Posted in: Hulu, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: disney, hulu, opinion, seth macfarlane, The Orville

The Orville: Is Seth MacFarlane Series Victim of Disney+/Hulu Woes?

Did Disney's earnings call from earlier this week offer The Orville fans some insight into why Seth MacFarlane's series is still in limbo?

While more and more series continue to be announced, renewed & canceled, the fate of Seth MacFarlane's The Orville (with the added "New Horizons" for Season 3) on Hulu or anywhere else still remains in limbo. But we may have gotten some insight into some "bigger picture" issues that may be impacting things. Earlier this week, The Walt Disney Company (owner of Disney+ and co-owner of Hulu) CEO Bob Iger had some not-so-great news to share about the financials coming out of the final quarter of 2022. While the company met expectations overall, Disney+ saw a drop in more than 2M subscribers, and its overall streaming area was not looking good.

As you'll see below, that ignited a series of initiatives that included some major corporate restructuring, some serious layoffs expected in the entertainment division, and a goal of $5.5B in overall savings that looks to include $3B in non-sports content cutting. And then came the interview with CNBC's David Faber, with Iger bursting the bubble on those assuming that Disney would be automatically looking to buy out Comcast's stake in Hulu next year. While describing the streamer as "a very successful platform, and I think a good consumer proposition," Iger made it clear that "everything's on the table right now."

So that assumption that Disney will be looking to take sole ownership of Hulu? "I'm suggesting that isn't necessarily the case," Iger responded. "I'm not gonna speculate about whether we're a buyer or seller of it. I obviously have suggested that I'm concerned about undifferentiated general entertainment, particularly given the competitive landscape that we're operating in, and we're going to look at it very objectively."

At this point, I think it's pretty clear where my speculative road is heading when it comes to The Orville. When you consider the rumblings of a bad financial future on the way for Disney starting before the end of the year, could that be the reason why a decision has been delayed? Could "The Mouse" be holding back on any sort of commitment until they have a better sense of whether or not Hulu will be a part of Disney's future and course-correct Disney+? Again, there are also other factors to consider, like MacFarlane's growing slate of projects making the show's creator ever busier than ever. Sadly, it looks like we'll have time to consider how viable of a theory this is as the wait continues…

Here's a look at what Iger had to share about Hulu on CNBC earlier this week that could impact the future of The Orville:

No matter how you viewed this week's earnings call, Iger made one thing very clear. Change is not just on the way for The Walt Disney Company; it's beginning now. And that means, in what sounds very similar to what Warner Bros. Discovery and others have undergone, a combination of major corporate restructuring, layoffs, and budget cuts. Here's a look at the details:

MAJOR CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING: Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution is done, so say hello to:

Disney Entertainment – Co-chaired by Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, this division will include Disney+ and Film & TV assets.

ESPN – Led by Jimmy Pitaro, the division will include ESPN and ESPN+.

Parks, Experiences & Products – Led by Josh D'Amaro, this division will include theme parks & consumer products teams.

"Our new structure is aimed at returning greater authority to our creative leaders and making them accountable for how their content performs financially," Iger said while rolling out the new corporate outline. "Our former structure severed that link and must be restored. Moving forward, our creative teams will determine what content we're making, how it is distributed and monetized, and how it gets marketed."

LAYOFFS: TWDC is looking to cut approximately 7000 jobs as part of the restructuring, representing slightly more than 3% of the company's worldwide workforce. Except those cuts aren't expected to be heavy in the theme parks (what with its current continually-improving upswing in business, even though the theme parks represent the largest number of employees). Instead, the deepest cuts are expected to happen in the Entertainment and ESPN areas.

BUDGET CUTS: Disney CFO Christine McCarthy confirmed that the company was looking for $5.5B in cost savings. Breaking that down, TWDC is looking at $3B in future content savings (non-sports related) and another $2.5B from costs such as marketing, staffing, technology, and other areas (with $1 billion reportedly already underway).

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