Disney Bundle Accounts for 40% of Company’s U.S. Streaming Subscribers as It Refocuses on Unified Services

For the second quarter in a row, Disney has become the ruler of the streaming mountain. While Netflix’s worldwide subscriber count of 223 million is the most of any single streamer in the world, when you account for all three of Disney’s services — Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ — the House of Mouse can now boast 235.7 million global customers as of the end of September.

The largest of those three streamers is the company’s flagship platform Disney+ at 164.2 million, with Hulu’s quarterly number coming in at 47.2M customers and ESPN+’s was reportedly at 24.3M. Since the introduction of Disney+ three years ago, there has always been overlapping between individual platform subscriber bases — especially between the general entertainment services Disney+ and Hulu — but the recent focus on promoting the Disney Bundle has allowed the company to amass an incredible total of streaming subscribers that has surged past Netflix’s number.

“Our bundled and multiproduct offerings now account for over 40% of our fiscal year-end domestic Disney+ subscriber count,” Disney senior EVP and CFO Christine Mary McCarthy said on the company’s earnings call on Tuesday. “This shift has been purposeful as the bundle drives higher total company subscription revenue and higher long-term subscriber value due to notably lower churn.”

The Disney Bundle is only available to domestic subscribers, so the 40% that McCarthy references is specifically focused on United States customers.

Much of the company’s recent advertising messaging has been centered around the Bundle, which allows customers to subscribe to two or three of the Disney streaming services at a discounted rate. This has become especially important for Disney following a fall in which all three services have introduced — or will be introducing — price increases. ESPN+ raised its rates by 43% in August and Hulu introduced $1 and $2 monthly hikes for their ad-supported and ad-free services respectively.

Beginning on Dec. 8, Disney+ will introduce its first-ever ad-supported subscription option and along with it will come a price increase for the ad-free tier from $7.99 to $10.99 per month.

In turn, the cost of the Disney Bundle for all three services will range from $9.99 to $19.99 per month depending on the streamers included and whether you opt for ad-free or not. Currently, there is no annual plan for any version of the Disney Bundle.

By pushing the Bundle option, Disney is banking on the allure of value proposition offered to consumers to bring even more people into the fold. If a customer were to sign up for each of Disney’s three streaming services and opt for ad-free on Disney+ and Hulu (because of the live broadcasting nature of ESPN+, there is no ad-free option), it would cost them $35.97. The Bundle affords them a 55.6% savings, so even if a customer might only normally be inclined to sign up for a single service, the opportunity to get a substantial deal can be attractive for consumers.

The ability to draw even more subscribers into the Disney streaming ecosystem is also incredibly important for the company as it begins to work towards streaming profitability. During Tuesday’s earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that the company believes that it is on the verge of turning the corner on direct-to-consumer (DTC) costs. The company spent billions to get Disney+ off the ground, but executives believe that the largest start-up expenditures are now behind them.

“Disney+ is well situated to leverage our position for long-term profitability and success,” Chapek said. “Our financial results this quarter represent a turning point as we reached peak DTC operating losses, which we expect to decline going forward.”

By incentivizing consumers to subscribe to multiple Disney streaming services, the company is not only increasing its subscriber count and per-user revenue, but it is also giving them more reasons and opportunities to engage with the products, making it much more likely that they will stick with the platforms long term. As economic conditions are expected to become even more challenging worldwide in the coming months, by giving consumers a product that they have grown to rely on for what is perceived to be a deal, Disney is doing everything it can to maximize revenue and minimize churn.