The Walt Disney Group has decided to begin pulling programming from the company’s streaming services, in an effort to minimize losses, Bloomberg reported Monday.
According to people familiar with the matter, it is believed that many of the programs that were engaged from the start in 2019 will not be renewed. A list of potential programs that will be cut has been circulated internally, and according to Bloomberg’s sources, the programs will be removed starting next week.
Content must be removed to avoid additional costs, such as royalty fees to participants.
The cuts are part of Disney’s efforts to make the streaming service profitable. After price increases and marketing cuts, Disney + managed to reduce its operating loss from $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter to $659 million in the first quarter, but in the same period it also lost 4 million subscribers.
The comeback: Bob Iger returned to the Disney group in November, having previously helmed the entertainment giant from 2005 to 2020. Image: Bloomberg
75 million less than Netflix
This was the second quarter in a row with the loss of subscribers after losing 2.4 million subscribers at the end of last year. Disney+ now has 157.8 million subscribers, while Netflix, by comparison, has 232.5 million.
The company aims to achieve profitability for Disney+ by the end of the next fiscal year ending in September 2024.
Disney CEO Bob Iger was reinstated at the entertainment giant in November after the group lost nearly $1.5 billion on the streaming service in the third quarter. In February, Iger announced a broader reorganization to address the challenges, including cutting 7,000 jobs that would help save more than $5.5 billion in costs.
“Web specialist. Lifelong zombie maven. Coffee ninja. Hipster-friendly analyst.”
