‘Beverly Hills 90210,’ ‘Arrested Development,’ Other Titles Leaving Hulu This Month
Disney CEO Bob Iger may be neck-deep in negotiations with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) this week, but his employees at Hulu continue to have an eye on saving the company money on his behalf. A new report from Vulture indicates that a large swath of classic TV series are leaving Hulu at the end of this month, including some shows that fans of ’90s TV will recognize instantly.
The good news in this latest round of cuts from Hulu is that it appears to be isolated to these shows, at least for now. Vulture reports that unlike content removals which occurred earlier this summer for Disney streamers, this latest batch is not intended as part of larger cost-cutting measures intended to bring immediate relief to the bottom line; rather, the shows being removed are coming to the end of their licensing agreements, and Disney has simply decided to save money in the future by not renewing those deals.
The shows departing Hulu at the end of September are:
The good news for fans of these series is that many of them are already available to stream elsewhere. In fact, “Arrested Development” was the centerpiece of a deal between Disney and Netflix earlier this year; Disney now owns the linear distribution rights to the show, while Netflix is the exclusive holder of its streaming rights. Previously, ultimate distribution rights to “Arrested Development” were in the hands of 20th Century Studios, a Disney subsidiary.
It’s a shame for fans that these series are departing Hulu, but the company was just not seeing enough engagement with them to justify their continued presence on the service. Hulu has taken steps toward more transparency when it comes to engagement with its titles; the service recently introduced a top-15 list to show which of its titles are most popular with users on a given day.
Disney could become the sole owner of Hulu soon, as Disney is set to sit down with Comcast on Sept. 30 to open sale talks. Disney currently owns 67% of Hulu, while Comcast owns the other 33%. Once the company has full control over Hulu, it can merge the service into a “one-app experience” with Disney+ as Disney executives have confirmed they intend to do.
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