Thread by @SeanNyberg

[THREAD] (1) HERE WE GO: Follow this thread for a play by play of today’s four hour Disney Investor Day 2020. All of my updates will be in this thread.
The rest of @TheDisInsider crew will also be covering this @SkylerShuler @derekcorneII @josh_sharpe22 and @DempseyPillot

(2) Welcome to our coverage of TWDC's Investor Day 2020. This annual event was scheduled for earlier in the year, but postponed due to Covid-19. The event is expected to last 4 hours. The focus will be on streaming.

(3) The audience for this event is primarily Wall Street and investors, however, Disney has been promoting the event among their fans more than usual, which leads one to believe there will be some fan-service.

(4) Bob Chapek will be opening the presentation for the first hours. Bob Iger will be starting the second hour. The second hour will feature news about new content

(5) it looks like Disney WILL BE releasing some content of upcoming projects.

(6) Disney+ has 86.8 million paid subscribers! Shattering original expectations that it would take over five years to hit that mark. **But honestly, it is SLIGHTLY below what investors were expecting

(7) 9 minutes into the investor event, in after hours trading Disney's stock has jumped to over $160 a share for the first time in their history

(8) A lot of introductory statements of "Walts vision" and "we are unrivaled" etc. All expected all necessary, but also, not news worthy.

(9) Marvel will present new material later in the event. Stay Tuned!

(10) Disney's new distribution division is now presenting their plans for their streaming growth

(11) *Note* Disney's head of distribution, Kareem Daniel, is Disney's first executive to be a person of color. Sad it took so long, but glad it happened. He is highly respected and is in charge of where movies will be released, Disney+ or theaters

(12) !!!!! Disney releases new logo for Disney+ originals. 10 NEW MARVELS SERIES, 10 NEW Star Wars, 15 DISNEY ANIMATION PIXAR SERIES, 15 NEW DISNEY LIVE ACTION MOVIES, all being released on Disney+ as Disney+ originals

(13) Movies going to Disney+ and not theaters: Raya and the Last Dragon AT THE SAME TIME they release it in March to the theaters! **HUGE**

(14) Disney will continue to release large films in theaters, but they will also move some to streaming **We figured this, but it is now official** Disney WILL NOT be following Warner Bros plans!

(15) Disney is adjusting their forecasts for their streaming services. As of 12/2 ... 86.8 million Disney+, 38.8 million Hulu (huge!), and 11.5 million ESPN+ .... These numbers are huge, no one could have expected this a year ago

(16) Disney is now talking about their growth internationally. They will be launching in more markets in 2021, Hong Kong, Eastern Europe, the rest of Japan, and South Korea

(17) Disney stock JUMPED DRAMATICALLY with the news of subscribers in after hours trading. Investors are happy with this

(18) Disney+ and ESPN+ will join Hulu to be added to Comcast's 20 million Xifinity X1 users.

(19) DISNEY WILL NOT BE MERGING DISNEY+ AND HULU!!! **Breaking** They are providing a new bundle deal with Hulu (no ads) starting January.

(20) Disney+ new content will be announced later today. *stay tuned* Share this with friends.

(21) Disney is focusing on India to expand their Disney+ Hotstar. Hotstar has been an established brand in India. This will bring millions of potential new subscribers. Investors will like this.

(22) Disney is releasing Star and Star+ in international markets. Basically their "Hulu"... Europe Canada Australia and New Zealand, Star will be fully integrated into Disney+ as a sixth tab on Disney+ (whoa! this is news. FX coming to Disney+ internationally)

(22) Wow, this international Disney+ and Star merger will be big for Disney+ subscriber count in the future. This also makes me think the disney+ Hulu merger in the US may be soon. They may have to wait for Comcast to be bought out of their 1/3 Hulu ownership

(23) Disney will have a new parental controls system for their international Disney+ (obviously! lol!) Will be interesting to see how this plays out

(24) In Latin America Disney will be keeping Disney+ and Star+ separate. Launching in June of 2021 as a stand alone or bundled service, but unlike the other model it will not be ONE app

(25) In Latin America Star+ will feature sports through ESPN. Live sports will be offered too. This is pretty cool. It'll also contain R rated films and series like family guy and modern family

(26) This news is coming in QUICK!! Wow. I'm trying my best to keep this not just updated but also clear. There is a lot of news still to come. Especially for fans, so hold up... in about a half an hour we will start getting marvel Star Wars Pixar and disney content news

(27) Hulu has doubled its new paid subscribers in just three years.

(28) Hulu + Live TV passed 4 million subscribers making it a top 5 TV provider (which is nuts!)

