to the homepage and take a look at National Geographic, which features truly stunning imagery when you hover over that brand tile.
When you click on the tile and enter this section, you'll find incredible family friendly documentaries like the award winning Free Solo. Discover the extraordinary story of Earth in One Strand Rock, learn how humans think and process information by watching Brain Games or find original content that is being created exclusively for Disney plus like The World According to Jeff Goldblum, which we'll be speaking about later. As you navigate back to the homepage, let's explore some other ways that subscribers will be able to easily find and discover content they want to watch. As you move down the screen, you'll find valuable categories to help discover content such as recommended for you, Disney Plus Originals and more. Our technology provides for a highly personalized experience, and individuals' unique viewing history will drive what they see over time, not only in the hero carousel and the recommended for you section, but also in terms of what content shows up in every specific row and even the specific sequencing
of
the rows. Additionally, subscribers will be able to move around Disney plus using the navigation bar that you see here on the left hand side of the screen. For example, you can access your own personalized watch list. You can also scroll down to movies, series, originals and more. Okay, so let's click on movies first.
Here you can find every movie available on the service. You can browse by brand, by genre or in any other curated collection. If we go back to the navigation bar on the left, let's take a look at the original section. As you can see, we've built a dedicated home for all of the Disney plus originals, featuring all the new content in development for the service, including Star Wars Originals, Lady and the Tramp, High School Musical: The Series, you'll love that, you'll see that later, Marvel Hero Project, Encore and National Geographic. And all this content will be available at launch.
Then coming soon features content that will be available within our 1st year, including a great movie called Noelle, the series Falcon and Winter Soldier, Pixar Originals, Clone Wars series, Phineas and Ferb the movie, the Imagineering story and more. Here you'll be able to access official details about the titles prior to their premieres. You'll hear more about these titles in just a bit. Now if we go back to the navigation bar, you may have noticed the profile names and avatars. Disney plus subscribers will be able to customize their profiles with characters from our vast library of intellectual property.
As you can see, I chose Buzz Lightyear. And for every subscription, consumers will also be able to set up multiple profiles to distinguish family members using the service. We also offer the option of parental controls. On the screen, you see Charlotte's profile. And since Charlotte is a young child, she'll only see content curated and recommended for the youngest members of the household.
Now I'd like to quickly show you what the service will look like on a tablet with another working prototype. As you can see, the immersive brand experience is still front and center with a couple of differences from the connected TV experience. Here we've used blue brand tiles to ensure that they stand out in a mobile interface. In addition, along the bottom navigation bar, you'll see one of the key features of the mobile experience, which I spoke about earlier, the ability to download any content on Disney plus and view it offline and on the go with no restrictions an unlimited basis for as long as you're a subscriber. That's a very key consumer benefit.
And finally, here's what the mobile phone prototype looks like. Again, we offer the same simple, easy to use interface that allows our brands and content to shine. As you can see, we've worked hard to build a unique experience that takes full advantage of our rich design heritage and the beloved content of our unparalleled brands. Never before has our content been as broadly, conveniently or permanently available as it will be on Disney plus We are confident consumers will love the service. Now please welcome back to the stage, Michael Ball.
Thanks, Kevin. As we mentioned earlier, Disney plus will have a wide device footprint. We focus on making our services available not just in all households, but across every connected screen within each household. Right now, we are securing distribution for Disney plus across mobile devices and connected TV devices, including game consoles, streaming media players and smart TVs. With these device partnerships, not only do we optimize our product for consumer experience, we ensure that our service will be prominently featured in merchandised on our partner platforms.
We have already secured such deals with Roku TV and PlayStation 4. And we are confident by the time we launch, we will have a full array of device platform partnerships in place. Disney plus will be a global product and I would like to walk you through our logic for the international launch plans. First, some of our content is currently exclusively licensed to 3rd parties in certain countries. These licenses expire largely over the next 4 years and we prioritize markets for which key product is available.
Next, we prioritize markets where consumers have already demonstrated high willingness to pay for SVOD services and content more generally. 3rd, our roadmap takes into consideration the time required to ready our technology platform for local payment methods, customer service, rights management and content delivery. Finally, in those places where we believe we will most likely need to launch with distribution partners, we've allotted additional time to allow for integration with their platforms. By considering all these factors together, we created our global Disney plus launch roadmap. Over the next 2 years, we will launch in each major region of the world.
Beginning with the U. S. In the Q1 of fiscal year 2020, Disney plus will launch in Western Europe in Q1 and Q2 of fiscal year 2020 and in Asia Pacific will similarly have launches beginning in those quarters. We will then begin rolling out to Eastern Europe and Latin America a year later starting in Q1 of fiscal year 2021. And now to talk to you about our marketing strategy, please welcome Ricky Strauss, President of Disney plus Content and Marketing.
Thanks, Michael.
And thank you all for joining us today. It's so cool to see the Disney plus app on the big screen. Every one of our brands around the world has fans who are eagerly awaiting this product. They are the most dedicated loyal fans and we know how to speak to them in unique ways. As you would expect, we've developed a strategic campaign that will drive awareness and intent to subscribe.
And over the next few months, we will feature the Disney plus service at big fan events like Star Wars Celebration this week in Chicago, San Diego Comic Con in July and our own D23 Expo in August. One of the clear advantages we have in marketing Disney plus is our access to an incredible number of touch points across the Walt Disney Company. And as you would expect, we plan to leverage this unparalleled reach, engaging our millions of fans and influencers across our brands and around the world. Our campaign is designed to build awareness of our brands, our franchises and the Disney plus service. To build awareness, we'll be marketing specific content titles.
For example, within theater content for our live action feature Lady and the Tramp and a tailored social media campaign for High School Musical. And as we launch, performance marketing will kick in and we'll utilize data driven analytics to identify, segment and acquire additional subscribers. And we'll layer all of this with an aggressive paid media campaign. We believe these complementary efforts will enable us to reach 95% of our target audience. And we say that with confidence because of the power of our brands and our consumer touch points.
It's a significant push and our entire company is actively supporting it. There truly is no bigger priority for the Walt Disney Company going forward. From a synergy standpoint, we're working closely with the parks and resorts teams from Disneyland and Walt Disney World to Disney Cruise Lines and Adventures by Disney, as well as consumer products and our Disney retail stores. We'll also be speaking to a group we call our best guests, like our D23 fan club members, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Visa Card members. And when you layer on our media businesses, our partners at ESPN, ABC, Freeform, FX, Disney Channel, as well as Hulu, well altogether we're able to reach over 100,000,000 households.
We will be executing a synergy campaign of a magnitude that is unprecedented in the history of the Walt Disney Company. And we have these relationships with our fans because of the incredible product that Disney offers. As a creative company where storytelling is the cornerstone of our business, we're fortunate to work with the very best of the content creators in entertainment today, both within and outside the Walt Disney Company. We have movies, episodic series, shorts, both catalog and originals from our partners at the Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, National Geographic and our suite of amazing TV studios, including the Disney Channel and Disney Television Studios, just to name a few. We've asked the leaders of these studios to join us today to discuss the rich library of titles that will be available at launch and within the 1st year, as well as exciting details about some of the original programming they will be making exclusively for us at Disney plus So let's get started.
First up is the incredibly talented writer and director of Frozen and Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, my friend, Jennifer Lee.
It's such a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon. Walt Disney once famously said, I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse. And Disney has never lost sight that this timeless entertainment in the world for nearly a century. And it's our mission each and every day to create animated films that build upon our storied legacy. This is why we are so excited to have Disney plus as the permanent home for our animated films, A place where audiences of all ages will find the films they love from our past and those we are dreaming up right now.
Classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Little Mermaid and The Lion King, the entire 13 film Signature Collection will all be available on day 1 of the U. S. Launch of Disney plus previously kept in the vault. They will now be able available to everyone to watch anytime you want as a part of your permanent Disney plus subscription. And the vast majority of our recent hit films will be available on day 1 also, with many more to come throughout the 1st year.
Beloved films, including Moana and our Oscar winning films, Zootopia, Big Hero 6 and Frozen will all be available on day 1. And speaking of Frozen, Disney plus will also be the exclusive home of Frozen 2 by the summer of 2020, following its theatrical and traditional home entertainment releases. And just across the street from this sound stage right now, over 500 people at Disney Animation are hard at work bringing Frozen 2 to life, and we can't wait to share it with the world. Here's a quick look of where Frozen has been and where it's going. When we think of Disney plus it's not just our home for our films.
It's a way to bring you exclusive content you can't see anywhere else. And I'm proud to announce a multi episode documentary series that we're calling Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2. And yes, Into the Unknown might just be the title of one of our new songs. We've opened our doors and allowed a documentary team into our building to follow the cast, the music team, the artists, all of us as we're creating the film. And since nothing is off limits, the documentary is real, it's raw, and it showcases our collaborative environment in a way we have never shared before.
And of course, I'm so excited about all of the animated content we're creating for Disney plus content, which I can't wait to share with you in the months to come. One of the things I'm most excited about is that we have the unique opportunity to extend our stories with characters our audiences know and love, as well as explore new types of storytelling and animation with emerging filmmakers, and show it all exclusively on Disney plus It is now my privilege to bring to the stage my colleague at our fellow animation studio. Please welcome Pixar's Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter.
Thank you, Jennifer, and hello, investors. I am new to this CCO thing. It's a bit daunting. They did not have classes at this in cartoon school. But I have been lucky enough to have had a front row seat all along the way.
I started at Pixar in 1990 when Steve Jobs owned the place and I got to help write and create the characters for Toy Story, which came out all the way back in 19 95. And it's amazing to think that now all these years later, we have Toy Story 4 coming out this summer. So we're really proud of the way that's turned out. Along the way, of course, we've made 21 feature length films and over 30 shorts and Pixar's movies have made over $13,000,000,000 worldwide and we're proud of that. But I got to admit the reason we all work there is simply because we love making movies.
And I can't really fully explain to you the joy in watching someone in the audience make a connection with the film you make. There's a real feeling of contact as a filmmaker when I we're able to say something about our lives and we realize that our audiences feel that same thing. So whether that be about parenting or loss or friendship, I think this is what people have come to expect from Pixar that feeling of connection. And even though our movies are about monsters or fish or cars, they're really about us. So making personal films that appeal to everyone, that's what we love doing and that's what we hope to continue to do with everything that we're working on right now.
We're thrilled right now that our films are all going to have a home on Disney plus So 18 of the Pixar movies will be available on day 1 with the other 3 films coming the 1st year, so that's 2018, 2019, 20, 21 films, yes, they didn't have math class in cartoon school either. The whole Pixar collection will be available on Disney Plus. Likewise, our theatrical shorts will be available on day 1, including this year's Academy Award winning short film, BOW. As I mentioned, we're gearing up for the theatrical release of Toy Story 4 this summer. We're proud of all our films, but I got to say there is something extra special about a Toy Story movie because
that's
where it all started for us. So in this film, Woody, Buzz, Jesse and the gang go on an all new adventure that takes the Toy Story world into an exciting new direction. And along the way, we get to meet a few fun new characters and we'd like to introduce you to a few of them right now with a short clip from the film. So Toy Story 4 opens in theaters around the world this summer. And as you've seen here, Forky was just made by Bonnie minutes ago.
So naturally, he has a lot of questions about the way the world works, questions that he'll explore in a series that we call Forky Asks A Question, exclusive for Disney plus and premiering the day the service launches. This is a series of 10 shorts that will premiere on day 1. And it's here that Forky asks his friends in Bonnie's room to help him answer life's most imponderable questions such as what is love or what is time And of course, the most difficult question of all, what is cheese? Now I'm sure many of you have wondered these same things, so tune into Disney plus to find the answers. Forky is not the only one getting the Disney plus treatment.
We are pleased that Bo Peep is also going to be making a film. She makes a big comeback in Toy Story 4 and she will be leading the way in an all new short film called Lamp Life. Now we last saw Bo Peep in Toy Story 2, if you remember, we're going to meet up again with her this summer in Toy Story 4. So what happened in between? Well, Lamp Life is going to answer those questions as Bo Peep recounts to Woody, the thrilling adventures she has had over the last few years and a few trials and tribulations as well because she's a toy attached to a lamp.
So it is an illuminating journey, sorry, full of fun and humor only on Disney plus I'm also excited to say there is one more Pixar film that will continue on with an all new series and that is the characters and world of Monsters Incorporated. So exclusive to Disney plus this is Monsters at Work. It's a new series being made under the creative leadership of Executive Producer, Bob Scanaway and Producer, Farrell Baron. So what you're seeing here is a short early test to kind of sneak peek at what they've been exploring. Monsters is a big world with a lot of fun to be had around every corner with characters old and new.
We're also excited to be working with the Disney plus unscripted team on a variety of projects that will introduce the viewers to the artistry, the craftsmanship and the storytelling of Pixar. We will bring you behind the scenes to meet the many, many amazing artists and technicians that I get to work with at Pixar. These personal and cinematic episodes will only be on Disney plus and will release throughout the 1st year and beyond. So as you can tell, we've been busy up there in Emeryville and we are not slowing down. We have never had a more exciting bunch of projects and we're thrilled to show you more both on the big screen and on Disney plus And now at Pixar, we created a family of superheroes in The Incredibles, but I'm excited to introduce someone who has brought to life an entire universe of superheroes.
Please welcome to the stage the President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige.
Thank you, Pete. Thanks very much.
I thought jackets were required today, but it's okay.
It's all right. We I'm unbelievably excited to be here. Good afternoon. We are very excited to be a part of Disney plus and to finally bring the movie and its hero Carol Danvers played by Oscar winner Brie Larson has become a fan favorite around the globe since its debut in March and has now earned over $1,000,000,000 at the box office. Now of course, we'll have other catalog titles available on day 1, including the film that started it all, Marvel Studios' very first release, Iron Man.
1 of our other titles to make its streaming debut in year 1 will be the highly anticipated Avengers: Endgame. Now there's nothing more that I would love to do than show you the entire movie right now. But it doesn't come out for a few weeks. So I brought a clip to share with you a little taste of how the Avengers are dealing with the fallout from Infinity War.
That you're not so big and they laugh when the king has found a friend and they ran onto a rainbow for the story. But again, so the moral is he wasn't let the outside be the guy for a slot to cut and dried well unless he
bumped the
Exciting. By the way, that's the biggest screen I've seen this clip on so far. We haven't done the premiere yet. We're very much looking forward to sharing this in 2 short weeks with the entire world. Of course, those aren't the only movies you'll be able to watch in year 1.
Many other films are available at launch and throughout the year, including our Oscar winning Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok and Ant Man and the Wasp. Marvel Comics has been creating stories for over 80 years. In addition, Marvel Studios has over 10 years of behind the scenes footage, so there's a tremendous amount of history there. We'll be showcasing all of this material in several unscripted series, including Marvel's 616 and the Marvel's Hero Project. But most exciting to us is that in addition to the films available on the platform, Marvel Studios will be creating original series just for Disney plus Over the course of the 23 films, we've pulled together a roster of amazing actors and talented filmmakers, and we're excited to continue to work with these individuals to tell new long form stories in ways that we've never done before.
