Disney Plus is one of the top streaming services in the world. The the Walt Disney Company recently announced during an earnings call it had a combined 221.1 Million subscribers across Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN Plus and Hotstar across 106 countries (Though the company did not disclose how many of those were through a free trial or a discount).
Having this much influence across the world means that many different peoples and cultures can experience just about any Disney program they want. However, it appears that is much easier said than done, as it appears a few “exceptions” will be coming to the service.
Multiple middle eastern territories such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.A.E are much stricter in terms of media being shown in their country. And according to a recent report the Hollywood Reporter it appears that multiple titles are either being censored or outright omitted.
According to THR titles such as Pixar’s Lightyear and the new Baymax animated series are being completely wiped from the platform in those countries. Meanwhile Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Eternals will have censored versions.
The reason is due to the region’s strict anti-LGBTQ restrictions. Due to Lightyear and Baymax featuring multiple characters and references that fall into that category those are being outright banned. The Marvel films that will make it onto the service had previously been edited to remove any public display of affection, that implies such relationships in that region’s theatrical run. Those are the versions that will be on the service.
A Disney representative who spoke with THR stated:
“Content offerings differ across our many Disney Plus markets, based upon a number of factors. Content available should align with local regulatory requirements.“
With these factors now coming into play this means that any foreign government can have input on what can and cannot be shown in their region’s version of the service.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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