Will G5 revive the fandom?

[Splashee 28,560]

Will the 80s ever be popular again? (similar question, since how many times will something become popular again, after it was already made popular for being unique?) We had a wave of popularity of everything 80s in and around 2014 (after Twilight screwed up with wings and Lauren Faust was fired): Music, products, everything colorful. FIM was of course not part of that, as the Bronies made sure everything non-G4 was bad, old, girlish, etc.

So will G5 revive the Bronies? Not a chance. That was a one thing internet buzz phenomena.

 

How about us fans of MLP and FIM here at the Forum? Well, we will be very happy if G5 can keep up a good and interesting story Art needs to be good, but not perfect.

 

G5 needs better art, better animation, better story, and an understanding and connection to its fans. That is key for a fandom to grow as it did back in the days. The G5 game can in fact give fans access to the 3D models, and thus, create fan content that is far superior to anything Hasbro or Boulder can ever imagine. Fans are always better at finding what fans want.

[Venomous 18,862]

The fandom does not need a revival. It is alive and well. The initial fascination for the series has ended, yes, but that happens with every fandom. Just because fans of MLP aren’t mentioned in the media, have cringe compilations made on them, etc. nowadays does not mean things have ended. I don’t know where you got the idea that we are dead or dormant.

[Megas 27,551]

The fandom may have diminished compared to it's peak, but it never died. Will the interest be as intense as it was during the peak of G4? Who knows, but the fandom does not need a revival

[reesespuffed 28]

Hasn't this topic been made before? Anyways maybe. G5 is bringing people to the fandom. Ive been observing the boorus and new artists are coming in every week. I dont think 2012 will be reached but i really do believe theres a new era for this fandom with all the new people joining.  Maybe im biased because i joined this fandom BECAUSE of g5 and how good the movie was but i really do think there is a bright future here. Maybe itll reach peak of fim, Who knows!

 

Also since its being brought up no i dont think the fandom ever died, has it had less activity? sure but G5 has the opportunity to breath new life into the franchise and fandom. Not neccesarily a revival but moreso a new generation of fans

Edited March 18, 2022 by reesespuffed

[Ganondorf8 11,259]

As I've said to you before (You know where), G4 was one of those once in a life-time things that are almost impossible to replicate. G5 is going to be successful but needs to do so on its own merits and not on the tails (No pun intended here) of G4. As for the fandom... That will be up to each individual. People come and go but a fandom never truly fades away.

[Northern Star 1,023]

16 hours ago, snowfall_shy said:

ah, oki.

edit: exactly how long?

 

This thread has a discussion over it. Only 8 for '22 from my understanding, then another 8 later, followed by another 7 even later.

Which makes 0 sense to me since they are on a streaming platform, not a TV channel. 

Edited March 19, 2022 by TheGleaner

[Skylight Scintillate 1,978]

Well I think the word revive is a bit too vague and it would probably depend on exactly how you define it.

[mlploverlizzy 291]

If I'm being honest, the fandom is already seeing a revival on tik tok, Many MLP audios are popular with many videos to it, so if there's anything that would revive it, it wouldn't be G5 instead Tik Tok.

[O-78 28,605]

I think it's revived the fandom already! Every MLP-related site I visit has had a big uptick in activity since the G5 movie's release.

[North Star 5,133]

It'd be great if Gen 5 caught people's imagination the way Gen 4 did, but it's mainly going to add to the current fandom I think. That's good too 

[ExplosionMare 18,060]

Probably not, but it won't hurt the fandom either

[The Recherche 29,967]

I truly wish MLP fans could ease up on their fandom nostalgia. I do apologize if this comes across as rude, but I have seen a lot of people who seem to complain about the state of the fandom more than actually trying to enjoy the content that gets released. I have seen quite a few topics on this very platform lamenting how the fandom has shrunk, how they think the upcoming Generation will reignite the fervor, or anything similar to that. The fandom has indeed creating quite a few wonderful things, from music, artwork, even games., but I really think people are only hurting themselves when they look back on that too much. It was fun, sure, but times have changed, and they aren't coming back. The best thing you can do at this point is to just enjoy MLP for what it is, regardless of Generation.

