Disney CFO Christine McCarthy says the company will be pulling some content off their streaming services and will also produce less moving forward. While Disney+ is Disney’s main streaming platform, the company also has a 67% majority stake in Hulu. This means that both streaming platforms are being used to produce and distribute content made by Disney.
According to Deadline, McCarthy confirmed on a post-earnings call that Disney will be pulling some content off their streaming platforms and producing less new content. The move is meant to ensure all content Disney puts to streaming aligns with their current strategies. Check out what McCarthy had to say below:
We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC [Direct-to-Consumer] services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation. As a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms, and currently expect to take an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion. The charge, which will not be recorded in our segment results will primarily be recognized in the third quarter as we complete our review and remove the content.
Going forward, we intend to produce lower volumes of content in alignment with this strategic shift.
What Could Disney Pull From Streaming Services?
This strategy is one that fellow streaming service HBO Max has employed, much to subscribers’ displeasure. McCarthy did not specify what content would be pulled from streaming, nor which services the new plan will impact. Since Disney+ is Disney’s primary streaming platform, containing big franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, it will likely be Disney’s focus for their new strategy. However, since they own the majority of Hulu, some content from there may also disappear in the future.
With Disney+ and Hulu planning a content merge, making both libraries available on a single app, it’s clear Disney wants to ensure all the content they make is streamlined to consumers. The removed titles will likely be content that hasn’t performed well compared to the top shows on Disney+ and Hulu. Older titles that don’t garner many views could be among the first to go. By removing this content, it would ensure only the most profitable TV shows and movies would remain on both platforms.
Disney’s plan to produce less content aligns with the new MCU Phase 5 show release plan, which will see a decrease in series produced for Disney+ each year. Reduced content from Disney on streaming means shows and movies will have more time to correct any quality issues they may have faced if they were rushed out. By planning to remove certain content and make less for their streaming services, Disney appears to be focused on building a library of high-quality, popular content for their customers.
Source: Deadline
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
