Known for being a family media company, The Walt Disney Company SAY has played a delicate balance by placing its R-rated and TV-MA content elsewhere than on its flagship Disney+ streaming platform.
Here’s how this policy is evolving.
What happened: The 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion gave Disney control of several assets, including a library of R-rated movies.
With a streaming platform that caters to kids and families, Disney hasn’t added any R-rated movies or TV-MA content to its Disney+ streaming platform. Instead, the company typically reserved those titles for Hulu, a Disney-majority-owned streaming platform with Comcast Company CMCSA holding a 33% stake.
Earlier this year, Disney added several TV-MA rated superhero-themed shows. The shows added were “The Punisher”, “Daredevil”, “Jessica Jones”, “Luke Cage”, “Iron Fist”, and “The Defenders”.
Disney’s decision came as it picked up the shows after they previously aired on Netflix Inc. NFLX. Since the shows are part of the Marvel brand, which sees its movies and other shows on Disney+, Disney decided to keep them together.
“Deadpool”, “Deadpool 2” and “Logan” were all added to the Disney+ streaming platform on Friday. The films are all rated R.
This is not an exercise. 🚨 Marvel’s #Dead Pool, #Deadpool2and #Logan come to #DisneyPlus tomorrow! (1/3) pic.twitter.com/krh7U28b4E
—Disney+ (@disneyplus) July 21, 2022
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Why it matters: Disney ended the second quarter with 137.7 million subscribers for its Disney+ streaming platform.
When Disney added TV-MA content, family advocacy groups including the Parents and Media Council reacted, saying the move was “off-brand” and could destroy Disney’s brand. ‘company.
Adding R-rated movies could lead to a similar backlash.
Disney updated its content guidelines when it added TV-MA content previously, with users being asked to log in with their password and agree to view TV-MA content.
The addition of the three films complements existing Marvel content on the platform, with all three films falling under the X-Men umbrella, which was previously licensed from Fox.
Disney has yet to add any other Fox-owned R-rated franchises like Alien or Die Hard, which may be a future move.
As Disney moves into the highly competitive streaming market, having content that appeals to families and adults could be a tricky balancing act that could result in additional subscribers.
We’re supposed to announce that Logan and Deadpool will soon be the first R-rated movies on Disney+. But we all know that some Disney movies should already be rated R for irreversible trauma. pic.twitter.com/FoIbiwKhiG
—Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) July 21, 2022
DIS Price Action: Shares of Disney were down 1.40% at $102.72 on Friday.
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