Disney Ruthlessly Chops Dozens of Shows and Movies from Streaming Platforms to Save Money

If you were saving a Disney+ or Hulu show in your "to-watch" queue, you might have just lost your chance to stream it. In a cost-cutting trend already launched by streamers like HBO and Starz, Disney has opted to prune a number of underperforming shows and movies from its streaming archive. If deleting shows that some (albeit few) people watch in the middle of the "Streaming Wars" where media companies are desperate to get every subscriber they can doesn't seem to make sense to you, you're not alone in your confusion. After all the shows cost millions to make and if even a few people are watching them, that seems better than leaving them to die in some dusty vault somewhere. But corporations are going to corporate.

Disney has become the latest in a trend of streaming platforms pruning their libraries for several reasons. First, there is something called a "tax write-down," which I don't fully understand because I am not an accountant, but through some manner of legal shenanigans, the corporations can save a lot of money on taxes if they dump their programing. Second, if something isn't streaming, then the owners don't have to pay residuals on it. Residuals, which are much of the focus of the current WGA writers strike, are already paltry, if existent at all, when it comes to streamers. However, if a show can't be watched, then even the tiny residual payments don't need to be made at all. Third, there is the opportunity to shop the content elsewhere. If Artemis Fowl isn't earning Disney+ any subscribers, they can rent it to another streamer, especially a smaller one like Tubi or Crackle who have less content, and make money that way.

While corporations obviously feel like this works best for their bottom line, artists and fans alike are not pleased. The creators of these shows and movies are upset that their work will now be unavailable to be watched as their art is sacrificed for tax purposes. Viewers are anxious that this could mean they are unable to watch their favorite shows, and while previously they could have a DVD version that they could rely on, in the streaming age, they're at the mercy of the streamers to be able to watch things. To use Artemis Fowl as the example again, if an elementary school class reads the book, they will now be completely unable to show the film (which was terrible, but that's not really the point).

The list of cuts is ongoing, but here is the list of shows that have been or will be cut from the Disney-owned platforms:

Disney+ shows/movies:

• America the Beautiful

• Among the Stars

• Artemis Fowl

• Be Our Chef

• Better Nate Than Ever

• The Big Fib

• Big Shot

• Black Beauty

• Cheaper by the Dozen remake

• Clouds

• Diary of a Future President 

• Disney Fairy Tale Weddings

• Earth to Ned

• Encore!

• Foodtastic

• Harmonious Live!

• Howard

• It's a Dog's Life with Bill Farmer

• Just Beyond 

• Magic Camp

• The Making of Willow

• Marvel's MPower 

• Marvel's Project Hero

• Marvel's Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever

• The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers 

• More Than Robots

• The Mysterious Benedict Society 

• The One and Only Ivan

• Own the Room

• Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays

• Pick the Litter

• The Princess

• The Real Right Stuff

• Rogue Trip

• Rosaline

• Shop Class

• A Spark Story

• Stargirl

• Stuntman

• Timmy Failure

• Turner & Hooch

• Weird but True!

• Willow 

• Wolfgang

• The World According to Jeff Goldblum

Hulu shows/movies:

• Best in Dough

• Best in Snow

• Darby and the Dead

• Dollface

• Everything's Trash

• The Hot Zone

• Little Demon

• Love in the Time of Corona

• Maggie

• Pistol

• The Premise

• The Quest

• Y: The Last Man