Desperate Disney Cuts Basic Streaming Subscription Price 75% Amid $11 Billion in Losses
The bad news just keeps coming for Disney.
In a bid to entice back more than 11 million global subscribers who departed the platform in the previous quarter, the company has slashed the cost of its basic subscription service from $7.99 a month to a mere $1.99, CNBC reported.
This decision came amid an ongoing dispute with cable provider Charter Communications that has led to the blackout of various Disney-owned channels on the Spectrum service.
The discount specifically pertains to the ad-supported tier of the Disney+ streaming service and lasts for three months, after which the subscription auto-renews at the original rate.
The promotional offer is available only for a limited time, running until Sept. 20.
This September is bringing the biggest movies, series, and offer you won’t want to miss. 💥 pic.twitter.com/aD4rou4Rwl
— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) September 6, 2023
The New York Times reported in August that Disney’s streaming division reported a loss of $512 million in the latest quarter.
Cumulative losses in the streaming sector since the launch of Disney+ in 2019 have surpassed $11 billion, it said.
Although it’s only for a three-month period, the $1.99 per month promotion stands in contrast to the pricier alternatives offered by major players in the U.S. streaming service market, including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
Such an aggressive price reduction indicates a sense of desperation within the company to get its financial situation back on track following a tumultuous few years in which its share price has crashed and its reputation has been damaged by its embrace of LGBT programming for children.
SCOOP: I’ve obtained video from inside Disney’s all-hands meeting about the Florida parental rights bill, in which executive producer Latoya Raveneau says her team has implemented a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” and is regularly “adding queerness” to children’s programming. pic.twitter.com/eJnZMpKIXT
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022
SCOOP: Disney corporate president Karey Burke says, “as the mother [of] one transgender child and one pansexual child,” she supports having “many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories” and wants a minimum of 50 percent of characters to be LGBTQIA and racial minorities. pic.twitter.com/oFRUiuu9JG
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022
The company was also recently slapped with a lawsuit by investors saying they were deceived about the financial health of Disney+.
In their filing, the complainants wrote that Disney had “repeatedly misled investors” about the company’s losses and that these “wrongful acts and omissions” brought about the “precipitous decline in the market value” of Disney’s share price, which is at its lowest level since 2014.
The company has also confirmed that it would be dropping the majority of its federal lawsuit against the state of Florida apart from a claim that the state violated the company’s First Amendment Rights.
The legal dispute began last year when the company fought Florida legislation aimed at safeguarding children under the age of 10 from LGBT indoctrination in public schools, falsely dubbed by Disney and left-wing activists as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Statement from The Walt Disney Company on signing of Florida legislation: pic.twitter.com/UVI7Ko3aKS
— The Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) March 28, 2022
In response, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that revoked Disney’s special tax privileges and its ability to self-govern, leading to the ongoing court battle.
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