Disney+ is starting off 2024 with another massive subscriber loss after raising prices on their subscription service. Although the subscriber losses continue to pile on from poor MCU and Star Wars content, the projected revenue drop was not as bad as in past quarters. This is due partially to the increased cost of a subscription but mostly from Disney cutting down on the original content being uploaded to the platform.
RELATED: Gina Carano Intends To Sue Disney And Lucasfilm For Wrongful Termination
In 2023, Disney made the decision to start canceling upcoming projects as well as putting an axe to series that were not bringing in viewers in an attempt to lower their costs. At the same time, Disney+ also had so many shows and movies arbitrarily ripped from the platform, with only some finding new homes in places like Amazon.
While the writer’s strike last year did not help the situation, even without that occurring, it’s clear that streaming problems relate to poor business decisions as well as lackluster and unwanted original content.
What makes matters worse for those still paying for a Disney+ subscription is that the company is going to adopt the Netflix strategy of penalizing anyone ‘improperly’ sharing passwords in an attempt to force people to get their own subscriptions. However, there doesn’t seem to be anything worth bringing people onto the platform for.
RELATED: Jeremy Renner Hopes to Return to MCU As Hawkeye After Recovery from Snowplow Accident
Since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has been on a downward spiral, and the original intent of creating MCU limited-series shows for Disney+ in an attempt to boost subscribers has ultimately backfired on the company. Rather than the movies tying into the shows and vice-versa, the shows seemed to completely disregard the MCU continuity, as was the case in She-Hulk, and soured fans from continuing on with paying for the platform.
2023 saw Disney+ end eight of its original series for the platform, with more planned to follow this year. On top of that, we’ve seen major delays in planned projects, showing Disney may be reconsidering how to approach their lineup.
The streaming market has become flooded to the point where people have to choose more carefully where they spend their money. And with Netflix, Disney+, and Crunchyroll raising their prices, it’s likely other platforms will follow suit in an attempt to cover lost subscribers or simply maximize gross profits. The longer this goes on, the more cannibalized the streaming market will be.
Is Disney+’s repeated failures with their platform another sign that the streaming bubble has finally burst?
Netflix and Crunchyroll are the only ones that are even profitable .. RIP in piss everyone else.