Disney Korea’s OTT content team has been disbanded, with all members involved in the production of original content leaving the company.
This is due to the global workforce reduction measures implemented by Walt Disney, which have also affected the domestic Disney Plus business division in Korea.
According to industry sources on June 15th, 15 members of Disney Korea’s OTT content team, responsible for producing original content for Disney Plus, have left the company. There are also rumors in the industry that the production of domestic original content for Disney Plus has been temporarily suspended.
An insider stated, “The domestic Disney content team has disappeared.” Another source revealed, “After Disney reveals all the original content lineups that were announced to be released this year, it is uncertain what will happen next.”
This means that Disney Plus projects after 2023 are at risk of cancellation, meaning the 2023 lineup may still be safe.
2023 drama Lineup:
- Shadow Detective 2 (Lee Sung Min, Kim Shin Rok)
- First Responders 2
- Moving (Jo In Sung, Han Hyo Joo, Go Youn Jung)
- Revenant (Kim Tae Ri)
- The Worst Evil (Ji Chang Wook, Wi Ha Jun)
- Vigilante (Nam Joo Hyuk)
2024 drama lineup:
- A Shop For Killers (Lee Dong Wook, Kim Hye Jun)
- Soundtrack#2
The disbanding of the content team is analyzed as a result of Disney Plus not achieving notable success in the Korean market. As of May this year, Disney Plus had a monthly active user (MAU) count of 1,797,157 in Korea, which is only about half of the MAU counts of domestic OTT platforms such as TVING (5.15 million), Coupang Play (4.31 million), and Wavve (3.92 million) during the same period.
Disney has invested a considerable amount of funds in Korean original content. The drama “Casino” had a production cost in the range of 20 billion won (approximately $17.7 million), and the drama “Moving” had a production cost in the range of 50 billion won (approximately $44.3 million). However, Disney Plus has not yielded satisfactory results in proportion to the investment made.
Earlier, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced plans to reduce the workforce globally, particularly by streamlining underperforming business divisions. In fact, Disney has already laid off 7,000 employees globally since February this year, aiming to save around $5.5 billion.
They are also closing down TV channels operated in the Korean, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian markets. Additionally, Pixar, the Disney animation studio, laid off 75 employees, including directors and producers, due to the box office failure of the film “Lightyear.”
Disney Korea responded that it is difficult to confirm details regarding personnel matters.
