Disney+ is making a change to its release dates.
Did Disney+ change release dates?
Disney+ will now release new original shows on Wednesdays instead of Fridays, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- However — Wednesdays are only for original series. New original movies will continue to be released on Fridays, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The shift comes after “Loki” — which was released on Wednesday, June 9 — became the most-watched series premiere for Disney+ so far, THR reports. (As I explained for the Deseret News, “Loki” changed its release day from June 11 to June 9 back in May).
- This means that shows like “Monsters at Work” will move from July 2 to July 7 and the action-comedy “Turner & Hooch” will move from July 16 to July 21.
Sources told THR that Disney+ made the change “to accommodate the increased volume of original content on Disney+.” This will also help Disney+ avoid competing directly with Netflix, which also releases new content on Fridays.
Another reason for the Disney+ shift
The Musings on Mouse newsletter from Julia Alexander suggested that Disney+ made the shift because it is not worried about subscribers as much anymore. There’s enough original content. Disney+ likely wants to increase daily engagement instead.
- “Disney+ now has enough content to give subscribers a reason to open the app multiple times a week,” the newsletter suggested. “Add in a bolstering library, and new series down the pipeline, it’s clear Disney is working on boosting daily engagement, not just worrying about adding enough new subscribers every single quarter.”
One more note to consider — Disney+ will soon add Disney feature films onto its service again. For example, “Black Widow” will soon release on July 9 — a Friday. The shift will allow the app to avoid any weird confusion from viewers about watching a new show versus watching a new movie.