PTC Calls Out Disney’s Partnership With Max In New Bundle

Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny are teaming up in the streaming wars. Disney recently announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery in a new streaming bundle that adds Disney+ and Hulu to the Max streaming service. This has also led to counter bundles from competitors Netflix, Comcast, and Apple. The lines are being drawn in this next phase of streaming.

However, one group is very unhappy with the recent announcement. The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) has expressed its disdain for Disney associating itself with Max, a service that features multiple films and shows aimed at older audiences, such as Game of Thrones, with its violence and nudity.

In their eyes, they see this deal, and I am not exaggerating, as if Disney was adding pornography to the platform. While Hulu having movies like Poor Things (which is very graphic in terms of its sexual depictions on screen) was apparently okay, this was apparently where the line was crossed.



The vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council, Melissa Henson, made the following statement in regards to the new partnership:

“Disney’s new partnership with HBO’s Max is akin to putting the Playboy Mansion inside the gates of Disneyland. This entirely inappropriate partnership will give children access to some of the most sexually explicit, graphically violent, and profane content available on streaming platforms today, and will further alienate families that have trusted Disney.“

“Disney will spin this news as good for families, but they see through this charade. Disney has continued to move its streaming business towards including R- and TV-MA-rated and sexually themed content targeted at children and has even employed Disney executives who have openly admitted to their overt efforts to insert sexual themes into child-targeted programming. This Max partnership further cements Disney’s reputation as anti-family.“

“Max programs and its weak parental controls have enabled children to access some of the most explicit streaming content on the market, including Euphoria, which has featured statutory rape and sexual exploitation, illicit drug abuse, graphic teen sex, and pornography use, all portrayed as a normal part of the teenage experience, and The Idol, cited as ‘pornographic’, a ‘sordid male fantasy’, a ‘darker, crazier, and more risqué version’ of Euphoria.“

“Disney must recognize the harm this partnership with Max will have on its audience of children and families, along with its further tarnishing its reputation, and should immediately cancel its plans to move forward.“

This is not the first time Disney has received backlash from the PTC. In 2022, they were upset with Disney adding the Marvel Netflix shows (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Punisher, and The Defenders) to Disney+.

While it is true that Max (as well as Hulu) has content that is not meant for younger viewers, it arguably should be the responsibility of the parents/guardians of children to monitor what they are consuming. Television should not be a babysitter. 

Disney also offers parental locks and controls to keep children from watching inappropriate content. 

What do you think? Is the PTC justified in their anger? Or are they taking things a bit too far? Let us know.

Source: WODP