These shows will be on the same level of quality that you've come to expect from Marvel Studios and we'll be taking advantage of that creative freedom that Disney plus offers, exploring the MCU, the Marvel Cinematic Universe with our favorite characters over multiple episodes. These will be both new and continuing stories. And one of the things we're most excited about is that these will be major story lines set in the MCU with ramifications that will be felt both through the other Disney plus series we're producing and our features on the big screen. 1 of our new series will be called WandaVision. Elizabeth Olsen will return as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany will reprise his role as the Vision.
Now we like to take big swings at Marvel Studios. As you can see from this concept, Darf, this story is definitely something unexpected and surprising as well as something we could only do in a long form series. I'll just leave that up there for another second, so
you can try to figure out what the heck is going on.
In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we'll be bringing together 2 characters who've been enemies, they've been friends and once again will be forced to team up Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Played by Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, these characters have appeared in 6 MCU films apiece. And while audiences have seen them as part of the Avengers, with Disney plus we now get a chance to take a deeper dive and learn much more about each of these heroes. Another dream project for us, What If? Marvel Studios' first animated series.
Taking inspiration from the comic books of the same name, each episode will take a pivotal moment from the MCU and turn it on its head, leaving the audience into uncharted territory. For instance, our first episode will ask the questions, what if Peggy Carter was the one who became a super soldier? And what if Steve Rogers had stayed a scrawny young kid but joined the fight with an armored suit built by Howard Stark? This gives you the sense of how we plan to explore the MCU in fresh and exciting ways in this series. And in addition, new and returning cast members will be lending their voice to their animated counterparts.
As we previously announced, one of the upcoming series will center on Loki, who has long been one of the MCU's most popular villains, most popular characters, some might say most popular heroes. As an Asgardian, he's lived for 1,000 of years. He has quite a lot of histories and stories to tell. This is another example of something we could only do in a long form series on Disney plus We don't want to give too much away, but we will say that the incredibly talented Tom Hiddleston will be returning to the screen to star as Loki, and we can't wait to share what new adventures The God of Mischief will get into. As you can see, we are extremely enthusiastic about the opportunities that Disney plus provides.
This is just a taste of what we've dreamed up for the service. This is a great opportunity for us at Marvel Studios to tell stories in a new way, and the entire creative team at the studio is excited to dig into and expand upon the previous 23 films we've made. And I can promise you that each of these series will be equal to the movies in quality and storytelling. These shows are immensely important. They will change and evolve our existing characters, while also introducing new ones in ways that deepen the mythology and significantly impact the future of the MCU.
A post Endgame MCU will be extremely different and extremely focused on Disney plus tying into our future movies. This is only something that Marvel Studios can do and it can only be done in Disney plus Now it is my great pleasure to introduce our next speaker. I've been a Star Wars fan my entire life. It led me to pursue a career in filmmaking. It's a great honor to introduce the President of Lucasfilm, Kathy Kennedy.
So always in motion is the future, as Yoda would say. Sharing Star Wars with the world is a true honor. And I'm excited that Disney plus will hold the entire collection of Star Wars films. Beginning on day 1, the first two trilogies plus The Force Awakens and Rogue 1 will be available. And during the 1st year of service launch, the remaining titles will become available, including the final installment of the Skywalker Saga Episode 9.
It's remarkable to think that Episode 9 will represent the culmination of what George Lucas began 40 years ago with the Skywalker saga. Legacy characters along with new characters such as Kylo Ren, Rey, BB-eight, Finn, all of them populate a mythology that has impacted audiences throughout multiple generations with the values and the themes that still resonate today. Right after this, I'm actually going to Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, which is the ultimate event for Star Wars fans, where we have many, many more surprises in store. The launch of Disney plus offers an unbelievably exciting opportunity for Star Wars. Our first ever live action series, The Mandalorian, has completed shooting and it looks amazing.
Following The Mandalorian, our next series for Disney plus began production earlier this year with Diego Luna serving as Executive Producer as well as starring. And Alan Tudyk reprises his role as K-2SO. Stephen Schiff from the multiple award winning series The Americans is serving as the showrunner. This new show is based on the character Cassian Andor from Rogue 1 and it will be a thrilling spy series set in the Star Wars universe. In addition to several more live action series in development, we will have a new season of the fan favorite Star Wars: Clone Wars and many more stories to come.
We're also in development on non fiction programs that bring the audience inside Lucasfilm and Star Wars. Our first series will focus on legendary master craftspeople who have brought the galaxy to life over the past decades. And as I mentioned earlier, our first Star Wars live action series is The Mandalorian. Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man, The Jungle Book and now The Lion King has created the series and partnered with our very own Dave Filoni. Dave was the director of our animated Star Wars series Clone Wars and Rebels.
The combined talents of John and Dave have given us something truly special. And I'm excited to announce that The Mandalorian will be available on Disney plus at launch. And now it's my great pleasure to welcome Jon Favreau to the stage. Thank you. So as I said, we finished principal photography.
Where are you in the process?
Well, we're trying to make it look like Star Wars. A lot of visual effects, a lot of editing, but it's been a pleasure and we're pretty deep into the heavy lifting of turning all that wonderful photography and all those stories into one continuous season of 8 episodes.
And I know this has been a somewhat different experience for you. What's it been like?
It's been great. I mean, I've been a Star Wars fan like Kevin all my life. I was a usher in the movie theater in high school when Return of the Jedi was out. And to even just to walk on the stage hearing Star Wars music
is still a little surreal.
Now we're here. I remember when we first pitching you the show and what this could be. And now the marriage between us and Disney plus has been great. It's been great to be able to tell a story on a scale and in chapters and the only way that you could do in this format.
And you're going to head to Chicago with me. So what do you think the fans are going to take away from this?
Well, everybody working on the show is a fan. That's kind of the prerequisite. All the directors, Dave Filoni, as you mentioned. And so we're putting together something we want to see. And because we're starting with new characters in a new time period, it's a great way to bring new fans in, because these aren't characters that you have to know.
It's not there's no history that's demanded for you to be able to step in and see what The Mandalorian is all about. However, as fans like we do with the Marvel stuff, you want to reward the fans who have been lifelong fans and have lots of stuff in there to just for them. So hopefully it works on both levels for people who are new and people who are returning after being a fan for 40 years.
And also, I mean it's hard to explain all the technological advances and I don't want you to lift the curtain of the magic, but can you explain a little bit about what you're doing with the new technology and techniques?
Well, George Lucas, kind of following in the steps of Walt Disney, always combined really wonderful old mythic stories with cutting edge technology. And I learned a lot from working on the Marvel films all the way through Jungle Book and Lion King. And there's a lot to offer now with virtual reality and game engine technology to help with rendering this stuff. We're working, of course, with ILM. They're great.
But also Star Wars demands a certain of a nod and look back to history with audio animatronics, puppetry, in camera effects. And so we're mixing those two things. So hopefully all of this feels very familiar, but very cutting edge. It's hard to explain it, but we do have a behind the scenes sizzle reel here that we could show a little bit of we could lift the curtain a little bit and show you what we've been up to.
So as
you can see, this has been every bit as exciting as anything I've done in the movie space. So I think John would agree, we've just had an absolute blast doing this. So really looking forward to doing a lot more. At Lucasfilm, we tell stories about a galaxy far, far away. But our next presenter both creates new worlds and brings to life beloved stories.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage the President for the Walt Disney Company sorry, Studios, Sean Bailey.
