Disney Repositions FX as Global Brand, Drops FX on Hulu Name

Disney is giving FX the Marvel treatment. The company is repositioning FX as a global-programming brand, one that extends far beyond its two U.S. linear networks, and going forward, the FX logo will now appear above the title in every one of its shows, no matter which linear or streaming platform it airs on. That will align FX with Disney’s global-branding system for its other top brands, like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and National Geographic. As part of the brand refresh, Disney will sunset the FX on Hulu branding that it rolled out on the Hulu streaming service in March 2020. Instead, FX’s hub on the Hulu platform will be rebranded as simply FX later this month—echoing Disney's branded hub approach on Disney+ and the company’s other streaming services. Hulu subscribers will continue to find all of FX’s programming on the platform—which includes next day shows airing on FX and FXX, content made exclusively for Hulu and FX’s library content—on that same rebranded FX hub. FX’s John Landgraf Talks Resuming Production and FX on Hulu’s Early Success “With more than a billion hours of FX programming viewed on Hulu since the launch of the FX hub, we’ve further cemented Hulu as the home for stories that impact culture, inspire conversation and connect with viewers in meaningful ways and we’re excited to see the brand evolve to connect with international audiences on Disney+ and Star+,” said Rebecca Campbell, chairman, international and direct-to-consumer, Disney, in a statement. “FX’s award-winning adult programming is vital to our services both domestically and internationally and we want to shine a brighter light on the brand within our excellent and rapidly-growing portfolio of general entertainment programming for adult audiences.” FX content now appears on five Disney platforms around the world—FX, FXX and Hulu in the U.S., streamer Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. For years—including this 2018 Adweek cover story—FX chairman John Landgraf has talked about the importance of curating FX’s brand identity beyond just that of a basic cable network. Today's brand elevation helps cement that evolution. “We realized a decade ago that FX would soon no longer be primarily a location, but rather a branded mark of quality that would travel across multiple distribution platforms. For 20 years, we have worked tirelessly to make the FX mark synonymous to the consumer with original programming that is distinctive and excellent as well as entertaining. This change furthers the natural evolution of FX,” Landgraf said in a statement. “We are confident that the FX brand, wherever the consumer finds it, will continue to deliver the highest quality programs any service has to offer.” Alleviating brand confusion With this shift, FX plans to move to a centralized marketing campaign for all its shows that will emphasize the FX brand—which will be positioned above the title a la Marvel—while also pointing consumers toward whatever platform (or platforms) that program is available on, such as the following: FX also hopes that the rebranding will help alleviate some of the brand confusion following last year’s FX on Hulu debut, in which some consumers struggled to discern the difference between its linear and streaming offerings. When the FX on Hulu hub was first announced in January 2020, Landgraf told reporters at the time that “we see this as a transformative opportunity for the FX brand.” Expanding beyond linear and onto Hulu was essential for FX to continue to grow its brand, he explained, noting that FX had “hit a ceiling” as a basic cable network, “because cable isn’t growing.” In October 2020, Disney put Kareem Daniel atop its new Disney media and entertainment distribution group, tasking him with managing operations of Disney’s streaming services and domestic TV networks, including FX and FXX. Following that restructuring, “we made a decision to position FX as a brand that travels every place our programming lives, whether at FX or FXX on linear or Hulu and Star on streaming,” Landgraf told reporters in August at the Television Critics Association’s virtual summer press tour. Last summer, FX was already laying the groundwork for today’s brand evolution. “You’ve heard me talk ad nauseum about the importance to FX of curating a brand identity," Landgraf said at the time. "We have now affixed the FX logo to the title treatments of all of our shows so that wherever those shows travel, our brand travels with them." The move comes as FX plans to double its programming output next year, growing to a projected 30 shows in all: 25 scripted and five unscripted. “Despite this big increase in our output, we’ve taken great pains to maintain the quality of the programs we make and the consistency of the FX brand,” Landgraf said in August.

Programming & Performance

Disney Repositions FX as Global Programming Brand, Drops FX on Hulu Moniker

Its streaming hub on Hulu will rebrand as FX later this month

Jason Lynch

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