Many eyes have been on Disney since it made the controversial decision to remove streaming content from Disney+ and Hulu. As a result of the move, dozens of original titles have been taken off the services, including Willow, Cheaper by the Dozen and The Mysterious Benedict Society. All the while, many creators have been weighing in on the matter with honest thoughts. It's reasonable to say that this doesn't exactly fair well for the TV streaming model. However, the company itself seems to be benefitting from its choice, as it's apparently saving an incredible amount of money but cutting content.
The House of Mouse was able to write-off $1.5 billion dollars this quarter after removing titles off of their streamers, according to Variety. That sum apparently falls in line with the projections the corporation listed during its earnings call in May. In addition, the company is evaluating more content that could potentially be removed from its streaming platforms. Per the trade, should that happen, the entertainment conglomerate could see a $400 million impairment charge. As noted, The Walt Disney Company can ultimately reduce its tax bill by writing down the value of its assets.
It goes without saying that this a significant amount of cash that's helping the company for the better. One would think that other streamers may follow suit but, of course, this isn't the first time the public seen such cost-cutting measures take effect.
Disney's decision came after Warner Bros. Discovery made a similar decision last year with the content removal with HBO Max’s streaming content library. In addition to money saving, this move was also allegedly a branding strategy, as the company sought to launch its new streaming service, Max. The new platform includes content previously on HBO Max as well as original titles from Discovery+. While this may be financially beneficial for companies, the creatives behind the productions haven't been too pleased, in part due to the effects this can have on residuals.
In addition to more removals on Disney+, the House of Mouse's CEO, Bob Iger, says he plans to increase the cost of the non-ad-based subscription. He believes the media giant's content portfolio is better represented by a higher subscriber fee. The streaming service has added many popular titles to its platform since its last price increase, which one could argue justifies that rationale. However, you could also theorize that the removal of large libraries of content may be a reason why some subscribers may choose to no longer pay after a price jump.
While the House of Mouse is being transparent about future content eliminations and price increases, there could potentially be more changes for Disney+ subscribers in the future. Streaming services, after all, are constantly evolving. Netflix recently cracked down on password sharing amongst users to increase its subscription numbers and, reportedly this has been a financial boon for the company. With Disney taking on the content removal strategy utilized by WB Discovery, one has to wonder if password measures or other alterations could be on the horizon as well. People will surely continue to speculate on that front as well as on just how much content will be cut from Disney+ and Hulu moving forward.
