Disney’s shuttering of linear tv channels continues apace. The company plans to close 100 international networks this year, on top of the 30 it shut in 2020.
Speaking at JPMorgan’s tech, media, and communications conference, Disney CEO Bob Chapek framed the move as part of the company’s ongoing pivot to its direct-to-consumer (DTC) business, including streaming platforms like Disney+.
“The great majority of [the shuttered channels’] content will migrate to Disney+,” said Chapek. “And again, the decisions that we make in individual channels and individual markets, and the timing of such are sort of framed up by existing deals that we’ve gotten some of the constraints we’ve got there.”