Not long ago, Disney+ was a formidable force in streaming. Subscriptions were climbing rapidly, shows were taking the top spot and competing for viewers. Now, Disney+ can’t even manage to make a mark in subcategory streaming ranks. It’s not good.
Across a broad spectrum of streaming ratings for the final week of January (the most recent we have), Disney+ is faltering. Badly. Even when Disney had half the subscribers of today, they had the ability to chart on the top streaming categories. That indicated strong interest in programming and likely growth for the future. Now, the platform has cratered. While you might think this is a one-time fluke, you’d be incorrect. Disney+ ratings are falling off a cliff, even as we look at a time when Willow and Bad Batch should have been carrying the service.
All ratings courtesy: Nielsen.
Let’s take a look at Original Programming:
Position, Platform, Title, Episodes, Minutes Watched in Millions
| 1 | Netflix | Ginny & Georgia | 20 | 1,299 |
| 2 | Netflix | That ’90s Show | 10 | 963 |
| 3 | Peacock | Poker Face (2023) | 4 | 547 |
| 4 | Netflix | Wednesday (2022) | 8 | 527 |
| 5 | Netflix | Vikings: Valhalla | 16 | 453 |
| 6 | Netflix | Lockwood & Co. | 8 | 450 |
| 7 | Netflix | Women at War (2022) | 8 | 379 |
| 8 | Netflix | Bake Squad | 16 | 378 |
| 9 | Prime Video | Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan | 24 | 318 |
| 10 | Netflix | Physical: 100 | 2 | 269 |
Not a single Disney+ show even makes the list for original programming. Not Bad Batch, not Willow, not National Treasure, not nothing.
Acquired:
| 1 | Netflix | The Walking Dead | 177 | 1,037 |
| 2 | Netflix | Cocomelon | 18 | 929 |
| 3 | HBO Max | The Last Of Us | 3 | 877 |
| 4 | Netflix | NCIS | 339 | 760 |
| 5 | HBO Max | The Big Bang Theory | 265 | 641 |
| 6 | Netflix | Grey’s Anatomy | 396 | 640 |
| 7 | HBO Max | Friends | 235 | 628 |
| 8 | Disney+ | Bluey | 114 | 628 |
| 9 | Netflix | Gilmore Girls | 153 | 625 |
| 10 | Various | Criminal Minds | 331 | 618 |
Here, only Bluey makes a dint. And Bluey is a show that Disney+ repeatedly censors for some of the most ridiculous reasons you’ve ever heard. It’s like Disney doesn’t even like the one children’s programming piece that families trust.
Movies
| 1 | Netflix | You People (2023) | 1 | 1,576 |
| 2 | Prime Video | Shotgun Wedding (2022) | 1 | 872 |
| 3 | Netflix | Narvik (2021) | 1 | 421 |
| 4 | Netflix | Trolls | 1 | 239 |
| 5 | Netflix | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | 1 | 238 |
| 6 | Disney+ | Encanto | 1 | 208 |
| 7 | Netflix | Sing 2 | 1 | 184 |
| 8 | Disney+ | Moana | 1 | 170 |
| 9 | Netflix | Jung_E | 1 | 166 |
| 10 | Prime Video | Jurassic World Dominion | 1 | 166 |
Finally, where Disney should be dominating via repeat viewership, the service simply can’t muster any better than Encanto and Moana. There is no Frozen, no Zootopia, no Lightyear, no Turning Red, no Strange World. And to say that these numbers aren’t impressive is an understatement. Encanto, Disney+’s top movie for over a year, is now pulling about one-seventh of Netflix’ top show, and barely over a quarter of Amazon Prime’s best.
They may not be saying it out loud yet, but Disney+ has more than stalled. This is indicative of a platform in serious decline.
For all the latest news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts.
Disney Nonplussed, one imagines.
I preordered Disney+ and did a year’s subscription (Wife was a super fan). In return Disney served up a year of woke garbage; I cancelled.
I personally think the Mandalorian is highly over rated and was successful purely because people were so starved for anything resembling Star Wars. It ended up being a string of side quests (particularly series 2) rather than a proper and engaging story. However, it was the best thing on there.
I also think their Stagecraft system of a projected cgi backdrop makes the shows that use it, including Mandi, seem small and boring. Disney’s TV production mantra is “talk is cheap”, so the shows often have unnecessarily long dialogue scenes with a CGI backdrop. They basically end up being a one set play, but without the good writing and acting required to make it engaging.
Instead of a second year of subscription I just bought the movies in their back catalog I like on discount and just let my kids watch those. Stupid to pay over and over again for access to the same back catalog and also I do not want to expose to any of the new stuff.
There seems to have been a mindset in Hollywood that you could take peoples money and in return make the woke garbage they wanted to make rather than make shows the paying customers want. However, once people have watched all the back catalog stuff they like, they are not going to stay subscribed for content that isn’t designed to entertain them. The sooner there is a race to the bottom and these streaming platforms become purely ad supported the better, as it will take away the financing mechanism for the woke garbage.
https://www.nielsen.com/top-ten/
recently wakanda forever debited number 1 of all streaming programs and streaming movies where did u get this chart from
The new Nielsen charts came out after publication of the article. We’re watching to see if Black Panther Wakanda Forever stays as popular in its second week. If so, it may be a streaming success for Disney… and much needed. If not, it’s a one-week sensation.
wakanda forever dubuted number 1 on nielsen why did u ignore it