Disney movies have long owed their success to kids and the parents that they drag to the theaters with them. After all, that’s how the company built its hundred-year-old film empire!
But the mouse house is starting to realize they might not be on top forever…
And it’s because they let their most important demographic slip right through their fingers.
Here’s how Disney is losing its young fanatic fan base.
Turning Away From Disney Movies
Disney and their movies have long held a monopoly over children’s attention and interest for most of the company’s history
Their stories have cultivated millions of fans throughout the decades. Movies, parks, and even TV programming created a steady stream of families keeping the business alive and healthy.
But now… younger generations are singing a different tune.
The main issue? Children’s attention is being pulled elsewhere. And because of it…
DISNEY IS STARTING TO SWEAT.
In a world of seemingly endless content, kids just aren’t growing up ONLY on Disney movies anymore.
Take the Disney Channel as proof. This network, which brought pop stars like Britney Spears into the limelight, has been losing its grip on young audiences. The Disney Channel went from being a top 10 network with over 2 million regular primetime viewers in 2014…
To sitting at 80th place today with 132,000 regular viewers.
You could chalk this up to the decline in cable television…
But when you consider that an estimated 60% of Disney Plus subscribers are adults with no children at home…
It cements the idea that fewer children are enjoying content by Disney.
To combat this curve in viewership, the mouse house is resorting to some tried-and-true techniques. But these new strategies haven’t been doing as well as the company would’ve hoped.
When Bob Iger returned to Disney for his second stint as CEO in 2022…
The company was starting to flounder and they needed someone who would usher in “a new era”.
Iger began reinvesting in sequels and IP that have done well historically…
His efforts brought in mixed results.
Powerhouses such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe have only turned up flops…
But Inside Out 2 quickly became the biggest movie this year.
This begs the question if not Disney movies…
What are kids watching?
Youtube: Reigning King Of Content For Kids
Turns out…
The kids are on YouTube. Just like the rest of us.
While Netflix might have the biggest piece of the streaming pie, every streamer has a common enemy…
That being YouTube.
While it’s not technically a streamer, YouTube accounts for nearly 10% of all content streamed on household televisions. For Disney, it means that kids are swapping movies for short clips on the site.
Kids ages 2-11 are watching YouTube three times as much as any TV content. The young audiences are more likely to enjoy shorter, ad-free content instead of the movies Disney pushes onto them.
AND IT’S HURTING THE COMPANY’S BOTTOM LINE.
Not only are they competing for the same viewers…
But it’ll be much harder for Disney to use YouTube as a funnel to more company content like it did with the Disney Channel.
To make matters worse…
On YouTube, Disney can’t control the distribution of their content and it becomes more difficult to monetize.
More broadly, Disney has been diversifying its movies and TV offerings on their streaming service…
Aiming to create content for older audiences.
But this move puts them in direct competition with other major film companies…
And it alienated them from their base of dedicated families.
So how is Disney going to bring kid audiences back to its movies?
Disney’s New Plan
Under Iger’s direction, the plan is for the company to meet kids where theyre at…
In videogames…?
As part of the company’s giant change in strategy, Iger made a $1.5 billion investment into Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite.
Fortnite, a free-to-play battle royale-style video game has over 650 million registered users…
Many of them are the kids that Disney wants to win back. The company’s strategy here is that adding characters from Disney IP will spark interest and serve as an onboarding ramp to get these kids watching Disney movies again…
BUT ITS A HUGE RISK WITH NO GUARANTEES.
While other large companies might get by without being so kid-focused…
For Disney, the problem is much bigger. If the company can’t win back the love of Gen Alpha…
The other money-making branches of the company, theme parks, and merchandising, could greatly suffer.
It’s been a strange time for the Walt Disney Company these past few years…
Disney movies have been flopping…
The theme parks are single-handedly keeping the company afloat…
And the takeover of Disney Adults…
All of these factors have put the company in choppy waters.
Conclusion
But the bottom line is…
If Disney doesn’t get child audiences back on their movies…
The most magical place on earth could be nothing more than a dreamland a few generations down the line…
Be Great,
GCTV Staff
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