On May 16, 2017, ABC announced that it planned to air "The Wonderful World of Disney: The Little Mermaid Live", on October 3, 2017, which would have featured a broadcast of the film with a similar format to the aforementioned Hollywood Bowl concerts. The special aimed to appeal to the recent trend of live made-for-TV productions of Broadway musicals on network television, such as those of NBC. However, on August 3, 2017, it was announced that the special had been dropped due to budget issues.