[bonnietonic 1]

I have a feeling it already is. Specifically with teenagers/fandom kids. Im one of those fandom teenagers, and I know watching g5 with my buddy got me back into the show (even if I disliked g5.)

But, also, with all fandoms there is a revival. MLP was in its prime in 2013-2017, its been 5 years, its bound to come back. A lot of the people who were in that fandom are older now, and its time for a new generation (LOL) of fans to come in! It's fun, and I have a strong feeling this summer is going to be our fandoms boom!

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I find G5 to be a questionable attempt after a success that is MLP:FIM.

I found it obvious that G5 wasn't going to seem as grand or impactful as G4 was.

Honestly, the flaws with the G5 premiere movie make me have bigger doubts about G5, and the future of the MLP franchise as a whole.

But like with MLP:FIM and the previous generations, there will be highs and lows, and there will be people looking out for them.

💘🐎✨💫

 

 

 

 

[Kantet 180]

It's been two years since this topic was created.
The answer was given in the past tense, but these two years are enough to sum it up: MLP G5 failed to revive the brony fandom. The 5th generation attracted attention at the start of the project, but then it began to die and only harm the fandom itself, since it turned out terrible (both in the main idea and in the implementation) and literally trampled on the legacy of MLP FiM (G4). And the 3D series was generally cancelled. As a result, a complete failure.

I hope that G6 or subsequent generations of MLP will be able to revive interest in the fandom and raise it to the level of the early 10s, or even higher. We only need people who will be interested in this (and there are a lot of them in the fandom) and an interesting idea for implementation.
Well, or something will come not from Hasbro, but from small studios and groups of people who want to make a fan series based on MLP, after all, neural networks allow us to reduce the resources spent on producing cartoons.

[Starlight Serenade 2,943]

In my honest opinion, I don't think G5 was a failure, but a certain minority will be quick to say anything that isn't G4 is. G4 was not as perfect as some think it is, the later seasons were not as popular in terms of views. I thought they were fine and had some great moments here and there, though some episodes were recycled from earlier seasons with a slight twist. I recall seeing a rumor that there was a small increase in terms of viewership leading to the end of the series by season 9, but that was when they announced that the series was ending! Most likely due to fallen popularity...which is something certain people try to say about G5 with baseless speculation and rumors. For example, I do not know where people got that MYM was "cancelled" when I can't seem to find an official source online stating that. Not even Wikipedia has an source claims for those rumors!!! These series are planned long in advance. Doing a quick google search showed me discussion boards where certain groups of people perpetuated that narrative repeatedly, yet there was only one LinkedIn post from an official post that stated they were concluding MYM ahead of time. Funny how that works.

Looking at Hasbro's public financial statements from the past few years, many of their IP's and MLP/G5 were not a huge success either. G5 had over a billion social media interactions and certainly has made considerable money when you look at the various media it has produced- even in the face of a failing toy market and new move to release content on different platforms(in this case, Netflix Paywall). G5 had a movie, several shows, shorts, specials, and more! Some series don't even receive a second season or second series. G5 is not perfect, but you have to give credit where credit is due even if you don't personally like something.

Though it definitely did not revive the Brony fandom, I do not think anything will ever revive the fandom's popularity to where it was a decade ago. The nostalgia is intense whenever I talk to Bronies who watched MLP a decade ago. G5 certainly did bring a lot more eyes again with social media analytics, but I think regardless- the circumstances will never be the same. This might be brutal for some to hear, but I think the early seasons popularity that G4 experienced were simply lightning in a bottle. The quality in the early three seasons was much better and the advent of social media were major factors that helped boost its popularity when you compare G4 to the previous gens (those are still great series, definitely recommend to check them out). Bronies were never popular for good reasons in mainstream media, heck they are still seen negatively in some circles that I have seen online.

