New Delhi: In what may come as a huge surprise for viewers in southeast Asia and Hong Kong, Disney is mulling over closing as many as 18 channels in the region from October this year. The end-of-an-era move could have a major impact on the entire video entertainment supply chain in the region.

Disney staffers were told about the decision at a town hall out of Singapore on Tuesday, according to sources close to the development. The efforts are aimed at enabling the organisation “to align its resources more efficiently and effectively to current and future business needs.” However, an official statement is yet to be released.

The move is believed to be part of The Walt Disney Company’s global efforts towards a direct-to-consumer-first model and further stimulating the growth of its streaming services.

A senior mediaperson said India is unlikely to be affected by the move, which, while unfortunate, is not entirely unexpected. Last year, the M&E colossus restructured its global operations; this involved separating its India and Asia Pacific businesses after APAC president and Star & Disney India chairman Uday Shankar’s departure, and hiring new talent to spearhead its SVoD push in the southeast region.

With Disney pulling the plug, as many as 18 channels could disappear from the airwaves, which includes Fox, Fox Crime, Fox Life, and FX, movie channels including Fox Action Movies, Fox Family Movies, Fox Movies, and Star Movies China and some sports channels — Fox Sports, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2. Popular kids channels including Disney Channel and Disney Junior, music channel Channel V and actual services Nat Geo People; and SCM Legend could also go off air in the region. This leaves a question mark over how the other pay-TV platforms will fill the void.

The multimedia giant is quickly gaining in the streaming space. Since its launch over a year ago, Disney+ has transformed itself into a streaming leader, with membership numbers flying past long-term forecasts.

So far, Disney has rolled out Disney+ in Singapore along with a separate Hotstar app, and hybrid service Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia. Launches in other parts of southeast Asia and Hong Kong are likely this year. Disney+ has 2.6 lakh paying subscribers in Singapore as of April 2021 and 4.5 million in Indonesia, according to estimates presented by regional industry analysts Media Partners Asia.