Fact Check: Disney Is Not Ending Disney+, Despite Clickbait Headline on Disney Fan Blog
Claim:
The Walt Disney Company announced in August 2023 that it's ending the Disney+ streaming service.
Rating:
On Aug. 13, 2023, the Disney fan blog known as Inside the Magic published an article with the headline, "Disney Ends Disney+ Streaming Service, New Change Places Netflix in Charge."
In a similar headline from Aug. 21, Inside the Magic also published, "Disney+ Set to End, Huge Content Disappearance Reported."
However, the rumor about Disney+ going away forever was false. The Walt Disney Company had announced no such plans to end or cease operations of the streaming service.
Further, Netflix was not placed "in charge" of Disney+. The body of the Aug. 13 article ended up simply saying that some consumers who could only afford one streaming service might opt to pay for Netflix over Disney+, due to a recently-announced price hike for Disney+ that were set to take effect in October.
The Associated Press reported on Aug. 9 that Disney+ with ads would remain at $7.99 per month, but the ad-free version would go up in price from $10.99 to $13.99. Comparatively, as of August, Netflix with ads was priced at $6.99 per month. Ad-free plans were offered at $15.49 or $19.99.
The headlines from Inside the Magic about Disney+ supposedly being ended were similar to other past, poorly-worded headlines that were published by the website.
In October 2022, the website claimed, "Universal Studios Orlando Closes Location Permanently." Two months later, this headline was reported: "Disney Channel Set to Cease All Broadcasts." Then, in July 2023, they said that Mickey Mouse was being "retired effective immediately."
None of these claims were true. Like the false rumor about Disney+ ending, they, too, appeared to be nothing more than misleading clickbait.
Sources:
Disney+. https://www.disneyplus.com.
Dunn, Alessia. "Disney+ Set to End, Huge Content Disappearance Reported." Inside the Magic, 21 Aug. 2023.
---. "Disney Ends Disney+ Streaming Service, New Change Places Netflix in Charge." Inside the Magic, 13 Aug. 2023.
Hamilton, David. "Disney to Boost Prices for Ad-Free Disney+ and Hulu Services and Vows Crackdown on Password Sharing." The Associated Press, 9 Aug. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/disney-disney-subscribers-loss-9b954f969e3c15fc18cd0054e5e7f6dd.
Liles, Jordan. "Disney Channel Not Shutting Down in US, Nor Is It 'Set to Cease All Broadcasts.'" Snopes, 5 Dec. 2022, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/disney-channel-shutdown-cease/.
---. "No, Mickey Mouse Was Not Retired by Disney on July 28, 2023." Snopes, 31 July 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mickey-mouse-retired-disney/.
---. "Universal Studios Orlando Is Not Closing Permanently." Snopes, 10 Oct. 2022, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/universal-studios-orlando-closing/.
"Plans and Pricing." Netflix Help Center, https://help.netflix.com/en/node/24926.