Thank you, Kathy. In addition to the great brands we've discussed already, Disney is also known for iconic live action films. From musical fantasies like Mary Poppins to family adventures like Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure and of course magical reimaginings of our classic characters like Alice in Wonderland, all of which by the way will be available on Disney plus at day 1. And even more titles will be available in year 1. As you've heard starting with the 2019 slate, all of our theatrical films will have their exclusive streaming home on Disney plus including this summer's upcoming film The Lion King helmed by the 1 and only Jon Favreau.
So please help me welcome Jon back to the stage. John, thank you for doing Double Duty today. And to say fans are excited for this film doesn't really begin to cover it. You approach this task of making a film based on such a beloved property like The Lion King. You've done that before, but this one particularly special to a number of people.
How do you think about that?
That?
Well, this one was the first one that people grew up watching in the minivan. So they know every line of it and they know every song. And so it is a beloved property. It's a film that still holds up to be honest with you, the 2 d version of it. So we set out to make a version that would complement that.
And looking at the original film and the Broadway, the hit Broadway musical, it seemed that the audiences like to see it as long as it felt like it was a new medium. And so trying to bring the photo real look to an animated feature and give it a live action feel was the task that we set out before ourselves.
I think you've done a remarkable job with that. As you discussed with Kathy earlier, you've got quite a reputation for films that show sort of leverage cutting edge technology, but also have tremendous heart, character, drama, emotion. Can you tell us a little bit about the techniques you used to bring this out?
Well, we collaborated, of course, before on The Jungle Book. And that was a big learning curve for me. And by the end of The Jungle Book, by using in that case, it was motion capture, in this case, we're using virtual reality and a lot of actually consumer facing VR products, we were able to create a virtual studio where we photograph the whole movie in virtual reality and then rendered it out so that it appears to have been shot in live action. So that was the trick and don't think I would have been able to do this had we not gone through what we went through on the first one.
It's amazing what you pulled off. Now I want to talk for a moment about this cast you've assembled. Folks like Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Alfre Woodard and of course Beyonce. What's it like working with a cast like that?
Well, in this movie, you're not just telling a story, but you're also presenting this wonderful playlist of great hit musical numbers. And so we were collaborating not just in performance and trying to bring that naturalism and comedy and update the material for today's audience, but we were also trying to bring new life into those classic musical numbers. And I'm actually we're actually scoring right now. We're finishing this up, going to head over tomorrow with Hans Zimmer. We got Levo.
We have a lot of people collaborating again on this, a lot of people returning from the original to help make it feel connected to the old one, but also bring some new updates and new flavor to it.
Well, thank you, John. We really appreciate you being here with us today, I know you're hard at work finishing not only this film but also The Mandalorian. But before you leave, let's show everyone the brand new trailer that just released yesterday for The Lion King and it has already amassed 174,000,000 global views in the 1st 24 hours. 2nd most trailer 2nd most watched trailer for Disney behind only the first trailer for your Lion King. So thank you very much and let's take
a look. Thank you.
While some are born to
feast, others
spend their lives in the dark. Begging for scraps. Everything you see You must take your place in the circle of life.
Thank you. Thank you, John. And now I'm excited to talk with all of you about our slate of Disney live action features coming exclusively to Disney plus Disney plus affords us the opportunity to tell more stories from a variety of genres. We will always remain true to the values of what a Disney live action film offers, but we're able to take some risks, which is really exciting. While theatrical box office right now is being driven by giant blockbuster events, there are amazing stories and characters that are yearning to be enjoyed by the whole family.
We believe there remains a meaningful global audience who is entertained by films such as Holiday comedies, kid centered capers and true life adventures and Disney plus makes that possible. Now these films will be treated with the same love and care as our theatrical titles And we've been able to attract best in class talent both in front of and behind the camera and I'm delighted to share what we've been up to. The first film I'd like to tell you about is Noelle, a new holiday comedy which is expected to be available on Disney plus soon after launch. Noelle tells the story of Santa's daughter played by Anna Kendrick whose brother Nick is next in line to take on the family trade. When Nick goes missing, it's up to Noel to leave the North Pole and head to the real world to track him down.
So let's take a look at how this film is coming again. Thank you. Thank you. Also coming soon is Timmy Failure based on the beloved illustrated book series of the same name. This film is helmed by Academy Award winning director Tom McCarthy and tells the story of Timmy, our quirky deadpan hero who along with his 1500 pound polar bear partner Total operates Total Failure Inc, a world class detective agency at least in Timmy's mind anyways.
So let's take a look at the sizzle. Thank you. Next up is Stargirl based on the critically acclaimed New York Times best selling young adult novel of the same name. This teen coming of age story is about Leo Borlock, an average 16 year old who's content to fly under the radar until an offbeat and unconventional new student named Stargirl shows up at his high school, turning his and everyone else's world upside down, forever changing the way they see themselves and each other. Grace VanderWaal, winner of America's Got Talent will make her on screen debut in Stargirl.
Grace is not only an amazing singer, but an incredibly talented actress as well. Let's take a quick peek at Stargirl. Thank you. Switching gears, coming to Disney plus a little after launch is Togo, based on a true life adventure in the Alaskan tundra. Our story takes place in 1925 when an epidemic of diphtheria breaks out in a remote Alaskan town, causing countless children to fall gravely ill.
The necessary antitoxin is 100 of miles away across treacherous terrain with a massive storm on the horizon. As the crisis grows more desperate, the village leaders realize their only hope lies with 1 man, Leonard Seppala, played by the incomparable William Dafoe and his lead sled dog, Togo. Lastly, for our original features is our live action retelling of Lady and the Tramp. We are beyond thrilled with how this film is coming together and I'm excited to announce that Lady and the Tramp will be available on Disney plus at launch. We believe this film will stand toe to toe with our live action retellings and it features world class talent like Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux, who voice our 2 titular characters.
Joining them are Academy Award nominees Sam Elliott as Trusty the Bloodhound and acclaimed multi hyphenate actress, singer, songwriter, producer Janelle Monae as Peg. Now before I leave you, let's take a quick look behind the scenes. I have been a longtime fan of National Geographic and the stories they tell. And I am honored to welcome to the stage my new colleague Courtney Monroe, President, National Geographic Global Television Networks.
Thank you, Sean. I am so delighted to be here today to talk about National Geographic and the tremendous opportunity before us. National Geographic has a powerful 131 year legacy as one of the most trusted authentic brands in the world. In fact, the top two brands for quality and trust among global consumers are Disney and National Geographic. At National Geographic, we have earned that trust by entertaining audiences with groundbreaking, visually spectacular programming from the best explorers, photographers and filmmakers in the world.
Storytelling that sparks curiosity and wonder. From our iconic award winning journalism to being the number one brand on Instagram with over 100,000,000 followers to our Academy Award winning documentary Free Solo. Today, as we join the amazing brands on Disney plus we are excited to transport new audiences to places they have never been. And that journey begins with the award winning content from our vast National Geographic library. We are incredibly proud that the very best of our premium factual programming will be available on Disney plus Indeed, over 2 50 hours of National Geographic series and documentaries will be available on the series on day 1.
