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Disney Sets Sights on Building Black Audience for Streaming Services

Ben Bowman
Ben Bowman is the Content Director of The Streamable. He cut the cord in 2009. He roots for all Detroit sports and is a fan of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy Wilder, Buster Keaton, and the Coen Brothers. Ben streams on an Apple TV.
Read full bio ›
Ben Bowman

If you’re looking for hints on the future of Disney, an internal meeting suggests the next big push will focus on diversity. IGN reports the company is looking to bolster its streaming viewership, specifically among the Black community.

A slide presented at the meeting says the top priority for Disney+ is increasing Black subscriptions to 13%. (The document says that number would be similar to its competition.) Allegedly, Black Hulu subscribers are sticking with the service just as well as other demographic groups. When it comes to ESPN+, Disney hopes to bring Black viewership to 18%, which would match the audience for the linear ESPN channel.

The wake-up call for Disney may have been the incredible reception for 2018’s “Black Panther.” Among the 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Black Panther’s” $700 million box office eclipses every other movie except “Avengers: Endgame” ($858 million). The film went on to win three Oscars (Original Score, Costume Design, Production Design). Its impact went far beyond the theater, as you could see when fans got a chance to meet the star, Chadwick Boseman.

Diversity is very much on the menu for Disney’s Marvel franchises. “Captain Marvel” brought the first solo female super-adventure to the saga. More diverse backgrounds will be featured with the upcoming “Eternals” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” “Ms. Marvel” will head straight to Disney+ with Iman Vellani starring as Kamala Khan.

Even Disney’s theme parks are getting a facelift, as Splash Mountain pivots from the oh-so-problematic “Song of the South” theme to be rebranded to celebrate “The Princess and the Frog.”

A more diverse slate of entertainment looks to be a win-win for the company and its audience. The real question is whether Disney keeps the effort on the front burner.

A More Diverse Disney

  • The Princess and the Frog

    December 8, 2009

    A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.

  • Black Panther

    February 13, 2018

    King T’Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T’Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan ‘special forces’) and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

  • Captain Marvel

    March 6, 2019

    The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

    March 19, 2021

    Following the events of “Avengers: Endgame”, the Falcon, Sam Wilson and the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities, and their patience.

  • Ms. Marvel

    June 8, 2022

    A great student, avid gamer, and voracious fan-fic scribe, Kamala Khan has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. However, she struggles to fit in at home and at school — that is, until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with superpowers, right?

  • Eternals

    November 3, 2021

    The Eternals are a team of ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. When an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows, they are forced to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants. The film will be released on Disney+ January 12, 2022.

  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

    September 1, 2021

    Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

    November 9, 2022

    Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

Ben Bowman
Ben Bowman is the Content Director of The Streamable. He cut the cord in 2009. He roots for all Detroit sports and is a fan of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy Wilder, Buster Keaton, and the Coen Brothers. Ben streams on an Apple TV.
Read full bio ›
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