Disney’s new chief executive wants to rebuild its streaming service into something bigger than a place to watch films.
Josh D’Amaro, who took over from Bob Iger in March, is exploring turning Disney+ into a “super app” that would fold streaming together with theme-park tickets, cruise bookings, games, and merchandise, Bloomberg reported.
The ambition is explicitly competitive. D’Amaro’s goal, according to the report, is to make Disney’s direct-to-consumer business a real match for Netflix, the streamer that has spent a decade turning a DVD-by-post company into the default of home viewing.
“Disney+ will evolve beyond a traditional streaming service to become the digital centerpiece of our company, connecting stories, experiences, games and films in new ways,” D’Amaro said, casting the app as the hub of everything Disney sells.
The pieces he wants to connect are scattered today. Disney runs separate apps for Disney+, the Disneyland resort, and its Cruise Line, and a super app would pull ticketing, merchandise, gaming, and streaming into a single place, a one-stop shop for a Disney fan’s money.
