Disney’s Evolving Streaming Play

The future of streaming has taken several twists and turns recently.

Honestly, most of them aren’t great, with a few being downright awful.

There’s a word being used for this reversal of fortune that I won’t use on a Disney site.

Let’s just say it starts with ‘en’ and ends with ‘ification.” You know the one.

Right now, Disney must monitor the competition while plotting its own course for the future.

Let’s discuss Disney’s evolving streaming play as we look at the latest Nielsen streaming ratings.

A Good Idea Ruined

In 2024, Amazon Prime Video shocked everybody by announcing a $2.99 charge for commercial-free content.

Since Amazon Prime Video technically qualifies as an Amazon Prime perk, that’s objectively a weird tactic.

“We’re giving you this thing as a free perk, but now we’re just arbitrarily making it worse.”

Then, earlier this year, Roku used its formerly free streaming content to populate a new service.

Apparently, $2.99 is the go-to charge for monthly fees for formerly free content, as that’s Howdy’s price, too.

The two services didn’t do this recklessly. No, you should think of both moves as purpose pitches.

Amazon and Roku are warning customers that the future of streaming won’t be free.

Oh no, you’ll pay for all content, and if you want to watch without ads, you must pay even more.

I’ve been warning that this would happen since the beginning because it was always the endgame.

The collapse of conventional television in cable and network form led to this inevitable outcome.

Suddenly, the owners of most major film and television content libraries lacked viable monetization streams.

Since the 1940s, network television fed viewers content in exchange for their watching advertising.

That was a lucrative model for the content creators, but it served a second purpose as well.

Advertisers sold their wares to captive viewing audiences, which benefited consumerism as a whole.

When streaming disrupted the conventional model, it created a void. Two, really.

Thus, we were always going to circle back to status quo at some point, presuming we don’t count those viewers sailing the high seas.

Content creators need ad revenue to pay for the content…and even if they didn’t, they get a second paycheck that way.

Even Netflix, which swore it would never advertise, reconsidered once everyone realized the sheer volume of money involved.

The Changing Marketplace

Disney+ recently announced its latest price increase, one you should just expect every October.

That’s the start of the fiscal year for Disney. So, it’s when the company wants to guarantee divisional growth.

Since more than 100 million subscribers are paying more, that’s more money the division will earn in fiscal 2026.

Three years ago, Disney augmented its subscriber revenue stream by adding advertising on streaming.

In December 2022, Disney+ became objectively worse when it started airing commercials.

To evangelists and early adopters, the whole point of streaming was to escape the advertising era.

Those hopes proved naïve, as all the major streaming services recognized an opportunity.

In fact, Comcast, historically the greediest company, never even offers discounts for its ad-free tier.

Comcast couldn’t care less what customers want, just that it makes the most money.

Ads help with that, although Peacock remains the only major streaming service that’s unprofitable.

Meanwhile, Disney called its shot by listing the time that Disney+ would turn a profit and nailed that prediction…barely.

Streaming Looks Just Like Cable

In fiscal 2025, streaming has remained a low-margin business for Disney, but it’s improved mightily.

The company projects Direct-to-Consumer, its streaming business, to net $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025.

We’ll find out in four weeks whether Disney met that mark, but I’m fairly confident it’s correct.

The timing shouldn’t be lost on you, either. Once Disney started its annual price increases and added commercials, streaming became profitable.

Now that ESPN has gone over-the-top with a complete streaming app, Disney’s has achieved its goal.

The company wanted to reinvent the revenue model of network and cable television on streaming.

Here we are…and it costs a fortune. The Disney Bundle will increase to $29.99 later this month.

Disney’s evolving streaming play is to charge more while forcing viewers to watch ads.

Sadly, it’s everyone’s streaming play.  All these former network and cable titans want those revenue streams back.

So, those of us who have been streaming for a long time legitimately can say, “Why, in my day…”We can do that because streaming was objectively better just a few years ago.

The services cost less yet counterintuitively offered more content.

Disney’s Evolving Streaming Play

During the early days of launched streaming services, studios provided a glut of new shows and movies.

Nowadays, that release pattern has crawled to a drip, with corporate overlords hiding behind excuses.

First, they blamed the pandemic. Later, the Hollywood strikes became the cause.

Then, they just stopped talking about it, and that’s where we are today.

I mean, Wonder Man just debuted its trailer on Saturday. Do you know when Disney announced that project?                                                                                                        

Folks, I swear to you it was December 2021. The studio kept pushing it back.

Currently, Disney only promises one or two live-action Marvel series per year.

In 2019, plans called for a new one to start as soon as the last one ended. Now, it’s “quality over quantity.”

Do you know why? If consumers aren’t canceling, why should Disney pay for new content?

For that matter, why should the company do that if people aren’t watching?

Daredevil: Born Again never charted. So, what streaming companies are doing is justifiable.

Unfortunately, this same behavior is decidedly anti-consumer, though, and that’s a problem.

Something’s gotta give, and I strongly suspect that a streaming industry reckoning is inevitable.

Greed is killing the golden goose before it starts laying those precious golden eggs.

Nielsen Streaming Ratings

Coincidentally or not, Disney’s recent streaming ratings reflect a change in consumer behavior.

Lately, Disney+ and Hulu haven’t held their absolute lock on the Nielsen Streaming charts the way they had.

I strongly suspect that two factors come into play here, neither of which is a bad thing.

Disney’s integration of Hulu on Disney+ has provided subscribers with more content options.

So, rather than watching a few favorites on repeat, they’re checking out the Hulu programming instead.

Also, I believe that the 24/7 Streams are luring viewers as well. I know they work on me.

Currently, there’s a Treehouse of Horror Simpsons stream that’s on my television a lot.

This is the kind of innovation CEO Bob Iger referenced when he mentioned improving Disney’s streaming tech.

The company has done that, and it appears to be paying dividends. I think. It’s still too early to know for sure.

Anyway, here are Disney’s streaming hits for the week of September 8^th-15^th, 2025.

• Bluey – 823 million viewer minutes
• Grey’s Anatomy – 669 million viewer minutes
• Bob’s Burgers – 591 million viewer minutes
• Only Murders in the Building – 587 million viewer minutes
• NCIS – 583 million viewer minutes
• Gilmore Girls – 534 million viewer minutes
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – 526 million viewer minutes
• Lilo & Stitch – 399 million viewer minutes

Yes, you can watch Gilmore Girls on Disney+ via Hulu, and you really should do that.

This is legitimately one of my top five favorite shows ever. We watched since day one.

Also, that’s a good number for Only Murders in the Building, but Lilo & Stitch is a disappointment.

Finally, Alien: Earth has dropped off the list, which I frankly hadn’t expected. That’s not great.

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Feature Photo: Disney