Today, the Walt Disney Company has released its latest quarterly results for the fiscal second quarter 2023, and that means we get an updated look at how many subscribers Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ have.
This gives us a clear indication of how the apps are doing, especially with growth or decline in subscriber numbers. These subscriber numbers are based up to April 1st 2023.
Disney+ now has 157.8 million subscribers globally, down over 4 million subscribers from 161.8 million subscribers last quarter. All of these losses have come from subscribers leaving Disney+ Hotstar in India, following the loss of the cricket and, most recently, HBO content. In the US and Canada, they lost 300,000 subscribers, likely due to the recent price rise, less content and political issues. However, Disney+ subscribers in other areas, including Latin America, Europe and Asia, increased by 900,000.
While Hulu has added around 200,000 subscribers, ESPN+ has also added 400,000 subscribers in the US.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement:
“We’re pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we’ve been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success. From movies to television, to sports, news, and our theme parks, we continue to deliver for consumers, while establishing a more efficient, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations.”
More importantly, Disney’s streaming businesses have been able to increase its revenue by 12% to $5.5 billion and decrease its operating lost by half a billion dollars, which mainly came from better Disney+ and ESPN+ results, partially offset by lower operating income at Hulu.
The improvement at Disney+ was due to higher subscription revenue and a decrease in marketing costs, partially offset by higher programming and production costs and, to a lesser extent, increased technology costs. Higher subscription revenue was attributable to subscriber growth and increases in retail pricing, partially offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange impact. The increase in programming and production costs was due to more content provided on the service. Improved results at ESPN+ were attributable to growth in subscription revenue due to an increase in retail pricing and subscriber growth.
The decrease in operating income at Hulu was due to higher programming and production costs and lower advertising revenue, partially offset by subscription revenue growth and, to a lesser extent, lower marketing costs. The increase in programming and production costs was attributable to more content provided on the service and an increase in subscriber-based fees for programming the Live TV service, partially offset by a lower average cost mix of SVOD content. Higher subscriber-based fees for programming the Live TV service were due to rate increases and more subscribers. The decrease in advertising revenue resulted from lower impressions, partially offset by higher rates. Subscription revenue growth was due to increases in retail pricing and subscribers.
Disney has also provided a detailed breakdown per region: (Million)
Disney+ – Global – 157.8
Disney+ – Domestic (US & Canada) – 46.3
Disney+ – International excluding Disney+ Hotstar+ – 58.6
Disney+ Core – (excluding Hotstar) – 104.9
Disney+ Hotstar – 52.9
ESPN+ – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 25.3
Hulu – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 48.2
To compare, here are the subscription numbers (Millions) from November’s Investor Call:
Disney+ – Global – 161.8
Disney+ – Domestic (US & Canada) – 46.6
Disney+ – International excluding Disney+ Hotstar+ – 57.7
Disney+ Core – (excluding Hotstar) – 104.3
Disney+ Hotstar – 57.5
ESPN+ – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 24.9
Hulu – Million Subscribers (US Only) – 48.0
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