I will say something that I noticed as I joined the fandom after G4 aired. There are so many wonderful fan projects catered to adults of the MLP franchise online that deviated a lot from the original source material. Now there's nothing wrong with that and anyone from all ages can certainly enjoy this show (or cartoons in general), but I think it aided in misleading and conflated certain people's expectations from this franchise. I do not doubt for a moment that those people will continue to criticize anything new until they eventually realize that they were never the intended audience and that things will never be the same.

To be honest, I do not have faith that G6 or any future adaptions will ever replicate the extenuating circumstances that surrounded the early seasons of G4 and that's okay. We can still enjoy the new series here with like minded people online.

I am not a ardent supporter of any specific generation and am perfectly fine with criticism for any of the generations. I simply just want to watch ponies.

 

Edited July 25 by Starlight Serenade

[Kantet 180]

Quote

I don't think G5 was a failure,

Quote

 Looking at Hasbro's public financial statements from the past few years, many of their IP's and MLP/G5 were not a huge success either. G5 had over a billion social media interactions and certainly has made considerable money when you look at the various media it has produced- even in the face of a failing toy market and new move to release content on different platforms(in this case, Netflix Paywall). G5 had a movie, several shows, shorts, specials, and more! Some series don't even receive a second season or second series. G5 is not perfect, but you have to give credit where credit is due even if you don't personally like something.

I think it was a failure. And no, it doesn't "have flaws", it's just terrible in itself. From the main idea and plot to the graphics and animation of terrible quality. And this failure is even recorded in the financial reports, the profits there were clearly falling. So it's a clear failure.
 

Quote

I do not know where people got that MYM was "cancelled" when I can't seem to find an official source online stating that. Not even Wikipedia has an source claims for those rumors!!! These series are planned long in advance. Doing a quick google search showed me discussion boards where certain groups of people perpetuated that narrative repeatedly, yet there was only one LinkedIn post from an official post that stated they were concluding MYM ahead of time.

Well, you see, this news was more than half a year ago and during this time there were no announcements of a 3D series. There were no denials either. Reality shows that they cancelled the 3D series on G5, and this is a sure sign of the failure of the generation itself.
 

Quote

Though it definitely did not revive the Brony fandom, I do not think anything will ever revive the fandom's popularity to where it was a decade ago.
This might be brutal for some to hear, but I think the early seasons popularity that G4 experienced were simply lightning in a bottle. The quality in the early three seasons was much better and the advent of social media were major factors that helped boost its popularity when you compare G4 to the previous gens (those are still great series, definitely recommend to check them out). Bronies were never popular for good reasons in mainstream media, heck they are still seen negatively in some circles that I have seen online.
To be honest, I do not have faith that G6 or any future adaptions will ever replicate the extenuating circumstances that surrounded the early seasons of G4 and that's okay. We can still enjoy the new series here with like minded people online.

I believe that nothing is predetermined in this world. Before G4, which gained worldwide fame, there was G3.5, which was very bad and closed very quickly.
The Brony fandom can be revived and grow even stronger than it did in the early 2010s. I believe that the main thing is to hire a talented team of writers, sound engineers, artists. Try with ideas and scripts, then one of them will definitely "take off" and the series will conquer the Internet again, as it already did. And I see that our Brony fandom can show this, because there are many talented people in it. And this can happen with G6 and G7. And it can happen with a fan series. You just have to try.

Besides, there are many fandoms that were in crisis for some time and fell, but then they rose again. I see no reason why this should not happen to us.

[Starlight Serenade 2,943]

1 hour ago, Kantet said:

I think it was a failure. And no, it doesn't "have flaws", it's just terrible in itself. From the main idea and plot to the graphics and animation of terrible quality. And this failure is even recorded in the financial reports, the profits there were clearly falling. So it's a clear failure.

I have a background in business management and I am sorry, but I do not think you personally ever looked at any of their financial reports.

