Disney+, Hulu to Remove Dozens of Titles in Cost-Cutting Move

Disney announced that it will pull out a number of shows from Disney+ and Hulu to reduce costs. The list of titles mostly did not get more than a few seasons, special/spinoffs, and direct-to-streaming movies.

Removing Titles

A number of series and movies will be removed by Disney from their respective streaming services Hulu and Disney+. According to a report from Engadget, the company follows other companies which might be an industry-wide trend. Disney is expected to pay an impairment charge of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion for the removals.

During the second quarter earnings call, Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger announced the plans to remove some content from the streaming services, which might not be a good idea in terms of audience satisfaction. Disney Plus revealed had lost 4 million subscribers for the first three months of the year.

Iger is targeting $3 billion in savings this year, as the company spent $30 billion on content last year. Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy stated, "We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation." No details were released on the content that would be removed during that time.

List of Titles

Deadline provided a whole list of the shows that will be scrapped. For Disney Plus, the titles include Big Shot, Turner & Hooch, and Willow. In response to this news, Willow writer John Bickerstaff released his frustrations on the internet and stated, "They gave us six months. Not even. This business has become absolutely cruel."

Meanwhile, for Hulu, the list includes, Y: The Last Man, Pistol, Little Demon, Maggie, Dollface, The Hot Zone, The Premise, Love in the Time of Corona, Everything's Trash, Best in Snow, Best in Dough, Darby and the Dead, and The Quest. This is not the complete titles that will be removed but users can access the full list here.

Other Companies

Disney becomes the latest company in the industry to remove content from its streaming platforms to conduct cost reduction, as the whole market is rethinking its costs and strategy with a renewed focus on profitability.

August last year, HBO Max announced that it would be stripping 36 shows from its platform. This was continued by the company in December 2022, announcing larger shows to be pulled from the platform, including Westworld. Additionally, Netflix also simultaneously adds and pull shows and movies at a drop of a hat.

The Verge reported that removing content follows a rough couple of years for the company's economic outlook. As they plan to restructure key parts of the company last year, Disney laid off 7,000 employees and closed the absurdly expensive Star Wars-themed hotel experience. The company has also been hesitant to acquire Comcast's 33 percent stake in Hulu.