An Ars Technica essay recounting last fall's Disney boycott shows how hard it has become to take a stand against one company in the streaming era. The author, a free speech advocate, set out to avoid Disney after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! over the host's comments about a murder. But Disney's ownership of Hulu, ABC, FX, ESPN, and even partial stakes in other networks meant that a single protest touched comedies, animated shows, sports, and sci-fi franchises alike. What once would have meant not watching ABC now meant cutting off a wide slice of the entertainment ecosystem.
The same dynamics are visible on the business side. Fubo, a sports streaming service, sued Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery in early 2024, alleging antitrust behavior over their plans to launch a joint sports app. Instead of seeing the case resolved through a court ruling or a change in strategy, Fubo was bought by Disney in January 2025—one of the companies it had accused of stifling competition. The acquisition effectively made the lawsuit disappear, and shortly afterward Fubo raised subscription prices by $15 a month after settling a separate carriage dispute with NBCUniversal, illustrating how consolidation can lead to higher costs for consumers.
The article also notes that streaming services are moving toward further mergers as they struggle to become profitable after years of low prices meant to attract subscribers. With fewer independent owners, smaller voices may find it harder to push back, and consumers may have no realistic way to withdraw support from a brand that has become too ubiquitous to avoid. The Disney boycott, in that sense, was a warning about what happens when entertainment choice becomes concentrated in fewer hands.