Breathtaking programming that led National Geographic to win more Emmys for cinematography in a single year than any other network in history. Films like Jane, which won 2 Emmy Awards and among many other honors And Free Solo, which as I mentioned, just won the document the Oscar for Best Documentary and inspired audiences around the world to dream the impossible. Series, including the Emmy nominated and my kids' personal favorite Brain Games, 1 Strange Rock, the epic science documentary series hosted by Will Smith and produced by visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky The Emmy and Peabody Award winning Cosmos, our upcoming new series Gordon Ramsay Uncharted and of course awe inspiring natural history programming that is a hallmark of the National Geographic brand including Wild Yellowstone, Photo Ark and The Rise of the Black Panther. Today, we are excited to announce 2 original series that we are producing exclusively for Disney plus subscribers. The first, as you heard, is The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Jeff Goldblum is one of the most curious people you could ever meet. So we decided to tap into Jeff's curiosity and his passion for exploring just about everything. In this new documentary series, which will be available to Disney plus subscribers on day 1. Through the prism of Jeff's always inquisitive and highly entertaining mind, nothing is as it seems. In each episode, Jeff pulls back the curtain on a seemingly familiar object like sneakers or ice cream to reveal a wonderful world of astonishing connections, fascinating science, little known history, amazing people and a whole lot of big ideas.
We have literally just started shooting, so we don't have much to show yet, but here is a very brief look at the world according to Jeff Goldblum. Next, we are thrilled to announce our 2nd original series for Disney plus Magic of the Animal Kingdom. In the heart of Central Florida, a team of more than 1,000 highly respected animal care experts, veterinarians and biologists performed groundbreaking work at one of the most advanced veterinary facilities in existence. The setting for this pivotal work is Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot SeaBase Aquarium. So now for the first time ever and only on Disney plus National Geographic will offer viewers an all access path to this extraordinary world.
From the miracle of birth to the heroic efforts to rehabilitate injured species, to the work being done around the world to protect wildlife, Magic of the Animal Kingdom will bring to life the wonders of this wild and often exotic world and shine a spotlight on the unsung Disney cast member heroes who dedicate their lives to these animals. Not to mention, you will get to see so many cute animals. This new series exemplifies our long standing commitment to conservation as well as our legacy of unprecedented access. We can't wait to reveal the true magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom for fans of both Disney and National Geographic alike. As you heard in the opening video, Walt Disney himself once said, we keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
Disney and National Geographic are linked by this shared passion for curiosity and we can't wait to ignite it together. Thank you all very much. Now before I hand it over to our next speaker, I have a confession to make, which is that as the mother of a pre teenage High School Musical obsessed daughter, The fact that I now get to introduce the longtime creative genius behind the Disney Channel has seriously upped my mom game today. So with that, it is my pleasure to introduce the President and Chief Executive Officer for Disney Channel Worldwide, Gary Marsh.
Thank you, Courtney.
By the way,
if you haven't seen Free Solo, I urge you to go home and watch it tonight. It will take your breath away. Normally, batting 7th in the lineup isn't considered necessarily a vote of confidence. But in this case, getting asked to close out the original content portion of the presentation is really a great honor, and I'm really proud and happy to be here. 1 week from today will mark the 36th anniversary of Disney Channel.
And what began basically as a repository for classic Disney fair has grown into something so much bigger, largely on the strength of the thousands of hours of entertainment content that we've created. And on day 1, Disney plus will be the destination for a massive amount of that storytelling. Over 5 1,000 episodes of Disney Channel content and Disney Junior content and over 100 original movies or as your kids may know them as DCOMs, all of which have been used around the world to help extend and define the Disney brand. You know a lot of the names from DuckTales to Descendants, Handy Manny to Hannah Montana, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, High School Musical, Lizzie McGuire. Basically, Disney Channel has created the playlist, the social currency through which kids transact their lives for generations spanning now close to 4 decades.
And we are especially excited for the opportunity to reimagine some of our most beloved characters and stories exclusively for the Disney plus audience, starting with an all new Phineas and Ferb original movie. Now Phineas and Ferb Candace Against the Universe. If you know the series, and I know some of you do because you watch it with your kids, Phineas and Ferb's long suffering sister Candace has spent every waking moment trying to bust her overly industrious brothers, who are completely oblivious to her efforts to wrap them out. But when Candace is abducted by space aliens, Guinness and Ferb must prove their love and admiration for their sister. And they set in motion a giant plan to rescue her.
I don't have any finished animation. I really wish I did because you will see that this movie delivers the same incredibly clever song lyrics, the same really brilliant sophisticated humor that has made Phoenicianferb an absolute fan favorite for kids and parents who are now over a decade around the world. And all 127 episodes will be available on Disney plus at launch. What I do have to share with you is a trailer from our reinvention of the most successful Disney Channel original movie franchise of all time, High School Musical. I spent 10 years, 10 years trying to develop a new take on High School Musical that was worthy of remaking this classic, something that fans, new fans and our original fans would really feel like they could watch and appreciate together.
Turns out it's really harder than it seems to get that community together. But we finally cracked it with High School Musical The Series, which is a story about the kids at East High School, the school where the High School Musical movies were actually shot, who end up as stars of that school's production of High School Musical, The Musical. You get it? You will in a second, I promise. With a genuine reverence for the original movie, our music producers and writers have really woven together those classic songs from High School Musical, reinterpreting them and then blended seamlessly with brand new songs, which gives the whole tone of the series a kind of a comic tone and texture that is simultaneously familiar to fans.
And yet, as you will see in a moment, quite a departure, probably from what those fans are expecting, with an absolutely adorable new cast that I guarantee the audience will fall in love with as soon as they see them. So if you'll permit me, get your head in the game, take a look at High The Series. Now you get it, right? To help frame up everything you've seen this afternoon and share some additional insights, maybe a few special highlights, please welcome the Senior Vice President of Content for Disney plus Agnes Chew.
Thank you, Gary. Good afternoon, everyone. You just heard from the content creators of the Walt Disney Company, the visionaries bringing our unique brands to life and representing nearly a century of entertainment defined by quality and timeless stories. As you've seen, Disney plus is the only streaming service that at its foundation has this breadth of branded storytelling for global audiences. Whether you are nostalgic for your childhood favorites like Cinderella or Little Mermaid or you want to host a Star Wars marathon in your living room or if you just need more baby Groot in your life.
Disney plus provides viewers of all ages an unrivaled living, breathing ecosystem of content. Through Disney plus subscribers will deepen their relationships with our beloved characters and worlds while forging new connections to new worlds brought to life on the service. And one of the reasons we're able to cultivate this ecosystem of storytelling is because we have such amazing talent both in front of and behind the camera wanting to be part of Disney plus wanting to tell their stories using our IP, characters and brands. The same people who helped create many of our legendary characters are continuing their legacy on Disney plus from Billy Crystal and John Goodman in Monsters at Work to Dieter Luna and Alan Tudyk in our Rogue One series to the absolutely phenomenal cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney Plus has also provided an opportunity for talent to flex their creative muscles across our brands.
As we saw earlier, Jon Favreau, who made his mark on Marvel and Disney films, has brought his groundbreaking vision to the Star Wars universe through The Mandalorian. Kristen Bell who plays Anna on Frozen will executive produce an unscripted musical series for Disney plus called Encore where she helps to reunite old classmates back on their high school stage. It's a real life high school musical starring people like you and me adults who are young at heart. The way, did you see Lowell earlier? He has great stage presence.
We've already called his high school to see if he can star in season 2. We are also excited to have Supper Club, the creative team behind the Emmy nominated culinary series Chef's Table, join the Disney family. David Gelb, Jason Sturman and Brian McGinn will create a slate of premium nonfiction content for Disney plus including documentary storytelling tailored to fans of our brands. These and many, many more talented creators are working with us developing exceptional original content for Disney plus because it is the only platform with access to the best and most respected brands the world has to offer. On day 1, we will have at least 9 exclusive episodic series, movies and documentaries including the first episodes of The Mandalorian and High The Series and the live action feature Lady and the Tramp.
