UPDATED with subscription vs. subscriber clarification: Walt Disney’s total DTC subscriptions totaled 221.1 million for the company’s fiscal third quarter ended in June. It was a big beat for Disney+ and its parents.
It also surpassed Netflix in total subscriptions. This streamer pointed out today that subscriptions and subscribers are not apples to apples. Netflix recently reported 220.67 million total global subscribers. The main difference is that Netflix has no bundles.
Disney counts SVOD bundle subscribers as one for each included service. (As in, subscribers to the Hulu Live TV + SVOD offerings are counted as one each for Hulu Live TV + SVOD, Disney+ and ESPN+.) “When we add up the total number of paid subscribers to our streaming services DTC, we refer to them as paid subscriptions,” Disney’s earnings release said.
Disney’s numbers include Disney+ (152 million), ESPN+ (22.8 million) and Hulu total, including live TV, at (46.2 million).
Disney will drop some subscribers after losing a bidding war for cricket streaming rights in India, where a large chunk of Disney+ subscribers are based.
So the numbers may change, but the ebb and flow shows how volatile the streaming business is.
Netflix, the established leader, caused a wave of jitters with an unexpected loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 and warned of a potentially steeper loss for the next quarter of up to 2 million. When it came out with a loss of just under 1 million subscribers (about 970,000), it was partly seen as a victory. It was the biggest loss of subs in the company’s history (saved in part by the fourth season of Stranger Things that premiered in May).
The Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos-led giant is also in the process of rolling out an ad-supported streaming tier.
Media stocks rose today along with the broader markets. Disney is up nearly 5% and Netflix is steady in the aftermarket. Disney announced its quarterly numbers just after the market closed.
Sign up for breaking news alerts and keep your inbox happy.
