Iger: Disney to “Rationalize” Less Streaming Content Amid Writers Strike

On Wednesday, May 10, Bob Iger spoke on the state of The Walt Disney Company’s streaming business during a Q2 2023 earnings call, and it may not be what the showrunners picketing want to hear.

Striking for the first time since 2008, the Writers Guild of America has taken to the streets to fight for changes to their treatment in the streaming business. The glory days of network television featured large writers’ rooms with better pay and residuals based on each episode they wrote.

The streaming business appears to offer no such benefits. In fact, the writers and producers are saying that the pay is less, the writers’ rooms are smaller, and no residuals. Complaints also vary from lack of sustainability in the industry to claims that it is only getting harder for new writers to develop their careers in the business.

During the quarterly earnings call, the Disney CEO reiterated the company’s new strategy to “rationalize” the costs of content created for platforms like Disney+ and Hulu and optimize costs to make streaming profitable. He said that they are taking a “surgical” approach to content and identifying a significant amount of content that did not help increase subscription numbers.

Iger announced that a significant decrease in content costs will not be seen until 2024 or 2025 due to pre-established content commitments suggested to be past the point of no return.

Disney CFO Christine McCarthy also confirmed that Disney+ will be taking a “quality over quantity” approach to new content creation on the streaming service and also said that The Company does not expect the writers’ strike to have a serious effect on revenue this year.

Now, Iger clarified that much of this eliminated content will most likely take the form of a step back from former CEO Bob Chapek’s plan to rapidly expand streaming with original content created for smaller, less profitable markets around the world. So, it is possible that the show writers fighting for better wages won’t be left out in the streets in the name of profit optimization. But the true effects remain unclear at the time of this article’s publication.

The WGA strike continues in Los Angeles and New York, with even the cast of Saturday Night Live refusing to fulfill their weekly duty. However, Disney animators and animated show writers are not involved in the strike.

We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on the writers strike as more developments come to light.