We will also be premiering a documentary series that traces the history of Walt Disney Imagineering from Emmy and Academy nominated award nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks. The series will feature exclusive interviews and never before seen footage of Disney's parks around the world. And we will be adding to this content with each passing week. We've got a lot of exciting projects currently in development. In year 1, we will have more than 25 original episodic series and more than 10 original exclusive movies, documentaries and specials.
And behind the originals, we have a phenomenal library. Over the past year, we reached deals to include titles on our service that were exclusively licensed to other platforms. Ultimately, Disney plus will become the exclusive streaming home for all family friendly content from our brands. Let's look at a holistic recap of year 1, because when you see it all together, it is spectacular. We have the animated Disney classics from Vault titles to new favorites like Moana and Frozen, which will be available on day 1.
We have fantastic live action films from Ben Knobs and Broomsticks to Pirates of the Caribbean and everything in between. There's the beloved Disney Channel series like Kim Possible and That's So Raven, the entire Pixar library, several epic titles from our Marvel Cinematic Universe with more to come and our fans will go crazy for all things Star Wars. Not to mention 2 50 hours of premium series and films from National Geographic and with the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, we will have an impressive collection of series and films that have become mainstays of premium family entertainment. From Malcolm in the Middle to Sound of Music, which my daughter will be thrilled about because she listens to the soundtrack every day and she's only 1 years old. All of this brings us to an unbelievable offering in year 1.
We will have more than 7,500 episodes of television, over 400 library titles and over 100 recent theatrical film releases such as Captain Marvel and The Lion King. And by year 5, we expect our annual production slate to include more than 50 original series including returning seasons every year as well as more than 10 original movies, documentaries and specials each year. This means through our premium platform, subscribers can expect great breadth and depth spanning over 10,000 episodes and well over 120 recent films, all in addition to our 500 library titles. So whether it's reliving our classic library, exploring new adventures in nature or even the wilder habitat of high school or escaping to worlds of fantasy tomorrow and galaxies far, far away. Disney plus is the only entertainment service that brings all of our brands together for global audiences of all ages, all in one place.
And we've got one more exciting announcement from some very special guests.
Homer Simpson here, proud addition to the Disney family and soon appearing on Disney plus I for 1, salute our new corporate overlords. Now, family, put on the mouse ears. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
I don't wanna, I'm not gonna, you can't make me.
Put on the ears, boy. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Marge.
This is going to make you smile Maggie is the perfect Springfield Tinker Bell. For over 30 years, no other franchise on television has commanded laughs and touched our hearts like The Simpsons. I am thrilled to announce that Disney plus is going to be the exclusive SVOD home for this global hit with the first 30 seasons available on day 1. The Simpsons joined the Avengers, the princesses, Buzz and Woody, the Jedi Order, the Animal Kingdom and of course Mickey Mouse to create the must have collection of quality branded storytelling, a foundation of storytelling from the Walt Disney Company that has made and continues to make for new generations an indelible mark on our culture. This is the promise of Disney plus And with that, I'd like to welcome back to the stage, Kevin Mayer.
Disney plus is clearly a phenomenal one of a kind service with content only Disney can provide and an experience only Disney could create. We're confident it will resonate with consumers and stand out in the marketplace. I'm excited to announce that Disney plus will be available to U. S. Consumers on November 12, 2019.
And we will be launching the service with a very attractive monthly price of 6.99 dollars as well as an annual option for $69.99 which works out for those mathematically inclined to $5.83 per month. We believe this creates an extremely compelling value proposition for consumers. So let's add it all up. We have the brands that matter. We have the library content that has been loved for generations, as well as new original content made by many of the same creators, all wrapped in a beautiful package and delivered to consumers at a very reasonable price.
For these reasons, we feel very confident in the success of Disney
Plus.
Well, thanks, Kevin. And I think you can all now see why we have been so excited about Disney plus and finally having the opportunity to share it with all of you. Now since we announced our D2C initiatives in August of 2017, my team and I have been inundated with questions about the financial implications of these initiatives. We've told everyone we'd provide a lot more information at the Investor Day. Well, that moment has finally arrived.
Take out your pens, open your laptops. Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer is now going to walk you through those details. So without further ado, please welcome Christine to the stage.
Thank you, Lowell. It's great to have all of you here with us today. The presentations you've seen this afternoon demonstrate a tremendous effort on the part of many people across the organization to deliver on our direct to consumer strategy. We hope you share our excitement about this opportunity and have a better understanding of the value we can create for shareholders. The cornerstone of our strategy is Disney plus which, as Kevin discussed in detail, will launch this November.
We plan to invest aggressively in Disney plus and we also plan to continue investing to support the growth of ESPN plus Hulu and Hotstar. The financial impact of these investments will be reflected in the results of our direct to consumer and international segment, which will include among other things, the subscription and advertising revenue generated by these services as well as the cost of content licensing and operating expenses. Content licensing expenses include intra segment content transactions between direct to consumer and international and the Media Networks and Studio Entertainment segments. I'll provide additional color on a few of these drivers in a moment. The new segment financial reporting structure we implemented beginning in fiscal Q1 2019 and the detail we now disclose on the performance of our direct to consumer and international segment is a direct response to the visibility requested by our investors, including many of you in this room today.
We believe the additional detail will allow you to better assess the operating performance and the value of both our traditional businesses and the direct to consumer initiatives we discussed today. Now earlier, we presented elements of the Disney plus service, which will include original, episodic and film content and an incredibly rich library of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic content. This offering will further be strengthened over time as our slate of future films becomes available exclusively to Disney plus subscribers when those films reach the pay one window. At an initial price point of $6.99 per month in the U. S, Disney plus represents compelling entertainment offerings for consumers and an attractive price to value proposition.
Given the quality of content consumers will have access to on day 1. And the value for consumers will increase over time as we add additional content to the service. Based on current launch plans and the magnitude and cadence of content investment, we expect Disney plus to have between 60,000,000 90,000,000 subscribers around the world by the end of fiscal 2024. And we expect over time about 1 third of our subscriber base will come from the U. S.
With 2 thirds coming from outside the U. S. We intend to invest aggressively in original content based on our compelling brands and iconic franchises developed by the talented creative teams you have seen here today. While we are still fine tuning the detailed content plan, we currently expect our cash investment in original content to be a little over $1,000,000,000 for fiscal 2020, ramping up over time and reaching a level of cash investment in the mid $2,000,000,000 range for fiscal 2024. Again, these investment figures represent our cash investment.
We expect amortization expense, the number that will flow through the P and L to be less than $500,000,000 in fiscal 2020, growing to about $2,000,000,000 for fiscal 2024. We expect to amortize these investments on an accelerated basis with roughly 80% to 90% of the content investment amortized within the 1st 4 years. In addition to investing in original content, Disney plus will also license content previously produced by our Studio and Media Network segments. For instance, Disney plus will license library content from the Studio in addition to licensing films that have been theatrically released once those films enter the pay one window, beginning with Captain Marvel. Disney plus will also license library as well as current series content from media networks.
The financial impact of these inter segment licensing transactions on segment results will reflect an appropriate fee for the content involved. For Disney plus we expect license content expense to be less than $1,500,000,000 for fiscal 2020 and ramping up to the mid-two $1,000,000,000 range for fiscal 2024. I'll note the trajectory of the ramp will largely be driven by the timing of the international launches. We expect total operating expenses for Disney plus which include marketing, technology, customer service, billing and G and A expenses to be a little less than $1,000,000,000 for fiscal 2020. And we'd expect these expenses to ramp as the subscriber base grows, albeit at a rate that is lower than the rate of revenue growth.
