Disney+ Is No Longer Just For Kids
While many people think of Disney+ as the streaming service for children, the introduction of general entertainment content from Hulu many years ago has managed to slowly change that perception.
During a panel at the Enders Conference, Karl Holmes, who runs Disney+ across Europe, Middle East and Africa, revealed that some new data from the UK rating agency Barb, that 40% of viewing hours on Disney+ are now being made by 16-34 year olds, which is ahead of Netflix (32%), Prime Video (27%) and Paramount+ (23%). Karl revealed:
“Disney+ now appeals to adults as much as kids. But it’s important to stress that our grown-up audience is emphatically young. The young adult audience is one we know and understand well, and has an incredibly strong affinity for the franchises and content at the heart of Disney+.”
Disney has been heavily investing in promoting shows aimed at adults, with hit titles like “The Kardashians”, “Shogun”, and most recently, the British original series, “Rivals”. With Karl saying that “Rivals” is hugely successful, with the second season “already bigger than the first.”
While Disney+ is continuing to invest in major films and shows in the United States, it’s also doing so internationally, especially across Europe, Latin America and in Asia. During the panel, Karl explained that Disney is spending more money on local content to keep subscribers entertained.
“Starting now, Disney+ customers will start to see a greater frequency of shows from their home market. We are increasing the number of local Originals.”
Disney has spent years trying to get the mainstream audience to understand that Disney+ is more than Mickey Mouse cartoons, with ongoing marketing campaigns highlighting major new titles that appeal to the core audience of people aged 16 to 34.
There’s no doubt that Disney+ needs shows that appeal to a wide selection of the audience; aiming just for kids was something Walt Disney warned about decades ago. We are slowly seeing Disney trying to do similar marketing campaigns in the US with the introduction of ESPN and Hulu brands.
Disney+ is extremely popular with preschool kids with titles like “Bluey” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, but I do think they’re really struggling to gain popularity with children and teenagers, who are much more likely to just watch content on social media. Hopefully, Disney can continue to build out its original lineup and while they’ve been struggling with both Marvel and Star Wars as the original core hooks to get adults to watch Disney+, it’s very clear that Hulu has been the key to unlocking this audience.
In terms of local originals, I do think Disney took their foot off the gas in terms of making localised shows a couple of years ago, but hopefully, they’re increasing spending on these originals. Unfortunately for Disney, they are often being forced into this as many countries either introduce or are considering introducing laws requiring international streamers like Disney+ to invest more in local content, as audiences shift to streaming.
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