The streaming giant Disney+ has once again shaken up the audiovisual landscape. After a period of exponential growth, the platform is preparing to enter a new phase, marked by major strategic changes.
The turn of Disney+: the trademark of Bob Iger
The Disney+ platform is changing. Under the leadership of Bob Iger, returning to the helm of the company in 2022 after a difficult period under Bob Chapek, Disney is trying to regain momentum in an increasingly competitive environment.
Iger, who initially led Disney to great heights with major acquisitions like Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, faces new challenges. Among them, the financial recovery of Disney+, a platform which, although acclaimed at its launch, is now suffering substantial losses.
After leaving office in 2020, Bob Iger was urgently recalled by the board of directors to restore order within the Disney house. His return was greeted with enthusiasm, but the company’s situation is complex.
Disney+ is accumulating losses, and pressure from shareholders, particularly from Nelson Peltz, is strong. Growth strategies of the past, based on the acquisition of top-tier content and the launch of the streaming platform, are now being re-evaluated in the face of new financial imperatives
Furthermore, Disney must manage a general drop in revenues, particularly in its traditional branches such as theme parks, derivative products and cinema, affected by the pandemic and the global economic crisis. In this context, Disney is seeking to improve the profitability of its digital services, and Disney+ in particular, by adjusting its pricing policy.
The whim – Mickey’s brush: increase in prices and end of the bundle offer at MyCanal
It is in this context that Disney+ announced an increase in the prices of its standard subscription without advertising. In France, the price would increase from €8.99 to €9.99 per month soon. The same goes for the Premium package which will soon be €2 more per month. And, of course, this also has repercussions on year-round rates which are also taking a hit.
At the same time, the platform will no longer be included in the MyCanal offer, forcing subscribers to take out a separate subscription to continue to benefit from its content.
But probably the most surprising announcement is the withdrawal of Disney+ from MyCanal. So far included in fact in the Canal+ offer, Disney+ will no longer be accessible via this platform from December. French subscribers, accustomed to taking advantage of this service via MyCanal, will now have to take out a direct subscription if they wish to continue to access the Disney+ catalog. The move, which might seem risky at first, reflects Disney’s desire to maximize revenue by refocusing on its own subscription offerings.
A general increase in offers and the multiplication of advertisements
This strategy is not unique to Disney+. The streaming market has become extremely competitive, and major players are taking similar approaches. Netflix, for example, has steadily increased its prices over the past few years, while also introducing a low-cost, ad-supported subscription.
This option allows users to access the platform at a discounted price while viewing ads. Disney+ followed this path by offering a subscription with advertisements, but this model still remains limited in Europe.
For its part, Amazon Prime Video is not left out. The platform has also made price adjustments, while enriching its offering with exclusive content and broadcast partnerships, such as that with Ligue 1 in France.
These initiatives show to what extent streaming platforms are looking for new sources of revenue, in a context where competition is increasingly strong and where the costs of producing original content continue to explode.
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