Please review the publicly available information of the 2021-2022 report from Hasbro and Businesswire:

https://investor.hasbro.com/static-files/78098a21-d496-4e87-892f-152b82ee1fe7

Hasbro Reports Strong Revenue, Operating Profit and Earnings Growth for the Full-Year 2021 | Business Wire

Note: 

 

Objectively speaking, just with the first movie- G5 appears to be successful based on this report. The film was #1 in the Netflix Kids Top 10 in more than 80 countries on its opening weekend, driving high viewership and audience engagement. It also led to greater than 100% growth in toy and game point of sale in the fourth quarter versus the previous year, and double-digit growth in licensed merchandise revenues for the year.

However, it’s important to note that the success of a single product doesn’t necessarily reflect the overall financial health of the company. For example, it appears that Hasbro’s overall revenue declined in 2023 and 2024, but this was due to a variety of factors, not just the performance of G5. MLP is just one part of Hasbro’s diverse portfolio of products. The company’s overall financial performance is influenced by many factors, including the performance of other products, operational costs, and market conditions.

If you would like to learn more, here is the Hasbro website where you can examine the publicly available annual reports in great detail:

https://investor.hasbro.com/financial-information/annual-reports

1 hour ago, Kantet said:

Well, you see, this news was more than half a year ago and during this time there were no announcements of a 3D series. There were no denials either. Reality shows that they cancelled the 3D series on G5, and this is a sure sign of the failure of the generation itself.

Well reality shows that it was concluded from their Global Brand Manager on LinkedIn who stated it was the final chapter beforehand: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/parishipabari/recent-activity/all/

 

1 hour ago, Kantet said:

I believe that nothing is predetermined in this world. Before G4, which gained worldwide fame, there was G3.5, which was very bad and closed very quickly.
The Brony fandom can be revived and grow even stronger than it did in the early 2010s. I believe that the main thing is to hire a talented team of writers, sound engineers, artists. Try with ideas and scripts, then one of them will definitely "take off" and the series will conquer the Internet again, as it already did. And I see that our Brony fandom can show this, because there are many talented people in it. And this can happen with G6 and G7. And it can happen with a fan series. You just have to try.

Besides, there are many fandoms that were in crisis for some time and fell, but then they rose again. I see no reason why this should not happen to us.

Oh I do not believe anything is predetermined in this world either, but the circumstances behind G4 were unique and I do not think they can be replicated. That does not mean that I do not think that a future series cannot reach mainstream popularity or even surpass the previous gens, but it won't be under the same unique circumstances G4 had is what I am trying to say.

Sure fan projects exist, but that's something completely different from the main franchise. I do agree that with hiring the right people that something amazing can be accomplished, but the way Hasbro has been implementing their business strategy in general lately, has led me to believe otherwise. Of course I would happy to see a reemergence for MLP and the fandom down the line. 

 

 

Edited July 25 by Starlight Serenade

[Rafa Stary Mini 2,864]

On 2024-07-25 at 1:01 PM, Kantet said:

I think it was a failure. And no, it doesn't "have flaws", it's just terrible in itself. From the main idea and plot to the graphics and animation of terrible quality. And this failure is even recorded in the financial reports, the profits there were clearly falling. So it's a clear failure.

You can shit over G5 as you want, but saying that it's a commercial failure just because you hate it is just being terribly misinformed, I don't know how there are still people who say that MyM was canceled, the show was planned to have that specific length we all saw, TyT itself shows that as they already had episodes taking place after the events of Chapter 6 in 2022, months before the production for MyM was even finished. I in no way like TyT but the show is in fact a success, I highly doubt that we would be even getting a Season 2 if they decided to take a "cancellation" route. The problem is the toy market.

-

As for the thread's question, well, Starlight Serenade already pretty much said a lot of what I could've said, so I'll just write in short.

