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Days after The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger dubbed Disney+ “not sustainable” and “not acceptable,” a new report suggests that executives plan to overhaul the young streaming service.
The Mouse has already sunk over $11 billion into Disney+, with little return on investment. At least $500 million went to three Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series: Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, and Loki Season 2. Investors were allegedly disappointed with how former CEO Bob Chapek handled the streaming platform, so much so that its success became one of Iger’s top priorities upon returning to The Walt Disney Company.
Credit: Nagi Usano, Flickr
Iger is scrambling to make Disney+ profitable before he retires (again). The service recently cracked down on password sharing, raised prices, and added an ad-supported tier, Disney Plus Basic, last year. He removed hundreds of hours of unpopular movies and TV shows from the library to save on data storage costs and canceled several in-the-works projects to focus on quality over quantity.
As Walt Disney Studios re-focuses on the importance of the theatrical film release cycle in a post-pandemic-shutdown world, Iger must decide how to lure potential viewers who might not want to pay for movie tickets and a monthly subscription. Fresh off of the Hulu merger, he’s allegedly cooking up another big revamp.
Credit: Lucasfilm
According to The Information, Disney+ is considering adding traditional, always-on television channels. The channels would be dedicated to a particular fandom, like Star Wars, Pixar Animation, or Marvel Studios. (The report didn’t mention any other Disney-owned properties like Indiana Jones or National Geographic, though that doesn’t mean they’re excluded from the plans.) It’s unclear if this shift would tie into the company’s plans for an ESPN-only streaming service.
The new spinoff would function like free streaming channels Tubi (FOX) and Freevee (Amazon). The always-on channels would feature advertisement breaks, just like cable TV. However, unlike those services, viewers must pay a subscription fee to access the channels.
Credit: Marvel Studios
The Walt Disney Company didn’t confirm or deny The Information’s reporting about the possibility of channels coming to its growing streaming service. Follow Inside the Magic for more updates on the streaming service overhaul.
Are you happy with Disney Plus, or have you canceled your subscription? What could the platform do to earn your viewership?
This post Disney+ Users Warned as Streaming Service Prepares To Shut Down, Replacement Promised appeared first on Inside the Magic.
You can call me the weird man out. I love the unpopular shows. I loved Wandavision, the mysterious Benedict society, I am loving intertwined and the secret score. I must enjoy them while I can. I will also enjoy Disney+ while I can. I am unsure what Bob Iger’s definition of quality is and I’m not sure what his successor will do either. In the meantime I’ll enjoy the gems that are on the streaming service.
Iger is going to destroy Disney. He is doing one piece at a time. Keep going lower. We are watching the fall of an empire.
First off, Fire Bob Iger and find a person who is visionary like Walt who can guide the company into a successful future. I don’t know how a board could be in charge of such valuable asset and push it over a cliff.