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Although the last financial results of Disney They showed an upward trend from which they may be proud, with a growth of the benefits of 5% and an arrival finally of profitability in the sector of the streamingDisney’s creative crisis is something that has been discussing for months. And an extra detail is added to it, which does not stop strengthening an idea that, despite the numbers, is around the company: Disney are no longer interested.
Disney Channel debacle. Disney has been, of a lifetime, the brand par excellence of child entertainment. And although the numbers endorse their financial health, certain signals point to the loss of interest of their most active and desirable audience, children. One of these signs was the Disney Channel closure in many countriesamong them Spain, at the end of last year. The traditional entrance door to Emporio Disney has fallen, since its position among the top 10 chains, with almost 2 million average daily spectators in 2014, to number 80 in 2023, According to Nielsen.
Children matter. Who wants children if they have nostalgic adults, we could ask ourselves? Very simple: Children are the very important two -legged engine of the business: parks and merchandising, which together with the cruises are part of a third of the business (the other two are entertainment and sports). And although cinema and streaming contributed in 2024 45% of the benefits to Disney, experiences are a very close 37%. Of course, a wing of the income they cannot give up. Experiences, by the way, that are also adults without children.
Adults also matter, but less. Children are also indicative of an aspect of the Disney Fandom to which everyone looks at: the renewal of spectators and consumers. The new blood that makes the continuous flow of spectators and clients stagnate. For example, The recent ‘Thunderbolts‘, apart from having a predominantly male audience, most were adults: 70% of their audience was over 25 years. He nostalgia factor Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ has a side effect: the progressive and inevitable aging of the public.
YouTube, the new normality. The key to this loss of interest in Disney by children is how they are moving to more versatile platforms, less rigid, such as YouTube. They prefer to see shorts instead of movies or series, and the numbers are evident: in Nielsen data than Business Insider rescuedchildren from 2 to 11 years old saw three times more videos on YouTube last year than in Disney+. Disney herself seemed to prove this problem in 2022, when she said that more than 60% of Disney+ subscribers were adults without children.
The algorithmic content is the most. The world’s most watched programs for children are on YouTube and are optimized algorithmically so that these visits do not stop growing and small spectators stay longer. Key factors such as the duration of visualization, colors, music and narrative structures are learned by the algorithm, which outlines the programs almost in real time. Thus successes work as Cocomelónwith 196 million subscribers, or Kids Diana Showwith 134 million. One of the most recent channels, Vlad and Nikialready takes the lead with 140 million and a very quick growth. Next to them they continue to win classics like Baby Shark.
Disney to rescue. To try to solve this issue, Disney has undertaken a series of maneuvers to attract the youngest public, even if it is unable to compete with algorithmic modifications almost in real time. Among those maneuvers is the arrival of ‘Bluey‘A Disney+, one of his most successful licenses and that, According to Nielsenbecame the series of streaming more viewed of 2024. its multimedia incursions in franchises very dear to children, such as ‘Fortnite’ (which welcomed a few weeks ago To a new Skins, mechanical avalanche and battle passes from ‘Star Wars’) also go in that direction.
A future oriented to children. In recent months, Disney has been releasing series specifically designed for children based on their successful franchises, such as ‘the adventures of young Jedi’ or ‘Spidey and their superequipo’. It is one of the great needs of the entertainment giant: bring children closer to their own brands, beyond successful licenses such as ‘Bluey’. This depends on survival in a panorama where, despite the kindness and color of the products, the battle is absolutely ruthless.
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