29 May Why Are Streaming Services Removing Some of Their Own Movies and Shows? [NBC News]
SARAH WHITTEN AND LILLIAN RIZZO
May 29, 2023 | Streaming was supposed to be forever. That was the promise of a digital library of movies and TV shows.
Consumers got used to Netflix cycling through titles, aware that as Hollywood studios launched their own streaming services, proprietary content would transition to a new platform.
Even when Warner Bros. Discovery pulled content as part of planned tax write-offs tied to its merger, consumers seemed to accept the move as the cost of doing business.
However, as Disney is set to yank dozens of shows and films from Disney+ and Hulu, including “Willow,” “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” and “The Mysterious Benedict Society,” subscribers are suddenly faced with a new reality.
“At first I expected any show that was on a streaming platform would stay on that platform,” said Conrad Burton, 35, an account manager at a transportation company in Raleigh, North Carolina. “But then I started noticing things expiring.”