(29) Upcoming new Hulu Originals in the next hour or so.

(30) FX series audience has increased nearly 50% since they've been featured on Hulu, compared to just being on their cable network.

(31) Hulu will expand their partnership with ABC News providing exclusive content for Hulu

(32) Hulu will feature new films from 20th century studios and searchlight.

(33) ESPN+ will be added to Hulu app, so you can watch ESPN without leaving Hulu

(34) Investors LOVE this Hulu news. Disney can jack up subscription rates for no-ads, or provide a lower subscription rate with ad revenue. Wall Street likes various forms of revenue stream

(35) ESPN+ is #1 sports direct to consumer service. Subscribers tripled in one year. They've already hit the halfway mark in one year that they expected for five years.

(36) ESPN+ became leader of UFC pay per view events.

(37) ESPN reaches over 200 million US sports fans in US. ESPN cable remains the #1 cable network among 18-49 year olds.

(38) ESPN made an agreement with SEC, starting in 2024 season. ABC will become the new home of SEC Saturday afternoon games, annual SEC championship, and select Saturday night games. SEC is the most watched conference in college football!

(39) ESPN+ will launch a new daily morning highlights program. Friends of mine will really enjoy this. Laying in bed and watching this on their phones. lol

(40) Peyton's Places Season 2 is coming back to ESPN+ ... someone out there might find that interesting, lol. I'm just here to share the info.

(41) YAY!!! BEST NEWS EVER!! TEN MINUTE BREAK!!

(42) "The Best is Yet to Come" ... I'm taking the quote back from the 2020 elections. Because it applies to this next hour. A lot of new content, plus former Disney CEO and current Executive Chairman Bob Iger

(43) The Highlights from the first hour
- Disney+ / Hulu will NOT merge
- Disney+ will be merging with their Hulu counterparts (Hotstar / Star) in various international markets
- Raya and the Last Dragon will get same Theater/Disney+ release
- Other movies still theater release

(44) We are only a quarter of the way through this thing! Lol. Strap in.

(45) Here we go fam... Hour TWO! Lots of content.

(46) Iger introducing the new content segment, he DID lead the purchases of Pixar, Marvel, Lucas Films, and 21st Century Fox ... so he should get the honor.

(47) NEW CONTENT, HERE WE GO. (Many of the videos will not be made available de to copyright issues, it's complicated but it has to do with distribution and presenting it over a free streaming presentation is considered distribution)

(48) But, 1) we will get the news during the segment, and 2) later this evening many of these videos will be made available... we will share them the minute they become available.

(49) *New Seres* "Only Murders in The Building" starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez

(50) *New Series* "the dropout" starring Kate McKinnon, about the Silicon Valley about Elizabeth Holmes, the former Silicon Valley exec charged with fraud.

(51) *New Series* "Dopesick" starring Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard

(52) All three new series will be streamed on Hulu in the US.

(53) Hulu New Series "Nine Perfect Strangers" starring Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, and Regina Hall
**DANG, that's some a-list talent, good for you Disney!**

(54) ****BREAKING US FDA panel recommends the FDA approve Pfizer Vaccine to be used in the US!!!! FDA should approve today or tomorrow. Disney's future is strongly dependent on Covid-19 recovery, so this is MASSIVE.

(55) Handmaids Tale season 5 has been ordered by Hulu

(56) Disney's Investor Day is currently the number 1 trending topic on Twitter!

(57) For people new to this. "Linear programs" is what they call programs that are only aired on networks like ABC, FX, etc. "Streaming programs" is the alternative, programs that are available via streaming apps.

(58) Disney has had huge success moving many of these linear programs from FX to streaming. Disney will be focusing more on moving these to streaming more than linear.

(59) **BREAKING** Disney has ordered four more years of "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia"!!

(60) FX New Series "ALIEN" based on the original films, will take place on earth!!!!!!!!!

(61) There were a lot of questions regarding Alien, if Disney would do anything with it the they bought it with 20th Century Fox. Here is your answer.

(62) A lot of you have been waiting for this segment. #starwars #DisneyInvestorDay HERE WE GO:

(63) We are getting a long video of footage we have already seen. lol! It is a good reminder of how amazing The Mandalorian Season 2 has been!

(64) *NEW STARS WARS SERIES* "The Rangers of the New Republic" and "Ashoka" for Disney+ !!!!

(65) Season 3 of The Mandalorian will debut on Christmas Day 2021

(66) Star Wars **new series* ANDOR, Coming Summer 2022!!

