Disney’s streaming services hit 236.2 million global subscribers
However, that total does not account for overlap created by the Disney Bundle.
Will the holidays be a joyous season at the House of Mouse? Disney’s fiscal fourth quarter 2024 earnings were revealed on Thursday morning, and as part of the report, the company revealed that it had grown to 174 million Disney+ Core and Hulu customers, plus 35.9 million Disney+ HotStar subscribers in India. While those totals do not account for overlap created by the Disney Bundle, that means globally, Disney has 210.6 million Disney+ and Hulu subscribers.
Disney+ leads the way, now numbering 158.6 million customers worldwide. That’s a jump of 4.8 million from last quarter, when the streamer shared that it had 153.8 million global viewers. Its U.S. and Canadian total is 56M; in India, Hotstar has 35.9M; with the remaining 138.5 internationally.
In Hulu’s fourth fiscal quarter, the streamer added 900,000 customers, bringing its new total to 52 million. In Q3, Hulu added nearly 1 million customers from its previous total, arriving at 51.1 million viewers by the end of June. That total includes the 4.6 million customers on the live TV service Hulu + Live TV, which gained 200,000 new subscribers in Q4.
The last time we checked in with ESPN+, the streamer had 24.8 million subscribers. It now numbers 25.6 million.
From a revenue standpoint, each Disney streamer had an encouraging/discouraging quarter. Average revenue per user (ARPU) on Disney+ in the United States and Canada was $7.70 during the quarter, a slight decrease from $7.74 last quarter. However, outside of India, ARPU rose from $7.22 to $7.30. Hotstar declined from $1.05 to $0.78.
The ARPU for Hulu’s on-demand service during the quarter slipped from $12.73 to $12.54, and the live TV streaming side of the streamer was at $95.82, down $0.30 from the previous quarter. The same metric for ESPN+ dropped $0.29 to $5.94.
It was a busy quarter for Disney’s streaming services, as they each began officially enforcing rules against password-sharing. The company has announced terms for its paid sharing plans, and informing viewers who tried to access the account of another subscriber that they would have to sign up for their own subscription.
Disney also raised prices on almost all streaming plans and bundles in October, an attempt to bring it closer to the goal of profitability it has been striving so hard for ever since CEO Bob Iger returned to the company in late 2022.
Disney+ has also diversified its offerings, introducing continuous streams of content based around particular themes. These live channels are currently only available for ad-free Disney+ customers, but they allow viewers to lean back and watch an unending list of titles without having to choose the next episode.
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Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”
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Hulu
Hulu is a video streaming service that gives access to thousands of full seasons of exclusive series, hit movies, kids shows, and Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Handmaid's Tale.”
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ESPN+
ESPN+ is a live TV streaming service that gives access to thousands of live sporting events including NFL, MLB, NHL, UFC, College Football, F1, Bundesliga, PGA Tour, La Liga, and more. Users can see sports documentaries and select archived events. Subscribers can access exclusive articles from top ESPN insiders.
