Disney (DIS) is making more changes that may upset its customers. Disney+, the company’s streaming service that gives customers access to a huge selection of on-demand shows and movies from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Studios and the National Geographic, had over 164 million subscribers by April 2023, according to Business Insider.
Verizon customers were able to get one year of Disney+ for free when it first launched, helping it sign up new customers to help it compete against Netflix, Amazon, HBO and Apple, according to CNBC. Disney reported losing 4 million Disney+ subscribers in the last quarter, and while some may speculate about why the company would lose so many subscribers, Disney said in its last earnings call that it accounts for the losses after losing its Disney+ Hotstar in India, which lost the rights to the IPL cricket matches.
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The once free streaming service now starts at $8 per month for ad-supported viewing and $11 per month or $110 a year for ad-free viewing. Since Bob Iger returned as CEO of Disney, he has implemented price increases for the Disney+ services.
“The pricing changes we've already implemented have proven successful. And we plan to set a higher price for our ad-free tier later this year to better reflect the value of our content offerings,” Iger said during Disney’s second quarter earnings call.
Disney Makes a Move that Will Upset Customers
While Disney World celebrated its 50th Anniversary, the nighttime show Harmonious had been running since Oct. 1, 2021. Viewers enjoyed the traditional evening entertainment of fireworks, laser and drones to create a nighttime extravaganza. The show took place over the lagoon at the World Showcase, and many theme park guests believe that the nighttime fireworks show was the high point of their visit to Disney.
The show is a live production performed at Epcot by artists from all over the world. This showcase was intended to be a long-term attraction for Disney World, however, the park decided that the equipment used for Harmonious was too unsightly, and it was removed. Now, Disney is focusing on its new nighttime showcase.
The Harmonious show has also been removed from Disney+. Subscribers were able to stream the show using their smart TVs, phones, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles, but the show on Disney+ had low viewership with high residuals. So, Disney decided to pull the show from the streaming service platform. The final day of streaming for Harmonious was on May 26, according WDW News Today. The live show itself had already ended with the closure of Disney World's 50th Anniversary celebration on April 2, 2023.
Disney Says Good-bye
The live show is already gone, but now the ability to watch Harmonious on Disney+ is gone as well. Harmonious was a 20-minute-long nighttime spectacular with 15 songs in 13 languages performed by 240 artists from all over the world, according to the Disney description on its website. Reddit users commented about the removal of Harmonious from Disney+, stating the show was sensational, but since the live performance ended in April, it might have led theme park goers to think the show still existed.
Disney+ subscribers may soon get dinged with an increase in fees despite getting a reduction in content. Only a couple dollars separates the prices of the ad-free service versus the the ad-supported version of Disney+ right now. Iger stated that Disney can charge a premium for the ad-free streaming service, as well as having separate apps for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.
"Despite the near-term macro headwinds of the overall marketplace today, the advertising potential of this combined platform is incredibly exciting," he shared. "And when you drill down into the details, you can see why. Over 40% of our domestic advertising portfolio is addressable, including streaming, which we expect will continue to grow over time."
"We are confident that we're on the right path for streaming's long-term profitability: the strength of our content, the one-app experience, and the enormous advertising potential that comes with it, rationalizing the volume of the content we make and what we're spending, maximizing windowing opportunities, recalibrating our investments internationally, perfecting our pricing model, and consolidating our global streaming business," Disney’s CEO shared.
