‘FX on Hulu’ Bowing March 2

When Disney last year announced it would transition FX Networks programming to Hulu, including edgier original content, the strategy was considered a shrewd competitive move designed to elevate the SVOD platform’s status against perennial frontrunner Netflix.

Speaking Jan. 9 at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., John Landgraf, chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions shed new light on the move, including when 1,600 episodes of FX programming would begin arriving on Hulu: March 2.

Cate Blanchett

Original programs, which will debut over the course of several weeks, include miniseries “Devs,” “Mrs. America” with Cate Blanchett playing anti-feminist Phyliss Schlafly, “A Teacher” (Kate Mara) and “The Old Man,” starring Oscar winner Jeff Bridges.

“We see this as a transformative opportunity for the FX brand,” Landgraf said.

While most existing FX (and FXX) programming will appear on Hulu, notable exception includes “American Crime Story,” which remains on Netflix due to a prior licensing agreement.”

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“Nearly the entire FX brand will be available in one place,” Landgraf said.

The executive said FX had peaked with about 85 million pay-TV households and considers the collaboration with Hulu’s 30 million households a positive. Working together with Hulu CEO Randy Freer, “FX on Hulu” will debut original shows the day after their TV broadcast.

New comedies on “FX on Hulu,” include “Breeders,” bowing March 2, and “Dave,” debuting March 4.

“Both our brands together will make Hulu a stronger platform than either could alone,” Landgraf said. “I think [the combination is] going to make the FX brand even more valuable.”

Disney Shuttering FX+ Streaming Service

To make room for its pending Disney+ subscription streaming video service and global expansion of Hulu, Disney — as expected — has begun informing subscribers that 20th Century Fox’s FX+ streaming service will shut down Aug. 21.

Launched in 2017 as a $6 monthly add-on to pay-TV subscribers, Disney says FX+ viewers can still access catalog programing and catch-up shows on the FXNow app or at FXNetworks.com.

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With Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox, merger synergies are affecting more than Fox personnel. And Disney clearly is putting its resources behind Disney+ and Hulu, which it now owns outright.

That much was clear during Fox’s upfront presser in May.

“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 stand-alone version,” John Landgraf, CEO of FX, told the media. “It really expands the dimensions and what we can do.”