No, after the end of MyM and with the current status of TyT, I don't think G5 will revive the fandom, but honestly? I don't think it has to, for me G5 or Tell your Tale's only duty is to be a success among its audience of little kids and nothing more, MLP had its time, that time is now past, they aren't trying to catch the attention of this older fandom anymore, they just want to do the basic now, it's what they have to do, we aren't part of this game, and the franchise will continue that way, after all, look at how many cartoons for little kids are a huge success nowadays, and I don't see any adult or older audience ralking about them, and guess what? Most of them are in Youtube for free, just like TyT, Hasbro is simply following the safe and the path for success. The franchise actually survived throughout almost 3 full decades without a older audience, solely by appealing to its target audience, so I don't think it's going to be any different now, G4 was an anomaly, this is a opinion that I actually already shared back in 2023:

Quote

My Little Pony will not be a hit again, G4 was an anomaly, it shouldn't have been the success it was, it arrived at the right time and with the right heads behind it, the world changed now, this can no longer be maintained, nothing lasts forever, older fans (both those who were already teenagers or adults at the time of FiM and those who grew up with the series) have to move on from the franchise and the franchise itself has to go back to what it was before G4 was a thing, be popular only amongst little kids and specially girls, that's how it has to be, that's the reality, and with the next episodes of TyT and the second season they can finally put an end to the comparisons between this generation and G4, the franchise will return to its old home.

i can see that happening very well, and I won't be surprised if it happens, yeah I wish we got something like as impactful as FiM again, I wish we got a more "mature" show that breaks the rules of the series just like FiM did, maybe even making it even TV-Y7, which is something I would love to see, but that is a dream very distant from reality. In the end, I've already accepted it, but I think the Brony fandom can survive without new MLP, maybe not for decades and more decades and more decades, but it's strong enough to at least sustain itself for a few more years, G4 was art, and art is immortal. Those who just dislike G5 and are disappointed with TyT just need to move on, it's not going to change, that is the franchise's fate.

(Hope I'm wrong tho, of course)

[Starlight Serenade 2,943]

21 hours ago, Rafa Stary said:

You can shit over G5 as you want, but saying that it's a commercial failure just because you hate it is just being terribly misinformed, I don't know how there are still people who say that MyM was canceled, the show was planned to have that specific length we all saw, TyT itself shows that as they already had episodes taking place after the events of Chapter 6 in 2022, months before the production for MyM was even finished. I in no way like TyT but the show is in fact a success, I highly doubt that we would be even getting a Season 2 if they decided to take a "cancellation" route. The problem is the toy market.

-

As for the thread's question, well, Starlight Serenade already pretty much said a lot of what I could've said, so I'll just write in short.

No, after the end of MyM and with the current status of TyT, I don't think G5 will revive the fandom, but honestly? I don't think it has to, for me G5 or Tell your Tale's only duty is to be a success among its audience of little kids and nothing more, MLP had its time, that time is now past, they aren't trying to catch the attention of this older fandom anymore, they just want to do the basic now, it's what they have to do, we aren't part of this game, and the franchise will continue that way, after all, look at how many cartoons for little kids are a huge success nowadays, and I don't see any adult or older audience ralking about them, and guess what? Most of them are in Youtube for free, just like TyT, Hasbro is simply following the safe and the path for success. The franchise actually survived throughout almost 3 full decades without a older audience, solely by appealing to its target audience, so I don't think it's going to be any different now, G4 was an anomaly, this is a opinion that I actually already shared back in 2023:

You pretty much wrapped up my other general thoughts in your responses.

A person cannot say that it was objectively a failure as the financial statements prove otherwise and that we got a TYT season 2 as well. I agree with the sentiment that while some adults watch this franchise and other cartoons, MLP has always been targeted to children. Adults were never factored into the equation and it why there was a negative stigmatization for adult bronies.

