Shows disappearing from streaming

[JackOutback]

Another big budget production, this one a UK series being produced in Australia, has been dropped by Disney+ before it even has a chance to air. While there's some hope it will find an alternative platform, it continues a trend of streamers nixing completed productions or removing series from their platform to reduce their tax burden.

The trend first came to notice when WB shelved it's $80m Batgirl film, even though it was practically complete. Since then, Disney has removed original shows and movies like Willow, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Artemis Fowl movie and more from its platform, WB axed Westworld and removed several other shows from HBO Max, and Paramount cancelled an otherwise successful Star Trek animated series Prodigy and removed its Grease prequel series just weeks after it streamed its final episode.

In addition to making these shows completely unavailable to watch legally, it also denies writers and actors residuals from continued screening and is a big part of the current actors and writers strikes.

Thoughts?

Disney+ production Nautilus scrapped after wrapping on the Gold Coast

The UK series, which employed hundreds of Australian cast and crew, is the latest victim of cost-cutting measures at Disney and beyond

www.theguardian.com

 

[Gralin]

Another big budget production, this one a UK series being produced in Australia, has been dropped by Disney+ before it even has a chance to air. While there's some hope it will find an alternative platform, it continues a trend of streamers nixing completed productions or removing series from their platform to reduce their tax burden.

The trend first came to notice when WB shelved it's $80m Batgirl film, even though it was practically complete. Since then, Disney has removed original shows and movies like Willow, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Artemis Fowl movie and more from its platform, WB axed Westworld and removed several other shows from HBO Max, and Paramount cancelled an otherwise successful Star Trek animated series Prodigy and removed its Grease prequel series just weeks after it streamed its final episode.

In addition to making these shows completely unavailable to watch legally, it also denies writers and actors residuals from continued screening and is a big part of the current actors and writers strikes.

Thoughts?

Disney+ production Nautilus scrapped after wrapping on the Gold Coast

The UK series, which employed hundreds of Australian cast and crew, is the latest victim of cost-cutting measures at Disney and beyond

www.theguardian.com

And Spiderwick chronicles which was finished.
Disney have cancelled that as well.

 

[Frank Bunn]

A few things going on here.

Governments in Australia and Canada are subsidising productions to be made in their state. There's less cost to the US studio when they cancel the production. "Screen Queensland declined to reveal the value of government incentives the production received, citing commercial in confidence."

Marketing costs for movies have blown out to somewhere around production costs. If production is wrapped but the indications are the release won't break even the studio will pull the plug.

The removal of back catalog from streaming.

 

[Gralin]

Making it means Disney keeps the rights even if they don't release it.

It's why they are remaking all their classics

 

[Jatz]

I always assumed that when a show left one of our streaming services, it just popped up on another one.

 

[Gralin]

I always assumed that when a show left one of our streaming services, it just popped up on another one.

this is the creator of the content removing it from their platform

or now, not even putting it up to begin with

studios are now using removing streaming shows as a tax write off, Disney have removed multiple original shows and movies they created in their first year

they set the budgets for these things at hundreds of millions and then claim a massive loss

it seems to be heading in the direction of money laundering really

 

[SM]

Somewhat unrelated but a bit connected, it is interesting when shows drop off but don't pop up on anything else. I was doing a re-watch of Becker on Paramount+ ages ago when P+ first launched, then it disappeared without warning. Thought it was going to pop up somewhere else but nope.

 

[Gralin]

Yep Paramount+ decided they were going to be the home of Star Trek

They stopped licensing it out to other platforms, even if they weren't in the market

so until Paramount+ became available in your territory you stopped having access to old star trek as well as new star trek

now I don't watch star trek and don't care

but one of the selling points of the platform was all star trek shows would be available in the one place and they were making new star trek shows

Next Minute they not only don't renew Star Trek Prodigy for Season 2, along with the cancellation they remove season one from the platform

Add to this companies getting out of physical media and stuff can just disappear forever if they delete the originals

it's pretty grim for artists and fans

 

[JackOutback]

It was rightly assumed by audiences that shows made by the platform for the platform (Netflix Originals, D+ Originals etc) would always be available to watch on the platform. I think it's a betrayal of the consumer relationship when they remove things as there is no longer any legal way in which to watch the show.

 

[Gralin]

They certainly seem to be trying to destroy their own business model out of greed right now with how they are treating their customers and their creatives

 

[Jatz]

Somewhat unrelated but a bit connected, it is interesting when shows drop off but don't pop up on anything else. I was doing a re-watch of Becker on Paramount+ ages ago when P+ first launched, then it disappeared without warning. Thought it was going to pop up somewhere else but nope.

This annoys me immensely.

I'm one of those idiots that pay for every service, at least one of them should have these kind of shows. I can't imagine it costs them an awful lot to have the rights to a Becker for instance.

 

[SM]

This annoys me immensely.

I'm one of those idiots that pay for every service, at least one of them should have these kind of shows. I can't imagine it costs them an awful lot to have the rights to a Becker for instance.

