Your favorite Disney Plus and Hulu TV shows could be removed in the coming months
The House of Mouse’s content-cutting plan continues
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If you thought your favoriteDisney Plusand/orHulumovies and TV shows were safe after Disney’s recent content purge, you might want to think again.
As first reported byVariety, a company filing on thesecurities and exchange commission (SEC) websiteconfirmed that The Walt Disney Company was planning to remove even more content from its streaming services' libraries.
Per Item 2.06 Material Impairments section of the SEC filing, Disney wrote that it was “in the process of reviewing content on its direct-to-consumer (DTC) services”, i.e. Disney Plus and Hulu. The record also goes on to reveal that Disney “is continuing its review, and currently anticipates additional produced content will be removed from its DTC and other platforms, largely during the remainder of its third fiscal quarter.”
This latest revelation comes less than two weeks afterThe Walt Disney Company removed dozens of movies and TV showsfrom the back catalogs of its primary streaming duo. Series includingWillow,Pistol,Y: The Last Man, andThe World According to Jeff Goldblumwere all given the chop by Disney. Joining that quartet (and many more shows) were a spate of movies, too, including theCheaper By The Dozenremake andBetter Nate Than Ever.
Disney hasn’t been shy about the reasons behind this purging of content. The entertainment behemoth has been hemorrhaging cash recently; so much so that returning CEO Bob Iger has implemented a plan to save $5.5 billion (£4.4 billion / circa $8 billion AUS) over the next few years. Part of those cost-cutting measures include letting 7,000 employees go, and removing a swathe of TV shows and films from some of the world’sbest streaming services.
Ironically, though, the removal of such content from Disney Plus and Hulu will hit Disney financially. Per the SEC filing, Disney expects to record a $1.5 billion impairment charge in Q3 2023 for shedding more shows and movies from its streaming libraries. In layman’s terms, Disney can’t justify the financial outlay for keeping some content on its streaming platforms, allowing it to write them off as worthless assets on its balance sheet and, in effect, save itself some money.
More money, more problems
What does all of this mean for you? Essentially, less bang for your buck. In late 2022, Disney raised the price of its standard Disney Plus subscription plan (in the US, anyway) from $7.99 a month to $10.99 per month. Hulu also saw a small price rise from $6.99 to $7.99 a month, too, around the same time.
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In the six months since that increase, though, Disney Plus and Hulu’s back catalog has gotten smaller, meaning you’re actually getting less content these days for what you pay. For more details on how much Disney Plus costs in your world region, check out ourDisney Plus priceandHulu priceguides.
Unsurprisingly, Disney’s biggest hits are expected to be safe from the chop.Marvel’s extensive back catalog of movies and TV shows (at least those set in theMCU, anyway), as well as those set in theStar Warsuniverse, will remain on Disney Plus. Over on Hulu, major draws such asOnly Murders in the Building,Prey, andThe Beararen’t likely to be removed.
It’s difficult to say, though, which other entries in ourbest Disney Plus movies,best Disney Plus shows, orbest Hulu showswill survive. We’ve already seen the negative effect that removing fan favorite content has had on other big streamers, such asNetflix, with some users cancelling their subscriptions in protest over a TV show or film’s removal. Disney, then, will have to be careful about what content to cuts from its streaming platformers, otherwise it could suffer a similar fate.
For more Disney Plus and Hulu-based coverage, read up on all of thenew Disney Plus moviesto hit the service. Alternatively, find out what thebest Hulu moviesare.
As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.
An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.
Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.
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