As expected, Disney has secured its missing shares of the streaming service Hulu, in a new deal with its rival Comcast. This means that the Mouse House now controls all of Hulu and will integrate the streaming service into its long-term plans, providing an option for creators that aren’t family friendly enough for Disney+. And according to the head honcho of FX, now a subsidiary of Disney, this is great news.
Speaking at the recent press conference (via Deadline), FX Networks chief John Landgraf opened up about the future of streaming for his network. And surprisingly, those plans don’t include the recently launched FXNow streaming app.
“I think the possibilities of a platform like Hulu are much more exciting to us in the long run than trying to scale up a standalone version,” Landgraf said.
“If you think about the fact that Hulu has about 40% of its subscribers ad-free,” he added. “That’s really exciting to me, that FX programming will now be on a quite widely distributed streaming system with an ad-free option. It really expands the dimensions and what we can do.”
You can see why Landgraf would be so amped about the Disney takeover of Hulu. Instead of competing against the big streamers, FX can now integrate fully into one of the top streaming brands out there, which means millions of eyeballs will have access to FX content that wouldn’t have seen it on the standalone app.
Many people wondered what would happen to FX once Disney completed its purchase of 20th Century Fox. Of all the various brands under the Fox umbrella, FX seemed to be the one most at odds with the core values at Disney. That isn’t to say FX has terrible content, at all. Over the last decade, the network has proven that it releases some of the best TV programming around, including shows like “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story,” “Atlanta,” “The Americans,” “Fargo,” and the recent “Fosse/Verdon.”
But you see, those shows can’t sit next to the latest programs from Marvel Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Disney on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service. This is especially true considering the mega-studio’s streaming venture is focused on attracting an all-ages market. So, enter Hulu and its no-holds-barred approach to creative storytelling.
Landgraf said, “FX doesn’t belong on Disney+ at all…It belongs on Hulu.”
Now, it’s only a matter of time before we find out how Hulu integrates FX. But needless to say, if you’re a fan of the network’s content, today is a good day.