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Credit: Inside the MagicThe Disney+ streaming platform is in trouble after losing millions of subscribers in the last year alone and may soon be facing shutdowns and layoffs.
Failing After a Brilliant Start
Disney+ was launched in 2019 to huge fanfare as the Walt Disney Company got into the streaming game, bringing with it a huge catalog of content for subscribers. Along with Disney’s own massive backlog of classic animation and live-action films, the service was promised to feature theatrical and original Marvel Studios movies and shows, Pixar Animation Studios’ impressive roster of critically acclaimed movies, Lucasfilm’s Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and National Geographic.
All that and it was initially offered for one of the lowest subscription prices of any streaming service, making the platform a serious threat to Netflix, HBO Max (now plain Max), Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and the rest.
Fast forward four years later, and things are not going so well in the streaming world.
Related: Disney+ Will Soon Include Mature Content, Leaked Report Says
Increased Prices, Decreased Content
Although it was initially offered for a rock-bottom $6.99 a month price, the streaming service has not been able to maintain that cost point.
Instead, the Walt Disney Company has repeatedly raised the price of the platform in recent months, increasingly alienating its customer base. Not only that but (like most other streaming services) but the service is now offering tiered levels and imposing ads on subscribers. Currently, in order to watch the platform without ads, the price tag is $13.99, literally double the original price.
At the same time, the company has been actively removing original and classic content from availability, canceling announced projects, and altering fan-favorite shows and movies, which many subscribers perceive as watering down the basic appeal of the streaming service.
It also does not help that the formerly family-friendly platform is increasingly pivoting to more mature content, adding R-rated movies and diminishing kid-oriented shows and television shows. It’s not a good sign that Disney CEO Bob Iger has warned parents that they need to be prepared for what the service will look like in only a few months.
Millions of Subscribers Drop Out
According to the Walt Disney Company’s own official data, its streaming service has lost a mind-boggling 14 million subscribers since 2022 (per Statista). That is an astonishing amount of lost revenue for the company, which has already been losing a huge amount of money as Disney tries to figure out how to make streaming content profitable.
Related: RIP Disney Channel: CEO Bob Iger To Get Rid of Beloved TV Network
Many of these lost subscribers are doubtlessly the same parents that Bob Iger has been alienating by adding R-rated content, jacking up prices, and introducing sports betting to the wide world of Disney. Many more of the departures are due to the failure to secure India as a market for the Disney Hotstar streaming service, which lost the rights to the incredibly popular Indian Premier League earlier this year.
Bob Iger returned to the Walt Disney Company a year ago with a promise to cut losses by any means necessary, which has meant numerous layoffs, shutting down departments, and raising prices. We should not be surprised if Disney+ sees all of those continuing.
Is Disney losing the streaming wars? Will you keep subscribing? Let us know in the comments below!