You don’t have to pay people what they’re owed if the content doesn’t “exist.”
Writers, directors, and actors are all fighting to secure residuals from streaming services. With the WGA currently on strike and the DGA and SAG-AFTRA in negotiations to achieve fair wages and residuals that help keep them living and working in Hollywood until they can get their next job, the structure of the streaming industry is collapsing.
Even if this fight is won, some companies are removing titles from their streaming services to seemingly avoid paying any residuals.
Warner Bros. Discovery notoriously removed over 100+ titles from HBO Max in 2022 and AMC and Showtime recently had similar scalebacks, Deadline reports that Disney is now following their lead and is pulling content from Disney+ and Hulu on May 26th. Among these titles that are being pulled are Disney+ originals like Willow, Big Short, Turner & Hooch, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Just Beyond, The World According to Jeff Goldblum, and Hulu originals like Y: The Last Man, Dollface, The Hot Zone, Maggie, Pistols, and Little Demon.
The full list (which you can read below) features short-lived series, specials, and direct-to-streaming movies. While some of these titles performed better than others, there is still a stink to this entire process.
Disney stated in a recent Disney earnings call on May 10th that the move will come with “a content impairment charge of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion” (according to Deadline).
“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,” CFO Christine McCarthy said.
At the time, there was no mention of removing content. So, the big question is “Why?”
Media companies are removing content from their streaming platforms to reduce costs, as the industry rethinks how to protect production members from a system that has exploited the structure for too long. It also seems that if agreements to provide residuals are met during the negotiations between industry unions, then the streaming services, that already want to save money by not having those shows “exist” anymore, do so by not having to pay residuals to those involved with the removed shows.
The fact that companies refuse to share streaming data with anyone makes it difficult to determine whether streaming services should continue to be the future of entertainment. If it isn’t profitable, then why continue to feed a dying beast? But if it is profitable, then why are people not making livable wages?
It is a messy business that not only takes art away from the culture but fails the members who put their hearts into making the production come to life at the request of a behemoth media company.
Here are the current titles listed to be removed from Dinsey+ and Hulu on May 26th:
Big Shot [Disney+]
Turner & Hooch [Disney+]
The Mysterious Benedict Society [Disney+]
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers [Disney+]
Willow [Disney+]
The Making Of Willow [Disney+]
Diary of a Future President [Disney+]
Just Beyond [Disney+]
The World According to Jeff Goldblum [Disney+]
Marvel’s Project Hero [Disney+]
Marvel’s MPower [Disney+]
Marvel’s Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever [Disney+]
Y: The Last Man [FX/Hulu]
Pistol [FX/Hulu]
Little Demon [FX/Hulu]
Maggie [Hulu]
Dollface [Hulu]
The Hot Zone [Nat Geo/Hulu]
The Premise [Hulu]
Love in the Time of Corona [Hulu]
Everything’s Trash [Hulu]
Best in Snow [Hulu]
Best in Dough [Hulu]
Darby and the Dead [Hulu]
The Quest [Hulu]
Rosaline [Disney+]
Cheaper by the Dozen remake [Disney+]
The One and Only Ivan [Disney+]
Stargirl [Disney+]
Artemis Fowl [Disney+]
The Princess [Disney+]
Encore! [Disney+]
A Spark Story [Disney+]
Black Beauty [Disney+]
Clouds [Disney+]
America the Beautiful [Disney+]
Better Nate Than Ever [Disney+]
Weird but True! [Disney+]
Timmy Failure [Disney+]
Be Our Chef [Disney+]
Magic Camp [Disney+]
Howard [Disney+]
Earth to Ned [Disney+]
Foodtastic [Disney+]
Stuntman [Disney+]
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings [Disney+]
Wolfgang [Disney+]
It’s a Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer [Disney+]
The Real Right Stuff [Disney+]
The Big Fib [Disney+]
Rogue Trip [Disney+]
More Than Robots [Disney+]
Shop Class [Disney+]
Pick the Litter [Disney+]
Own the Room [Disney+]
Among the Stars [Disney+]
Harmonious Live! [Disney+]
Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays [Disney+]
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