In late 2024, Disney+ launched Streams to compete with popular "always-on" streaming services like Tubi. At the start, Disney+ made several channels available to those paying for its Premium membership tier, including ABC News, Hits & Heroes, and the seasonal tie-in Hallowstream. Hits & Heroes ran through a live, continuous carousel of movies and series from brands like Star Wars and Marvel, enabling users to jump in and out whenever they pleased.
However, as of May, the Hits & Heroes Streams channel is no longer available on Disney+. The service has not provided an official statement, reason, or explanation. Hits & Heroes wasn't the only casualty; Disney+ additionally took down the Real Life channel, which looped a variety of content from National Geographic. The remaining channels include those devoted to The Simpsons, Phineas and Ferb, and Star Wars. A holiday-themed channel was also briefly accessible in late 2024.
Although Disney+ doesn't appear keen to release exact viewership metrics for Streams, it would seem likely that it ended Hits & Heroes' brief tenure due to underperformance. In hindsight, Disney+ creating a separate channel solely for Star Wars feels like a harbinger of misfortune for Hits & Heroes and its fans.
As it stands, even though almost the entire MCU library can be watched on Disney+ individually, there are no continuous Streams channels designated for the long-running franchise. Hits & Heroes' elimination will dismay the Marvel fans who enjoyed it. After all, many streaming subscribers become overwhelmed by the abundance of offerings that sit before them. Sometimes, it's easier to watch TV as it used to be watched.
Disney+'s Ups & Downs Over the Years
From its inception, Disney+ was envisioned as a one-stop shop for all things Disney and its subsidiary properties, like National Geographic, Star Wars, and Marvel. Kicking off in Fall 2019 with an assortment of original programming coupled with the company's vast, near-century-encompassing back catalog, Disney+ was quick to catch on. Moreover, the service became a pandemic-era favorite. With thousands cooped up in their homes, Disney+ was a lifeline for continued sanity.
But for every boom, there is a bust; this is a lesson Disney+ learned the hard way. The House of Mouse's user base was rocked as the planet began to open back up and populations ventured into public life again. Disney+ viewership plummeted, and the platform started losing ground to other names in the game, such as Max. Around that point, Disney+ began to play more on its terms. Hit features like Groupwatch were excised, and password-sharing restrictions were tightened to the point of suffocation. These actions prompted consumers to decry them as they applied the label of flagrant anti-consumerism.
Ultimately, Disney+ is a business operated by a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Its shareholders have only one thing on their minds: Revenue. The Walt Disney Company and its ilk desire the impossible dream of infinite growth, an economic fallacy. In other words, Disney wants to make progressively more money. When a wall is hit, another revenue stream will be created. And when a Disney+ feature no longer performs how it's intended, it gets chopped, even when it violates consumer trust. This is the most likely reason that Hits & Heroes is no longer available for streaming.
It may be that Disney+ will add a solo Marvel Streams channel in the same vein as its In a Galaxy Far, Far Away channel, but no such plans have been made clear to fans yet.
