The Disney group and especially Disney + impressed the market with their performance report for the second quarter of the year. The swing showed that the streaming platform gained 14.4 million new subscribers around the same time that Netflix posted losses and HBO Max writhed to look like it was growing.
In all, Disney + subscriptions hit 152.1 million on July 2, the day that marked the end of the conglomerate’s fiscal quarter.
Most of the earnings came outside of the United States and Canada, where Disney + grew by just 100,000 to 44.5 million. Disney + international subscribers increased by 6 million in the quarter to 49.2 million, while Disney + Hotstar – available in India and Southeast Asia – added another 8.3 million to reach 58.4 million.
But the numbers don’t stop there. When you consider all of its streaming services, such as Warner Bros. Discovery by adding HBO Max and Discovery subscribers, to market only the total, the Walt Disney Company reaches an enviable level. In practice, it has become the largest streaming company in the world, surpassing even Netflix.
This is because the sum of Disney +, Disney + Hotstar, Hulu, Star + and ESPN + now represents a total of 221.1 million subscriptions worldwide, ahead of Netflix, which closed the second quarter of 2022 with 220.7 million.
Hulu is even bigger than Disney + in the US, gaining another 600,000 subscribers in the quarter to reach a total of 46.2 million. ESPN + gained 500,000 new customers to reach 22.8 million. No Star + data has been provided, but its volume is easy to deduce from subscription accounts.
Disney’s rapid advancement is astounding, but there is a downside to this growth. Most of the conglomerate’s subscribers are from India, where Disney + Hotstar has set a very low pricing policy and offers coverage of the popular cricket league. It turns out that the company has lost the rights to the sports competition for the next few months, which could be reflected in a stampede of subscribers: Disney + Hotstar is preparing to lower the prices of the service further, to avoid this.
In contrast to the Indian situation, Disney has announced that it will raise prices for other season tickets around the world. As for Disney +, it will begin in December in the US with the launch of a “cheaper” service, which includes advertising. The new option will cost the same as the current service, and anyone who wants to continue watching ad-free content will need to subscribe to a more expensive Premium plan.
In addition to the growth in streaming, Disney also saw a 70% increase in revenue from its theme parks.
“We had an excellent quarter, with our creative and commercial teams performing outstanding at our home theme parks, large increases in live sports audiences, and significant subscriber growth in our streaming services,” said the CEO of the conglomerate, Bob Chapek, in a statement to the market.
Disney reported revenue of $ 21.5 billion for the quarter ended July 2, up 26% from last year, while net income increased 53% to $ 1.4 billion. All data was above Wall Street forecasts, bringing large appreciation to Walt Disney Company shares this Wednesday (8/10).
Despite the growth of streaming, the sector is the one that records the largest losses for the company. The difference between content investments and subscription revenue was a negative $ 1 billion in the quarter.
In contrast, the ad revenue of major Disney TV channels increased 3% to $ 7.2 billion.
With the arrival of streaming advertising – effective from 2023 – Disney is expected to clear the sector’s debt and start recording investment profits as early as next year, four years after the launch of Disney + and a year earlier than originally anticipated.
CFO Christine McCarthy emphasized the strategy by saying she was “confident that Disney + will reach profitability in 2024”.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
