Once the most bulletproof, recession-proof entertainment dynasty on the planet, Disney continues their downward spiral into financial ruin. The previously family-friendly brand has tarnished its image with ultra-woke programming, political posturing, and poor leadership, and now they are suffering devastating consequences.
Instead of focusing on the all-ages, wholesome programming they built their legend on, Disney now seems hell-bent on injecting as much politics and leftist ideology as they can into most of their offerings. From drag queens and bearded men in dresses at the theme parks to subject matter in kids programming intended to indoctrinate, the Mouse can’t seem to stop stepping on its own tail.
With the most recent quarterly report coming out, it’s been revealed that the streaming giant continues to bleed subscribers despite continuing to pump out new content. It’s estimated that Disney+ lost 300,000 subscribers in North America alone for the quarter.
So, what does Disney do to keep or lure back customers? Raise the price! Disney announced that they will be raising the cost of the service by 27 percent, which is set to take place in October. When you factor in the $3 dollar price hike last year, Disney has raised its streaming price by a whopping 75 percent in less than two years. That’s a lot of cheddar, even for a mouse.
While the cost is still only $13.99, it matters little when the network continues to pump out subpar, unpopular programming. Hulu, also owned by Disney, will be seeing its own rate hike as well. The once-free service will now clock in at $17.99 a month for its ad-free version.
In another move, sure to damage any goodwill the company has with the subscribers they have left, Disney CEO Bob Iger is promising to crack down on password sharing. He recently said: “We are actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family. Later this year, we will begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms on our sharing policies, and we will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024.”
Not a promising sign for those sharing the service with college-aged kids or family members that otherwise couldn’t afford the service.
Disney’s string of recent flops is impressive. Willow, National Treasure: Edge of History, Strange World all tanked impressively after featuring woke themes and characters. Even Marvel and Star Wars haven’t been able to rescue the service.
For the calendar year of 2022, not a single Marvel or Star Wars series cracked the top 15 most-watched streamers. Once thought bullet-proof, Disney has managed to taint both franchises to the point of being unwatchable.
Perhaps the only show to land in the top 15, The Simpsons should serve as a ‘light bulb” moment for Disney. Despite being over 30 years on the air, and being broadcast on network television, people still tune into The Simpsons.
Maybe viewers are tired of being preached to, tired of the forced diversity, and tired of the same old woke themes. Perhaps people just want to laugh and share something with their children without having to cover little eyes or answer questions that little mouths shouldn’t have to ask.
Or perhaps Disney will continue to double down on failure as they alienate what is left of their fan base. Probably the latter, but at least it is fascinating to watch an American icon deteriorate in real time.
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