Yeah 100%. We have most of them so I thought it should pop up on a Stan or something like that, but nope. It's only Becker not the end of the world lol, but if I'd known it was dropping off on X date I would have smashed through it.

 

[Frank Bunn]

.

A few things going on here.

Governments in Australia and Canada are subsidising productions to be made in their state. There's less cost to the US studio when they cancel the production. "Screen Queensland declined to reveal the value of government incentives the production received, citing commercial in confidence."

Marketing costs for movies have blown out to somewhere around production costs. If production is wrapped but the indications are the release won't break even the studio will pull the plug.

The removal of back catalog from streaming.

It seems that production was finished for the 10 part TV series Nautilus but Disney was not willing to pay the the additional costs of marketing the series.

From the article in The Age -

• Then communications and arts minister Paul Fletcher said the federal government was contributing $23.3 million.
• In addition, the Queensland government supported Nautilus through its own production attraction strategy, to which the Palaszczuk government dedicated $53 million over two years in 2021.
• On top of the direct cash subsidy, Disney also had access to the 16.5 per cent rebate on local spend through the tax system

In effect, that means Australian taxpayers probably contributed around 40 per cent of the $96 million budget – around $38 million. These deals involving public finances are kept confidential. It's not clear if when the studio pulls the plug on the release do government investors (ie Australian taxpayers) get compensated, or is it all written off?

Disney scuttles big budget Aussie-made show that received millions in subsidies

The decision to dump the Australian-made submarine drama from its streaming platforms might make good business sense, but it’s a shock for everyone involved.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Vader]

Somewhat unrelated but a bit connected, it is interesting when shows drop off but don't pop up on anything else. I was doing a re-watch of Becker on Paramount+ ages ago when P+ first launched, then it disappeared without warning. Thought it was going to pop up somewhere else but nope.

I have some good news for you...

Apparently Becker will now be getting its own FAST (Free Ad-supported TV) channel, on Pluto TV, on 10 Play:
51 FAST channels launch on Pluto TV | TV Tonight

 

[SM]

I have some good news for you...

Apparently Becker will now be getting its own FAST (Free Ad-supported TV) channel, on Pluto TV, on 10 Play:
51 FAST channels launch on Pluto TV | TV Tonight

Problem is I don't remember where I was up to.

 

[Brick Loosener]

Problem is I don't remember where I was up to.

Becker was trying to quit smoking.

 

[James Colorado]

I've got next week off work, so in between playing Starfield and going to the footy finals, I've decided to watch the Pancho Villa bio-series on Disney+. I'm interested in the subject matter, and given the current climate am concerned it'll be pulled if I don't get on it immediately.

It launched about two months ago...

 

[TheGhostOfJohnBelushi]

I have some good news for you...

Apparently Becker will now be getting its own FAST (Free Ad-supported TV) channel, on Pluto TV, on 10 Play:
51 FAST channels launch on Pluto TV | TV Tonight

Just checking out their setup, interesting that they've made TV shows as their own channel, so you just tune in whenever and something is already running. It's a good idea for old shows, although does suck you can't choose the episode to watch, but sometimes just tuning in and not having a choice is nice. Love that one of the channels is Happy Days.

 

[Gasometer]

Maybe Nine will remove the current season of The Block the day after auctions

 

[dumb]

Yep Paramount+ decided they were going to be the home of Star Trek

They stopped licensing it out to other platforms, even if they weren't in the market

so until Paramount+ became available in your territory you stopped having access to old star trek as well as new star trek

now I don't watch star trek and don't care

but one of the selling points of the platform was all star trek shows would be available in the one place and they were making new star trek shows

Next Minute they not only don't renew Star Trek Prodigy for Season 2, along with the cancellation they remove season one from the platform

Add to this companies getting out of physical media and stuff can just disappear forever if they delete the originals

it's pretty grim for artists and fans

hard copy all the way baby. but for the industry to pivot to not have any physical media come from it is concerning.

people will pay to own the things they want, and it's often content delivery difficulty that inspires the black market or piracy.

it's certainly much more difficult to become a cinephile, and the secondary market is absolutely awash with dvd/blu rays, which i am not complaining about at all, aside from %90 of it not of interest to me. people have to weigh up their commitment to the movies they think they like, and appears a lot of people are happy to put their faith in the streaming platforms to forever have their favourite movies in their catalogue, which i find very scary and a bit too trusting.
or they've discovered they don't really like movies at all.

 

[Xtreme]

Just checking out their setup, interesting that they've made TV shows as their own channel, so you just tune in whenever and something is already running. It's a good idea for old shows, although does suck you can't choose the episode to watch, but sometimes just tuning in and not having a choice is nice. Love that one of the channels is Happy Days.

10play also has the Baywatch Channel that's been on the Samsung Internet TV feature. Get in on that action!!!

I like that those types of channels play episodes 24/7 and when they're done they just start from ep 1 again.

 

[TheGhostOfJohnBelushi]

10play also has the Baywatch Channel that's been on the Samsung Internet TV feature. Get in on that action!!!

I like that those types of channels play episodes 24/7 and when they're done they just start from ep 1 again.

Who was that woman in her red waterpanties?