(67) Cassian Andor new series coming, (we've reported this already) they've released a trailer, we will get that on here asap.

(68) NEW Star Wars SERIES "Obi Wan Kenobi" ... **BREAKING NEWS** HAYDEN CHRISTIANSON WILL REPRISE HIS ROLE AS ANAKIN SKYWALKER (Darth Vader)

(69) NEW Star Wars ANIMATED SERIES "THE BAD BATCH" ... Trailer is released, we will get that on here ASAP

(70) NEW Star Wars short Films "Star Wars VISIONS" anthology collection, Japanese Anime Studios.

(71) NEW Star Wars series "LANDO" coming to Disney+ ... created by "Dear White People" creator Justin Simien

(72) NEW Star Wars SERIES "The Acolyte" ... taking place in the final days of the High Republic Era

(73) "A DROID STORY" New Star Wars Series.

(74) Lucas Film's movie WILLOW will be created in a new Series for Disney+. We have reported this before on @TheDisInsider ... starts filming in March of 2021 and expected in 2022

(75) INDIANA JONES 5 coming to theaters! Harrison Ford coming back, will begin shooting in Spring 2021, will be released July 2022

(76) Patty Jenkins (Director of Wonder Woman Franchise) will helm the new Star Wars film "Rogue Squadron" coming Christmas of 2023

(77) National Geographic Documentary Film "Cousteau" coming to Disney+

(78) National Geographic's "Genius" series season 4 will begin to be streamed exclusively on Disney+, season 4 will feature "Martin Luther King, Jr."

(79) Nat Geo new Disney+ Original "Secrets of the Whales" ... Four-Party Disney+ Series from James Cameron

(80) *Four part ;)

(81) Nat Geo "A Real Bug's Life" series. Nat Geo "America the Beautiful" series. Coming to Disney+

(82) Director Darren Aronofsky has two new projects coming to Disney+ via National Geographic, First, "Limitless" w/ Chris Hemsworth. Six-part series. Dealing with the body's aging and living longer

(83) Second, "Welcome to Earth" w/ Will Smith, follows Smith to the most extreme and exciting places on the planet. Six-part original series coming Disney+ via National Geographic

(84) Dang ... we are only halfway through this thing and I am AMAZED by how much Disney has coming out. They've been spending a ton of money and creating an insane amount of content.

(85) Simpsons video clip is amazing "I would kill for fat Thor's body" ... I'm dead!

(86) New Disney series, "The Mighty Ducks Game Changers" series coming to Disney+ ... trailer released

(87) New Disney series, "Turner and Hooch" coming to Disney+ (we've previously reported this at @TheDisInsider

(88) New Disney series, "Big Shot" coming to Disney+, about women's high school basketball starring John Stamos. We've reported on this before, but we got a trailer today!

(89) **NEWS** NEW "Beauty and the Beast" prequel SERIES COMING TO DISNEY+ with original songwriters and cast members.

(90) - New Disney series "Swiss Family Robinson" coming to Disney+.
- New Disney project "Percy Jackson" series coming to Disney+.
- New Disney series "The Mystery Benedict Society" coming to Disney+.

(91) Time for NEWS from Disney Motion Pictures!!

(92) *NEWS* Hocus Pocus 2 in production ... a Disney+ Original

(93) New Disney+ Original Film "Three Men and a Baby" starring Zac Efron coming next year

(94) @TheDisInsider had the scoop on Hocus Pocus 2 months ago! Good work @SkylerShuler and @derekcorneII

(95) Flora & Ulysses ... new series coming in February 2021

(96) Gabriel Union will star in "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake coming in 2022

(97) New movie for "Diary of the Whimpy Kid" is in production

(98) New "Ice Age" film coming to Disney+

(99) "Night at the Museum" film being produced as an animated film for Disney+

(100) JULY 2021 Disney's Jungle Cruise will be released (this was planned for summer 2020 ... but, you know, Covid)

(101) Disney LION KING live-action prequel in the works, being directed by Barry Jenkins

(102) LIVE ACTION LITTLE MERMAID in production (we've reported on this on @TheDisInsider ... keep an eye there for scoops)

(103) Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers film in production starring John Mulaney (my fav) @mulaney and Andy Samberg.

(104) Live-action remake of Pinocchio starring Tom Hanks will be released on Disney+

(105) As reported on @TheDisInsider ... Peter Pan and Wendy will be released on Disney+

(106) Disenchanted movie (Enchanted sequel) being developed for Disney+

(107) SISTER ACT 3 in Development! With Whoopie Goldberg and Tyler Perry.