So what does this all mean? Well, from a financial perspective, we expect Disney plus operating results during the 1st couple of years post launch to reflect the aggressive early investments we're making because we want to set the business up for long term success. We expect operating losses to peak between fiscal 2020 fiscal 2022. And we expect Disney plus to achieve profitability in fiscal 2024. Now turning to ESPN plus as you heard earlier today, we're very pleased with the performance of this service, which launched a year ago and currently has more than 2,000,000 subscribers.
We expect ESPN Plus' subscriber base to grow to between 8,000,000 12,000,000 by the end of 2024, driven by recent investments in key sports rights, including UFC and Serie A as well as an original content. While we expect ESPN plus to generate annual operating losses of about 6 $50,000,000 in both fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020. Operating losses should begin to narrow after that, and we expect ESPN plus to achieve profitability in fiscal 2023. Now Hulu has been on an impressive growth trajectory the last couple of years, and we expect this growth to continue. Hulu currently has more than 25,000,000 paid domestic subscribers, which we expect to grow to between $40,000,000 $60,000,000 by the end of fiscal 2024.
We expect Hulu's operating losses to peak at about $1,500,000,000 for fiscal 2019 with a slightly narrower loss for fiscal 2020. Thereafter, we expect Hulu's operating losses to continue to narrow with the domestic business reaching profitability in fiscal 2023 or fiscal 2024. Now given that our acquisition of 21st Century Fox closed just last month, we're still assessing the prospect and timing of international launches, which would have an which would have an impact on our financial outlook for Hulu. Now at the Walt Disney Company, one of our core competencies is creating high quality content and experiences. And we are extraordinarily optimistic about the plans and expectations we have laid out for you today.
Our direct to consumer strategy and the successful launch of Disney plus are top priorities for our company. We will be aggressive in our efforts and we believe we can succeed. And as you have seen here today, we have the intellectual property, the brands, the technology and the people to deliver best in class direct to consumer experiences and create meaningful long term value for our shareholders. Thank you for spending your afternoon with us. Before we move on to Q and A, I also want to extend a big thank you to my Disney colleagues for being with us today.
We thought it was important for you to hear directly from our content creators and some of our key business leaders involved in this very important initiative. I will now turn it back over to Lowell and we look forward to answering your questions. Lowell?
Thank you, Christine. Well, did we give you numbers? Okay, just want to be sure. So we are now going to transition to an investor Q and A session. As you can see, Bob and Kevin are coming back on the stage to join Christine and me.
We're going to try to get through as many questions as possible in the next 20 minutes or so. If you have a question, please raise your hand. I will call on you. And then we'll have people with microphones in the aisle. Please wait for them to come to you since this is being webcast.
Love for you to begin your question with your name and firm affiliation. And I do apologize in advance if we don't get to your question. So with that, let's turn up the lights so I can see hands. I see a hand there, although I can't see who it is. But over to my left, here comes the microphone.
Thanks. It's Michael Nathanson. I have a question for all 3 of you. One of the things Christine just said is that you're going to assess the international rollout of Hulu. Now you had time to think about it because Fox was acquired in principle about a year and a half ago.
So what are the types of assessments you're doing? And if you can give a sense of what is the kind of the lead time you would need to roll that out once you make the assessment?
Well, as you know, Hulu is still a minority owned by Comcast and AT and T. So we are not the unilateral decision maker on its rollout. We are assessing, however, the different markets that it can roll out to and the different dynamics that exist in each of those markets. There's regulatory issues, there's broadband infrastructure issues, there are consumer receptivity issues. It's pretty complicated actually.
And we also want to make sure that we titrate the rollout in such a way that we are that our losses are manageable for the company. We want to be very responsible. So there's still some work to do. We've been looking at it pretty hard. And I think we'll make decisions in the near term on that.
Okay. Back up here, maybe 4 rows from the top middle. Looks like Ben, although I can't tell. Hello, Ben.
Thank you. Ben Swinburne from Morgan Stanley. A couple of questions.
First, looks like you
bought back a lot of IP from some of your traditional distributors. Just want to confirm, Christine, all that cost is in the guidance you gave us? You are nodding for the webcast.
I am nodding. The answer is yes. So these costs that we showed you and the profitability, the years to profitability incorporate all of the expenses that we discussed today.
Great. And then, Bob, I'm sure you're probably not surprised by the question, but you just laid out a very ambitious plan for the next, I guess, 4 or 5 years, and we're all expecting your contract is over at the end of 2021. I don't know if you have anything to tell us about the leadership of the company or succession or whether you expect to stay through that period of time?
I'm expecting my contract to expire at the end of 2021. And I'm going to say this time I mean it, but I've said that before. I've been CEO since October of 2005. And as I've said many times, there's a time for everything and that will be 2021 will be the time for me to finally step down. I've been engaged with the Board for quite some time in discussion about succession and they've been engaged in a succession process and we continue to feel that they will be able to identify my successor on a timely enough basis so that this company has a smooth transition.
I do want to say, by the way, since a lot has been said, internally and I think probably maybe felt now that we've shown this all to you, that what we're putting forward is an aggressive strategy. That's very purposeful because we feel obviously the strategy is extremely important to us. And we feel that if we're going to implement it, we've got to be very, very serious and be all in on it. And that's because we believe that, that is the best way for this to succeed. And the aggressive numbers that Christine laid out, both in terms of profitability and in terms of global subscribers are a direct result of us being all in from the beginning.
I mean, we are really committed to this. I think the array of talent that was up here on stage and the product that they showed you is just one example of that. But we feel that's the best path to success in a direction that is vital to the future of this company and the value that we return to shareholders.
Okay. Looks like Jessica. Jessica, wait for a microphone. It's hard to see with the lights.
Hi. It is Jessica Ehrlich from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Like I guess a series of small questions were related on the international side. You didn't mention pricing outside the U. S.
You were general in terms of like rollout. So could you just frame or give a range of TAM like next 2 or 3 years, whatever you're comfortable with? And then the revenue that from like we don't know what the timing of some of the deals that are coming up outside the U. S. Like lost revenue.
And then the last thing, bundled pricing in the U. S. You didn't really say what that would be.
I'll just take I'll take
the first part, which is just in terms of timing. Christine mentioned that the $60,000,000 to $90,000,000 sub estimate by 2024 would roughly consist of 1 third U. S. And 2 thirds international. So that means since 2024 isn't that far away that there will be a number of international rollouts for Disney plus in the near term.
But we don't want to be specific because there are a variety of things as Kevin referenced earlier as it related to Hulu that we still have to address technology, content, etcetera, and so on. But obviously, in order to achieve the numbers that Christine mentioned, we have to roll out aggressively internationally. But again, we just were not prepared. We gave you so much information today. And we're also very, very focused right now on November 12 in the United States.
I don't want to say we're walking before we run because we feel like we're already running pretty hard. But that's we just don't want to get any more specific than that right now on that side of
it. I think you asked about pricing also not more specific. I think you've seen how other SVOD services price outside the U. S. So you might expect some variation when we actually do decide those prices.
Also on the TAM side, we did give you subscriber counts. So I think that should probably suffice, but I would just go back to what I said in the beginning of the presentation, which is we're a 4 quadrant service. Our brands, when you add them all together, really do attract a 4 quadrant audience. And there's over 1,000,000,000 broadband households around the world capable of high quality video of the form that we're going to deliver in the service. So I think that could
be our TAM, frankly. And then just on the pricing, but on the U. S. Pricing, we're designing a product that we want it to be accessible to as many consumers as possible. And when we talk about accessibility, the components to achieve that are, 1, quality of content and the variety of content 2, the user interface, the technology, the app itself 3, the brands, obviously, which maybe is tied to the content 4 is price.
