Disney moves ‘Dancing With The Stars’ back to ABC following single season on Disney+

Dancing With The Stars

Disney has u-turned on its decision to place long-running entertainment series Dancing With The Stars on streamer Disney+, with the show set to return to its sibling network ABC later this year.

The decision to move the BBC Studios (BBCS) format, which is produced by its LA-based production arm, back to ABC follows an overhaul of senior execs at Disney, including the return of Bob Iger as CEO.

Since then there has been a swathe of layoffs, as well as the disbandment of the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED) division, which had been behind last year’s decision to shift the entertainment juggernaut to the streamer to drive subscriptions.

The show will now return to debut on ABC – where it had been for 16 years prior to last year’s Disney+ experiment – and also be available via a live stream on Disney+. It is also set to be available a day later on Hulu, according to US site Vulture which broke the news.

The popular competition format was renewed last year for two seasons – 31 and 32 – with Disney then claiming that the move was to make way for American football games on ABC and so that the network could “develop and invest in new and future programming.”

Dancing With The Stars is based on UK format Strictly Come Dancing and sold by BBCS.

Valerie Bruce, GM of BBCS Los Angeles Productions, said at the time that the decision to debut on Disney+ represented “a major growth opportunity and a bold next step forward in the evolution of the franchise.”