21 hours ago, Rafa Stary said:

i can see that happening very well, and I won't be surprised if it happens, yeah I wish we got something like as impactful as FiM again, I wish we got a more "mature" show that breaks the rules of the series just like FiM did, maybe even making it even TV-Y7, which is something I would love to see, but that is a dream very distant from reality. In the end, I've already accepted it, but I think the Brony fandom can survive without new MLP, maybe not for decades and more decades and more decades, but it's strong enough to at least sustain itself for a few more years, G4 was art, and art is immortal. Those who just dislike G5 and are disappointed with TyT just need to move on, it's not going to change, that is the franchise's fate.

(Hope I'm wrong tho, of course)

I feel the same. It's nothing, but a dream that will persist in fan-made projects. I suggest that the really passionate/vocal fans for more mature themes to put that energy into supporting a fan project or another new series. It's time to move on as Hasbro is only focused on their target audience. I think that is why a lot of people have moved on away from MLP over the years and why there are only a handful of conventions and events anymore.

Edited July 27 by Starlight Serenade

[Iforgotmybrain 5,360]

With this talk of finances and such. It’s worth mentioning that Hasbro’s Q2 which released a few days ago, ended up being much better than expected. In the conference call and presentation, the only MLP things they specifically mentioned were the new Kayou trading cards and the rapidly growing popularity of MLP in China. Hopefully this isn’t too off topic, I just thought it was worth mentioning

[Starlight Serenade 2,943]

1 hour ago, Iforgotmybrain said:

With this talk of finances and such. It’s worth mentioning that Hasbro’s Q2 which released a few days ago, ended up being much better than expected. In the conference call and presentation, the only MLP things they specifically mentioned were the new Kayou trading cards and the rapidly growing popularity of MLP in China. Hopefully this isn’t too off topic, I just thought it was worth mentioning

I have seen an article before online for 2024 Q1, but haven’t seen Q2 yet, I gotta check those out later! 
 

I recall someone making a post recently regarding some new trading cards, those looked great so I can imagine them being popular! 

Edited July 28 by Starlight Serenade

[Kantet 180]

Quote

I have a background in business management and I am sorry, but I do not think you personally ever looked at any of their financial reports.
......
However, it’s important to note that the success of a single product doesn’t necessarily reflect the overall financial health of the company. For example, it appears that Hasbro’s overall revenue declined in 2023 and 2024, but this was due to a variety of factors, not just the performance of G5. MLP is just one part of Hasbro’s diverse portfolio of products. The company’s overall financial performance is influenced by many factors, including the performance of other products, operational costs, and market conditions.

Well, it seems like their shares have fallen in recent years, and so have their profits. But okay, I'm just not talking about finances, but about real success (or rather failure), which is really visible and tangible.
 

Quote

Objectively speaking, just with the first movie- G5 appears to be successful based on this report. The film was #1 in the Netflix Kids Top 10 in more than 80 countries on its opening weekend, driving high viewership and audience engagement. It also led to greater than 100% growth in toy and game point of sale in the fourth quarter versus the previous year, and double-digit growth in licensed merchandise revenues for the year.

It is logical that the 2021 film will increase attention to MLP, as well as sales of new toys. But it could not beat the records of the 2017 film (MLP in the cinema), and in general there are many sins. But if we look further, already at the 3D series, we will see only a decline.
 

Quote

Oh I do not believe anything is predetermined in this world either, but the circumstances behind G4 were unique and I do not think they can be replicated. That does not mean that I do not think that a future series cannot reach mainstream popularity or even surpass the previous gens, but it won't be under the same unique circumstances G4 had is what I am trying to say.

I agree that the conditions have changed a long time ago, since the Internet has developed a lot over this decade and it is unlikely that such a cartoon will be able to gain popularity on the Internet through the appearance of a thread on 4chan. But I think that development has happened in this direction, it has become easier to promote any product on the Internet, thanks to the same TikTok or Shorts (yes, you will remember about the toilets now..). And I hope that together with these conditions we can get a generation of ponies that will also take off, this will be great (but here it is also necessary for Hasbro to become interested in this and hire worthy scriptwriters).
 

