If there’s a show on Disney Plus or Hulu that you’ve been meaning to watch, you might want to do it quickly before it’s removed from the platforms forever. According to a report from DeadlineDisney is about to remove dozens of series (and a few movies) from both streaming services, including Willow, Y: the last manand turner and alcoholas part of the entertainment giant’s broader cost-cutting measures.
During Disney’s second-quarter earnings call earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy announced plans to remove some content from their streaming services after revealing that Disney Plus had lost 4 million subscribers in the first three months of 2023.
“We are in the process of reviewing the content of our DTC services to align with strategic changes to our content curation approach,” McCarthy said on the company’s post-earnings call, adding that Disney expects to pay a fee for content impairment of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion for removals. According VarietyIger has set a goal of $3 billion in savings by 2023 after spending nearly $30 billion on content for the Disney Plus streaming service last year.
However, Disney has since reversed plans to remove some of its content after receiving backlash over the planned removal of Howarda documentary about Howard Ashman, a gay man who helped write the songs on Beauty and the Beast and The little Mermaid. According Deadlinethe company will no longer remove the film, with a The company spokesperson stated that “the list of titles coming out of Hulu and Disney+ next week is still being finalized.”
Disney’s decision to purge content follows similar cost-cutting moves by HBO Max and Show time to avoid paying for underperforming library titles. Willow, the revival of Ron Howard’s 1988 fantasy film of the same name, is a surprise inclusion among the list of shows to be removed considering it only began airing in November. Many series like Willow and The world according to Jeff Goldblum They were heavily promoted by Disney. “They gave us six months. Not even,” he said. Willow writer john bickerstaff On twitter in response to the news. “This business has gone absolutely cruel.”
The following titles are expected to be removed from Disney Plus and Hulu on May 26, according to Deadline:
Update May 19, 5:42 pm ET: Updated to note that Disney no longer has plans to remove Howard.