(108) "Cruella" - Cruella De Ville's origin story (101 Dalmations live action prequel) Clip of film played for investors. Starring Emma Stone

(109) ANOTHER BREAK!! Omg, I'm seeing double. I need some water ... Upcoming Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, and Marvel announcements coming up. See you in five!

(110) I was about to drag this Hanukkah hip hop song Disney is presenting right now ... but, I mean ... I'm sort of digging it. LOL. I'm losing it

(111) We are back! With Disney Animation, starting with Raya and the Last Dragon. We had reported earlier today that it will be released simultaneously on disney+ and theaters.

(112) *Scratch that* Disney+ with premier access! That means an extra charge. Hmmm, lets find out what that charge is. We will let you know when we do.

(113) Disney Animations first ever series "Big Hero 6" series "Baymax" the series. For Disney+

(114) Zootopia's creators are making a short form series "Zootopia+" for Disney+ ... Spring 2022

(115) New Princess Tiana project, Long Form Musical Comedy series. Disney+ 2023

(116) New Moana project, Long form Musical Comedy series Disney+ 2023

(117) Disney Animation teams up with Kugali, "Iwaju" ... set in Nigeria. Debuts in 2022 on Disney+

(118) Disney animated feature film set for November 2021 "Encanto" ... we reported this on @TheDisInsider yesterday.

(119) The after hours trading is showing a strong response from Wall Street. Disney stock is still trading over $160 a share. The real test will be tomorrow after the market opens, but initial response is record breaking for the company

(120) PIXAR TIME!

(121) Opens with SOUL trailer. We've known about this project for a few years. Was expected to be released this summer. Moved to November due to covid, then eventually moved to Christmas Day release on Disney+ for no extra fee.

(122) Pixar Popcorn Mini-Shorts coming January to Disney+

(123) New Pixar Disney+ series "Dug Days" ... a spin off from UP! With everyone's favorite dog. Coming Fall 2021

(124) New Pixar Disney + series from the Cars franchise. Coming Fall 2022

(125) Disney Pixar's first long form animated series coming to Disney+ ... "Win or Lose" follows a coed middle school softball team. Coming Fall of 2023

(126) Disney Pixar Feature Film - Luca ... "a love letter to Italy" ... June 2021 theatrical release.

(127) I don't think I can overstate how big of a deal it is that Disney is keeping many of their big films in theaters for 2021. An entire industry may have been destroyed if they followed Warner Bros model.

(128) Spring 2022 new Disney Pixar Film "Turning Red" ... Summer 2022 new Disney Pixar Film "LIGHTYEAR" ...

(129) Lightyear is the definitive origin story of the original Buzz Lightyear. Voiced by Chris Evans.

(130) TIME FOR MARVEL!!!

(131) WANDAVISION TRAILER RELEASED!! We will post it ASAP at @TheDisInsider

(132) New Film "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" ... coming March 25th, 2022

(133) America Chavez will appear in "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse Madness" and the film will tie in with Wandavision AND the new Spider-Man film coming in December 2021

(134) FALCON AND WINDER SOLDIER TRAILER!! Coming to Disney+ on 2021. We will have the trailer out ASAP. Check in here or at @TheDisInsider ...

(135) Falcon/Winter Solider series coming March 2021

(136) BLACK WIDOW FILM being released in Theaters! May 2021.

(137) LOKI series coming May 2021 Disney+

(138) LOKI TRAILER RELEASED!!

(138) There is NO DOUBT that the future for Disney is brighter than any other media company out there. These films and series planned are going to be outstanding and their depth of content is unrivaled.

(139) Marvel's new (and first) animated series on Disney+ "What If" ... TRAILER RELEASED

(140) Film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Phase Four Marvel Cinematic Universe

(141) MS MARVEL early look released!!

(142) Captain Marvel 2 is being world on with Nia DaCosta, Ms Marvel will appear in Captain Marvel 2

(143) Marvels Eternals film is scheduled November 5th 2021 in theaters (yes theaters)

(144) Hawkeye series coming to Disney+ late next year.

(145) Disney+ series SheHulk ... Tatiana Maslany will play SheHulk, Tom Roth returns as Abomination, Mark Ruffalo will also appear as The Hulk.

(146) Marvel Studios MoonKnight coming to Disney+ ...

