Every streaming service is going through some stuff right now. Whether it’s severe spending cuts, the pulling of content, or the stark realization that maybe every media company doesn’t need a dedicated platform, there isn’t a single company that hasn’t made it through what feels like the climax of the streaming wars unscathed.
But not everyone is Disney. While every streamer is facing similar dilemmas right now, the Mouse House seems to be the one we’re talking about the most currently.
See, Disney prides itself on being the picture-perfect experience. If you read CNBC’s incredible report on the falling out of former and once-again Disney CEO Bob Iger and now former CEO Bob Chapek and the succession mess that followed, you now have a stark realization of how much stock is put into the idea of “Disney nice.” That ideology doesn’t just extend to its extremely legacy-focused CEO, though. Perfect appearances are the entire Disney brand. So when the public is suddenly struck by a decidedly not “nice” Disney move — price hikes, say — it’s a particularly jarring experience that other studios and streamers don’t necessarily have to contend with in the same way.
When recently trudging up and down the hill at Universal’s Hollywood Horror Nights, I only-half-jokingly mumbled to my friend that “Disney would never put us through this.” I’d make the same (again, only half joking) gripe as we made the trek back to our car after the long event.
That half joke wrapped in a real complaint — I was being a whiny baby, but in my defense I was hungry, my feet hurt, it was 1:30AM, and we had work in the morning — was because every aspect of Disney’s parks are devoted to ensuring the attendee feels like they’re at the most magical place on Earth. Large, steep hills aren’t magical! There’s a trolley to take you back to your car because you’re exhausted and long, boring walks aren’t magical! There are attendants to tell you where to park because trying to find a spot while you just wanna see Princess Tiana isn’t magical!
Their embarrassing — all magic comes with a price, yada yada — pricing aside, all aspects of Disney, from its theme parks to its stores and, yes, to its streaming platform, are dedicated to the idea of Disney nice. Because Disney nice sells tickets, merch, and keeps folks grumbling and thinking about the Disney experience when they have a lesser time somewhere else.
It’s because of this that we notice the cracks in Disney+ more than we do in its competitors. Netflix has made an unfathomable amount of bad shows (because someone, somewhere’s gonna watch it, and the algorithm doesn’t care if you hate it, just that you clicked and stuck around), but Disney turns out Book of Boba Fett and we can’t stop talking about how they’re slipping.
To be perfectly clear, this isn’t a defense of Disney. They’re a multi-billion dollar empire that doesn’t need my defense and wouldn’t care if they had it anyway. Plus, the frustrations leveled at Disney+ by both investors and consumers are almost all entirely fair. The point is that Disney sees a good amount of public backlash from it because it’s Disney.
Bloomberg recently reported that Disney+ would pull back its target for subscribers, meaning that they will fall below their recently reported target. But it’s also a number that they won’t even report going forward thanks to the change in focus from subscriber count to actual profitability (a move that Netflix made already). This pullback comes on the heels of a class-action lawsuit against former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and several other members of the company’s c-suite after the company fell aggressively short of targets presented between December of 2020 and November of 2022. Class-action lawsuits happen all the time, especially after severe dips in share cost, and Disney is far from the first company to adjust its targets. But just how steep those adjustments are coupled with Disney’s perpetual brand of untouchably nice for the last several decades make these headlines infinitely more noticeable. Disney rarely misses. But right now? Well, things are awkward for the media giant in the same way they’re awkward for all of the other streaming companies. Which isn’t within the norm for them.
In case you’re wondering why I’m sitting here and prattling off a bunch of shareholder mumbo jumbo, it’s important to understand that this industry tumult affects you too. Pricing on Disney+ (and its bundles) is increasing on October 12 as they continue that chase for profitability. That profitability is a target that Chapek said would be hit in 2024, and one that Iger has continued to pursue.
Disney+ isn’t the only streamer increasing its prices. In fact, nearly all of them are. But Disney faced some pretty impressive backlash on social media when Hulu sent out the reminder that its prices would be increasing. Why? Because that’s the cost of Disney nice.
When you’re the biggest and best show in town — while they still have fewer domestic subscribers than Netflix, it’s hard to argue that Disney+ isn’t one of, if not the best service out there — the cracks in your armor become a lot more noticeable. Price hikes in conjunction with very expensive shows that your fans are showing less and less interest in? Not great, Bobs.
There are a lot of factors contributing to the company facing more bumps than a Matterhorn rider right now, from the Bobs’ infighting to the streaming bubble burst. Those bumps are resulting in a lot of consumer impact, whether it be repeated show delays (strikes are causing that, too. Pay your folks, Bob), price increases, or streaming originals playing disappearing acts. These issues may be universal across most streaming platforms right now, but it’s the most noticeable at Disney because that is the cost of presenting perfect appearances.
Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia