It was a hallway noise for a few days, it is now confirmed by Disney +. There streaming platform will remove more than 50 series and films starting May 26. A decision that reflects the turbulent period she is currently going through.
In the first quarter of 2023, Disney+ lost subscribers for the second time in a row.
Keeping a program online has a cost
From next week, therefore, many programs will be removed from Disney + and Hulu. This concerns series like Willow, The Mysterious Benedict Circle or Dollfaceas well as movies like the One and Only Ivan.
As Julia Alexander, director of strategy at Parrot Analytics, explained to CNN Business“ keeping titles on a platform has a cost. Does a title bring more value to the platform than its cost? If the answer is no, and especially if that headline is uninviting, which many of them are, removing headlines can be good for business results. “.
The announcement comes days after Disney CEO Bob Iger announced another price hike for the platform during the year.
Rationalize expenses to achieve profitability
Disney+ isn’t the only streaming service to make such a move. In August 2022, HBO Max announced that it would be removing 36 shows from its platform. The company continued its offensive in December, this time targeting much larger programming such as Westworld. This removal of content would save the platform nearly $100 million per year.
Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said the company expects a writedown of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion in the current quarter due to the removal of content from its streaming platforms. . By depreciating the value of content assets, Disney can remove them from its balance sheet and reduce its tax bill.
For his part, Bob Iger emphasizes long-term profitability. Reducing the content available on its platform is one of the solutions to allow Disney+ to finally achieve this goal.
Sources: BFM TV, variety
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- Disney classics in one place
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It was highly anticipated and did not disappoint. Disney+ is not a Netflix rival, but a complementary offer, geared particularly towards children and more broadly towards the family. The Star universe, meanwhile, remains the poor relation of the platform and will require several years of work to catch up with its competitors.
It was highly anticipated and did not disappoint. Disney+ is not a Netflix rival, but a complementary offer, geared particularly towards children and more broadly towards the family. The Star universe, meanwhile, remains the poor relation of the platform and will require several years of work to catch up with its competitors.
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