Many fans were surprised when Disney announced their plans to move Netflix’s Marvel shows to Disney Plus. It was expected that the various shows, being as mature as they are, would be moved to Hulu instead. But it seems like Disney still wants to keep them under their direct umbrella – and to accommodate for this, they’re introducing brand new parental controls to the service. While this seemed to satisfy some fans who might’ve wanted to keep their young children away from the shows, it seems to not be enough for others. In fact, the present of the Parents Television and Media Council has outright complained about the Disney Plus decision.
Specifically, Tim Winter, the aforementioned president of the Parents Television and Media Council, released an entire statement on the matter. He began by expressing how parents depend on Disney to maintain their family-friendly image that’s been associated with the company since their establishment.
As he stated:
“For more than 98 years, the Walt Disney Company has been synonymous with the words Family Friendly, and I can think of no other corporation in American history that has been built more squarely on the backs – and on the wallets – of parents and families. The company’s eponymous platform Disney Plus logically marketed itself as a family-friendly streaming service, and parents have placed their trust in Disney to deliver just that.”
He further noted how this decision is “off-brand” for the company:
“It seems wildly ‘off-brand’ for Disney Plus to add TV-MA and R-rated programming to this platform, ostensibly to increase subscription revenue. So what comes next, adding live striptease performances in Fantasyland at Disney World?”
Finally, Tim Winter suggests that Disney has “no need” to do this.
“There is no need for Disney Plus to compete with the explicit content on other streaming platforms. Disney is already at a competitive advantage with a streaming platform that is the safest one out there for families. Its foray into TV-MA-rated fare will forever tarnish its family friendly crown.”
While there are parental controls being added to the streaming platform, it seems like it isn’t enough for some upset parents and adults. They clearly want the Disney brand to remain totally separate from anything with a mature rating. While this is certainly a new direction for Disney to take, it isn’t exactly new territory. They’ve already owned plenty of mature properties and brands in the past, all of which have been released via subsidiaries. But as Disney continues to grow and their need to make Disney Plus their main streaming service grows, it makes sense that they’d just want to keep everything under the same label. It’ll be interesting though to see what doors this move opens in the future.