Disney to cut dozens of shows from Disney+ and Hulu around world, as strategy shift hits

The World According To Jeff Goldblum

Disney has revealed dozens of shows are set to be removed from its streaming services in the US and around the world as early as next week, ranging from The World According To Jeff Goldblum, to Dollface and Willow.

Programming on Disney+, as well as Hulu in the US, will be affected from 26 May as the Mouse House moves ahead with the plans that were first revealed during its earnings call last week.

Almost 50 shows will be removed, including The Mysterious Benedict Society and Foodtastic, as well as movies such as Black Beauty and The One And Only Ivan.

Cost-saving exercise

Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said last week that the move would incur an impairment charge of between $1.5bn to $1.8bn in its next quarterly report, meaning the shows effectively no longer show a cost against the streaming business.

Bob Iger

McCarthy said that Disney is “in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation,” alluding to previously announced plans to return to third-party sales.

“As a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms,” she added.

Streamer purge

The Mouse House is the latest US studio-based streamer to strip programming from its offering, following a similar cost-saving purge by HBO Max owner Warner Bros. Discovery last year.

It is not immediately clear where removed shows will be heading, although expanding third-party distribution globally could be one move. WBD shifted much of its removed content onto FAST channels, including high-profile series such as Westworld.

During the earnings call last week, Iger said the company was increasing its focus on which shows were driving subscriber numbers.

“As we grew the business in terms of the global footprint, we realised that we made a lot of content that is not necessarily driving sub growth. We’re getting much more surgical about what it is we make.”

AMC and Showtime have also cut back on programming available via their services, as studios look to balance the books as Wall Street demands profits rather than subscription growth from streaming.

Disney+  Hulu shows being removed

A Spark Story
America The Beautiful
Artemis Fowl
Be Our Chef
Best In Dough
Best In Snow
Better Nate Than Ever
Big Shot
Black Beauty
Cheaper By The Dozen
Clouds
Darby And The Dead
Diary Of A Future President
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings
Dollface
Earth To Ned
Encore!
Everything’s Trash
Foodtastic
Howard
It’s A Dog’s Life With Bill Farmer
Just Beyond
Little Demon
Love In The Time Of Corona
Maggie
Magic Camp
Marvel’s MPower
Marvel’s Project Hero
Marvel’s Voices Rising: The Music Of Wakanda Forever
Pistol
Rosaline
Stargirl
Stuntman
The Hot Zone
The Making Of Willow
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
The Mysterious Benedict Society
The One and Only Ivan
The Premise
The Princess
The Quest
The World According To Jeff Goldblum
Timmy Failure
Turner & Hooch
Weird but True!
Willow
Wolfgang
Y: The Last Man