We just feel that Disney is loved by so many millions and millions of people around the world. This is our first serious foray into the space and we wanted to reach as many people as possible with it.
I see a hand right up here.
Thank you. Alexia Quadrani from JPMorgan. 2nd run content is being pulled away from Netflix by other TV studios that are looking to build their own streaming services. When you look at Hulu, I guess how secure you're in keeping the content you currently have from your current partners? And then maybe a second question for Bob, I guess any thoughts on shortening the home video window at this point?
Yes, those content license agreements from the current partners, including Fox and now part of Disney, obviously, the Fox Studios that is, Fox Television Studios, our content and NBCUniversal's, there's no plan to change the content license agreements among the partners. So we feel we'll have full access to that content for the medium term.
One of the great aspects of the acquisition of Fox was the acquisition of their television studios. And why we believe that's great is that as we look to the future of our company, we believe that not only we have to continue to fuel some of the traditional platforms because we continue to monetize them, but we obviously needed the creative firepower to fuel our new initiatives, which is Hulu and Disney plus And so the talent that comes into the company, the experience that they had making television over a long period of time and the connections they have to the creative community are incredibly important. And if you look at the structure that we have created, aside from sports, we've turned the senior leadership of our entire television organization over to Fox executives, 3 of whom are in the room, notably Peter Rice and John Landgraf and Dana Walden. So I know that partnerships are important, creative partnerships will always be important, but we're looking to them to continue to not only maintain the partnerships that they've had, but to create new ones and to produce significantly for all of our services. And the second part of the question, do we answer that?
Yes, Kevin got it.
Okay. So this is like an earnings call on
pricing.
Bob's putting out so much information. Well, they have questions. I said they'll find questions.
Maybe I feel a little less guilty when we're on the phone if I don't answer a question. Face to face, it's I don't know.
We're going to do
we've only done about 200 earnings calls and
now we can do that in person.
We could keep this room here and do the May 8 earnings call in person if you have. Top of the room, I see a hand up there.
Thank you. Mike Morris, Guggenheim. I have two questions. 1, you didn't reference an ad supported option for Disney plus and I'm curious the strategic decision there and whether you would consider that over time. And then second on video games, you've made a couple of different decisions over the past decade or so.
What's your thinking right now? And could video games be part of a platform like this? Thanks.
I'll answer the second part. We're keeping this to a television and movie service. We learned a lot when we launched Disney Life in Europe, which had a lot of content different kinds of content in it, including games and product from our publishing group and music. And we felt in terms of what we learned there that the consumer was mostly interested in movies and television shows. And we wanted this to be a pure movie and of adding of adding more genres of, well, I don't know if they're genres, whatever you'd call it, types of entertainment media to this right now.
And I'm not going to get into the history of video games at the company. Every time I mentioned it, I seem to get myself in trouble. So I'm not going to do that.
On the ad side, we have we made a judgment that the best way to serve our consumers right now is to charge the price that we have $6.99 a month without ads. And I think consumers will love that service. We have the great content. We have the brands. We have everything that matters for consumers at this point.
And I don't think that we need ads in that service. Now on the other hand, Hulu does have ads or you can choose a non ad supported model. So that works too. But we think for Disney, for these brands at this time, no ads is the right call.
Okay. I see a hand right next right on the aisle there.
Thank you. Steve K. Hall from RBC. Maybe first on the Disney plus strategy, the subscriber expectations look pretty exciting, but there's a lot of investment upfront. I was wondering how you're thinking about the return on that investment versus your previous way of licensing your content to your partners and if there's a point in that subscriber growth when the return on Disney plus is better than the way you used to do things.
And then in markets where Hulu and Disney plus both exist, are there any plans for a common user interface with a common subscription package?
The second I'll mention and I'll talk about the second part. Kevin or Christine can answer the first. As you saw in this presentation, we're going out with 3 different products, because as we look at the marketplace, we feel that consumers just have should have more flexibility in terms of what they choose to subscribe to. And that giving them sort of, I'll call it, a fat bundle or something that looks a little bit more like traditional media would not be the right thing to do in this space. So if a consumer wants sports, they can they have a pure sports buy.
If they want more adult related programming, they can buy Hulu. And if they want family, there's Disney. And then if they want to package them all, Kevin mentioned this, we're going to make it easy for them to do that. But we didn't want to create one big fat product. And then on the technology side, obviously, Disney plus and ESPN are sharing the same platform out of what we used to call BAMTech.
But we're not because we have 60% ownership of Hulu, we're not making any decisions now in terms of what platform Hulu will be on. That's something that the Board of Hulu will have to take up at some point.
On the ROIC question, obviously, we examined that with quite with a lot of rigor, I would say. And although there is a near term investment, that's obvious. We think in the long term that the return for our shareholders will be improved by us getting vertically integrated into that SVOD service. And we think that ultimately, although I'm not going to talk specific numbers here, that value is created over and above what we would have had through licensing by getting into the business itself. Okay.
Let's do 2 more.
I see a hand down here. We'll go there and then we'll go back up top for our last question.
Thanks. Alan Gould from Loop Capital. So you're forecasting 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 Disney plus domestic subs by 2024. Just wondering what implications you think that has to the traditional bundle?
We don't have estimates on that that we care to share. I'm actually not sure that this will have much of an effect on the trajectory of the current bundling since we're not talking about what we believe that is. We're not going to talk about what we believe the impact this would have. I'm sure we've even run those numbers, but it's not something we care to share.
Yes. I mean, we obviously remain committed to the traditional bundle, Allen. We've remained committed all the way through. And I think you've seen that in the distribution deals that we're currently in the middle of negotiating as well. One final question up top.
I think that's me. So Todd Junger from Bernstein. I hate having the last question, but I'll do it with this one. Christine, would you mind or I guess, Christine, reminding us how much total content licensing Disney and Fox together sort of generate today from selling all this amazing content to all your global customers? How big that number is?
And then if I took my notes right, I think you talked about $2,500,000,000 or so that becoming internal licensing for Disney plus I think based on your answer, that's going to leave many billions of still third party content license. So I guess my question is, assuming there's many billions of content, you're still going to license to other people.
Is that reflective of
a belief that that's the best way to monetize that? Is that dependent on your plans on Hulu over the time? Should we expect that remaining billions of content licensing to continue to be generated by your company? Or should we expect that will go down over time? Thanks.
Well, I think thanks, Todd. I think the first part of your question is really under the foregone licensing. And on our last earnings call, the number we gave for foregone licensing for this current fiscal year, fiscal 2019 was 150. And the split for that was 100 in the studio and 50 in media networks in the television side. When the number that we gave you for the intercompany licenses, that you could look at that also as licensing that we would have paid to others, but we're keeping that content.
The vast majority of it, we're keeping it internal. So I think the numbers that we gave you, we gave you what it would be ramping up to over time. I think that's the best way to think about it. And the intercompany is that's DTCI will be buying the content from the studio and from media networks. One thing that will be different and you if unless you really looked hard at our 8 ks when we put out our new reporting, We have always done a net we had no we didn't report things on a gross basis.
It was on a net basis. Now we will be reporting on a gross basis. So we will have an eliminations line that will ramp up over time as these intercompany transactions ramp up as well.
Thank you, Todd. And thank you everyone for the questions. And thanks to all of you for joining us today. To those of you listening on the webcast, this concludes our investor events.