(147) BRAND NEW NEWS: Marvel "Secret Invasion" coming to Disney+ ... "Ironheart" coming to Disney+ too, finally, "Armor Wars" is also being worked on

(148) The Guardians of the Galaxy HOLIDAY SPECIAL being worked on for Disney+ ... being filmed during the most recent Guardians film, directed by James Gunn, "I am Groot" shorts coming to Disney+

(149) Peyton Reed is hard at work on "AntMan and the Wasp Quantumania"

(150) ***BREAKING NEWS*** DISNEY/MARVEL WILL NOT RECAST BLACK PANTHER!!! Out of respect for Chadwick Boseman!!

(151) Jon Watts will direct a new Fantastic Four film!

(152) HOLY S**T THAT WAS AN INSANE amount of Disney / Marvel news!!!! I have no idea what just happened.

(153) Bob Iger being allowed to wrap up the new content section was very VERY fitting! He sparked all of this and he deserves so much credit.

(154) Disney+ and Netflix are considered the top two streamers and I really think, after watching this, that Disney+ is going to give Netflix a run for their money in a few years.

(155) And now to the business part of this. It's not boring ... I promise!!! Christine McCarthy makes sure this machine keeps running.

(156) Disney will change how they report their finances for their media and park's in Q1 2021. They will announce them before their February report.

(157) *Media ... this is different than Disney+, Hulu, Star, ESPN+ ... Media refers to ABC, Disney Channel, etc.

(158) Disney+ subscriber count nearly surpassed their five-year goal in one year. They now expect 230-260 million paid Disney+ subscribers globally. ... This is up from last year's 60-90 million expectation.

(159) Disney+ COST WILL INCREASE $1 a month in the US. (calm down people, $7.99 is half of HBO Max and Netflix)

(160) Disney's increased 2024 expenses to $8-9 BILLION!! Nearly tripled their original plan from a year ago. TRANSLATION? They are spending a S*** TON on new series and movies.

(161) Last year HULU was expected to hit 40-60 million by 2024... they've changed that to 50-60 million by 2024.

(162) ESPN+ ... last year they expected 8-12 million subscribers by 2024, they've changed to 20-30 million subscribers. WOW!!!!!!

(163) By 2024 Disney expects to spend $14-16 Billion between D+, Hulu, ESPN+

(164) THIS IS WHAT Wall Street wanted to hear! Disney expects that, by 2024, between Disney+ Hulu and ESPN+, they will have 300-350 million paid subscribers! DAMN

(165) I will continue to cover the Q&A, but for those of you heading out, please check out my weekly podcast THE DISNEY BEAT - I cover all Disney news each week.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

(166) Here are links to all the different podcasting apps, Spotify, stitcher, Amazon ... etc.

buzzsprout.com/1411612

(167) I will be recording an entire wrap up of today's event tonight and it will be available late tonight/early tomorrow morning. So subscribe to hear a full recap.

(168) Also, follow me here on Twitter as I post daily about the Disney company. Also follow @TheDisInsider , which is where I write. Along with the editors in chef @SkylerShuler and @derekcorneII and my fellow writers @josh_sharpe22 and @DempseyPillot

(169) We post daily with exclusive scoops regarding Disney, Marvel, Lucas Films, Pixar, as well as the parks (Disneyland, Disney World, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo) and the business dealing with the company ... all at: thedisinsider.com

(170) Follow us on Instagram @ TheDisInsider ... and on our Facebook group searching "The DisInsider" ...

(171) OKAY ... NOW, Q&A TIME!

(172) Question asked why not release more films on Disney+, if that's where the consumers are right now. Why go to theaters?
Answer: They've put 80% of releases on D+, they make a ton of money in theaters and they "build brands" in theaters (that second reason is really why)

(173) The gist of the question about Latin America was, will those cable providers that carry ESPN be pissed you're making it so easy to get ESPN+ via HotStar. Answer ... they'll be fine. lol. Behind the answer "we are slowly moving way from cable/linear"

(174) The gist about India question... the service is so much cheaper in India to subscribe, will the advertising in Hotstar be enough to bring in money? Maybe even ads in D+? .. Answer gist, we won't add ads to D+, we need ads in these foreign markets. Small cost bump in US D+

(175) I'm going to work on The Disney Beat podcast recap of today's marathon ... I'll listen to the Q&A section and post anything that is noteworthy. But I'm not doing a question by question recap :)

(176) Disney CFO Christine McCarthy comments that Disney+ has found itself with many more families without children as subscribers than they initially expected. Which is one reason they're increasing their sub forecasts, D+ is not just for households with kids.

(177) Will the additional-cost Premium Access, like they used with Mulan, continue after Covid? Chapek: It works great in pandemic, obviously, to get films out. Post-pandemic it could be useful with changing consumer activity. They will see how Raya does and may still use it.