Disney+ has officially begun to see profitability according to the most recent Quarterly Earnings Report given by Disney.
Part of this profitability is due to the increase in subscribers the streaming service saw over the past quarter. When CEO Bob Iger returned, he marked Disney+ and streaming as his number one priority, hoping to boost its revenue. Now it appears the company is finding other ways to increase the service’s profits.
As of Tuesday, May 21st, Disney has begun to lay off about 14% of Pixar Animation Studio’s workforce, according to Reuters. The animation studio which has created many famous movies like Toy Story, Turning Red, and Up, will let go of approximately 175 people.
The reduction in the workforce is likely due to scaling back the creation of original series for Disney+. When the streaming service was first developed, then CEO Bob Chapek, increased the Walt Disney Company’s workforce to produce exclusive content for Disney+.
However, now that Iger is again CEO, he is looking to cut back on original streaming content on Disney+ in order to lower costs and increase its profitability. Pixar will continue to focus on feature films that screen in theaters before becoming available on Disney+. This year, there is only one original Pixar series coming to Disney+, which is Win or Lose a series about a co-ed softball team.
We’ll continue to watch for more information in regards to the lay-offs and Disney+ content, so keep following AllEars for more information.
Hopefully that’s the 14% who placed political and social messaging ahead of creativity and imagination when telling stories. Good riddance.