Disney+ Subscribers Are Finding Expirations Dates On Shows

Disney+ launched on Tuesday and while it’s mostly been a success, there have been reported issues, errors, and questionable discoveries. For example, ComicBook.com pointed out that subscribers have found expiry dates hidden within fan-favorite movies and television shows.

This was uncovered in the coded files on the platform, as was revealed by Twitter account @StitchKingdom. These details imply that these shows and movies will expire on the listed dates set in 2020 and 2021.

One of them, “The Princess and the Frog,” was even listed to expire on Nov. 25 of this year.

As GamesRadar pointed out, Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned that content on the platform will eventually expire, but according to him, there is a way to bypass that. “If you’re a subscriber, you can download it and put it on a device, and it will stay on the device as long as you continue to subscribe,” he said.

A Disney+ spokesperson clarified Iger’s statement, saying that the downloads he mentioned won’t be available once the content is taken off the platform. When that will be is unknown at this time, but a Disney+ spokesperson did say that there "will not be a 'rotating slate' of licensed movies each month," like on Netflix or Hulu.

The lack of clarification combined with the listed expiry dates has people concerned whether their favorite shows and movies will disappear from Disney+ without warning, though the current position is that the discovered expiration dates are most likely errors or placeholders. So far, Disney execs have not been clear on when or how their “rotation” will work in relation to other streaming services.