Walt Disney Co. senior executives are discussing how to unify the company’s disparate mobile apps and turn its streaming service into the first stop for all things Disney, a place where users can book park tickets, buy merchandise, play games and watch movies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, is attempting to break silos within the company and simplify how customers interact with its brand. The new app would marry Disney+ with mobile platforms such as the Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line Navigator apps into what’s internally being described as a “super app,” said the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private.
The conversations are at an early stage and no concrete steps have been taken toward developing the product, the people said. Still, the ambition has been at the center of internal presentation materials, and is indicative of the potential D’Amaro, sees in evolving the company’s direct-to-consumer business, the people said.
A spokesperson for Disney declined to comment.
The company has long flirted with the idea of creating a super app for all things Disney or even a membership program akin to Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime service. D’Amaro’s predecessor Bob Iger toyed with the idea for more than a decade, even testing a less comprehensive version in the UK.
As Disney has released more apps in recent years, the company’s periodically revisited whether to combine them. The ambition never gained traction due to logistical setbacks, the people said. Disney is currently working on merging its Hulu online video platform with Disney+, which has faced obstacles due to their separate tech infrastructure and programming rights, the people said.
D’Amaro, who succeeded Iger as CEO in March, is keen to revisit the idea. He told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting that month that “Disney+ will continue to evolve beyond a traditional streaming service to become the digital centerpiece of our company – a portal that connects our stories, experiences, games, films, and more in entirely new ways.”
D’Amaro serves as a board observer at Epic Games, the video game publisher behind Fortnite. He recently restructured Disney to more closely marry games and entertainment. Disney has also been exploring more investment in user-generated content and artificial intelligence.
That ambition faced a setback later in March when OpenAI Inc. abruptly shut down its Sora text-to-video generator, collapsing a $1 billion deal Disney had signed with the company to grant users access to roughly 200 characters and allow them to create their own content for Disney+.
Disney is scheduled to report its first quarterly earnings under D’Amaro on May 6.