Quote

Sure fan projects exist, but that's something completely different from the main franchise. I do agree that with hiring the right people that something amazing can be accomplished, but the way Hasbro has been implementing their business strategy in general lately, has led me to believe otherwise. Of course I would happy to see a reemergence for MLP and the fandom down the line. 

I mean that the new generation of ponies, namely the main part, which will "take off" may appear on the Internet and may be made by the fan Brony community. After all, the necessary conditions are now being formed for this in the sense that it has become easier to produce content. And yes, it is desirable that these were Hasbro

[Kantet 180]

Quote

You can shit over G5 as you want, but saying that it's a commercial failure just because you hate it is just being terribly misinformed, I don't know how there are still people who say that MyM was canceled, the show was planned to have that specific length we all saw, TyT itself shows that as they already had episodes taking place after the events of Chapter 6 in 2022, months before the production for MyM was even finished. I in no way like TyT but the show is in fact a success, I highly doubt that we would be even getting a Season 2 if they decided to take a "cancellation" route. The problem is the toy market.

- It's a complete failure, and not only because I personally don't like it, and this is not misinformation. It had a lot of problems from the start. Again, to have such a wide base and fame, and then leak everything... ehh...
- So in your opinion it is logically completed and "took as much time as planned"? So in the last episode the story arc of one antagonist closes, after which the arc of another antagonist immediately opens, while hinting at some other hero who should be somewhere and everything leads to the fact that there should be a sequel, BUT then the show closes. And this is logical for you. Well, I wouldn't want you to become a screenwriter for a series/movie/cartoon someday.
- The problem is not only in the toy market...
 

Quote

No, after the end of MyM and with the current status of TyT, I don't think G5 will revive the fandom, but honestly? I don't think it has to, for me G5 or Tell your Tale's only duty is to be a success among its audience of little kids and nothing more, MLP had its time, that time is now past, they aren't trying to catch the attention of this older fandom anymore, they just want to do the basic now, it's what they have to do, we aren't part of this game, and the franchise will continue that way, after all, look at how many cartoons for little kids are a huge success nowadays, and I don't see any adult or older audience ralking about them, and guess what? Most of them are in Youtube for free, just like TyT, Hasbro is simply following the safe and the path for success. The franchise actually survived throughout almost 3 full decades without a older audience, solely by appealing to its target audience, so I don't think it's going to be any different now, G4 was an anomaly, this is a opinion that I actually already shared back in 2023:
........
i can see that happening very well, and I won't be surprised if it happens, yeah I wish we got something like as impactful as FiM again, I wish we got a more "mature" show that breaks the rules of the series just like FiM did, maybe even making it even TV-Y7, which is something I would love to see, but that is a dream very distant from reality. In the end, I've already accepted it, but I think the Brony fandom can survive without new MLP, maybe not for decades and more decades and more decades, but it's strong enough to at least sustain itself for a few more years, G4 was art, and art is immortal. Those who just dislike G5 and are disappointed with TyT just need to move on, it's not going to change, that is the franchise's fate.

It was a so-called "anomaly" only because the series broke stereotypes. Unfortunately, they are still strong, and from what you wrote, it is clear that you think it is impossible to create an interesting series for all ages at once. It is simply from this logic that attempts are born to cut all corners and make a cartoon "sterile" for children (the plots are simplified, only an externally beautiful wrapper is made without meaning), and then such a cartoon becomes uninteresting even to those same children. Again, reality shows otherwise and I hope that the "return to the roots" (a standard series with an unfinished and stupid plot only for children), which Hasbro did - is not for long and then they will return to making a really good cartoon, family, with a well-developed plot and so on. Well, yes, a sufficient number of cartoons are popular not only with children, I don't know, apparently my experience is different.

Final Word: Bronies are forever. Our fandom will be reborn, it will be popular on the internet again. And we will create (either fans or Hasbro) a generation of ponies that will "blow up the internet"!

Edited July 30 by Kantet