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MISCELLANEOUS

Wed 15 Mar 2023 9:25 pm - Jerusalem Time

Disney + continues to climb, attracting 14.4 million new subscribers

San Francisco - (AFP) - The Disney + streaming platform managed to attract 14.4 million new subscribers between March and June, bringing its total number of subscribers to 152 million and reassuring the market that was showing reassurance. She feared that the digital services sector had reached the point of saturation, at a time when the effects of its prosperity resulting from the closure conditions during the pandemic had ended, and in light of the increasing inflation that weighed on consumers.


Total subscribers for Disney's streaming platforms (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for sports) reached 221 million, ahead of industry veteran Netflix, which is declining. In its paid services to 220.67 million at the end of June.


The entertainment giant, whose share price increased by more than 6 percent on the stock exchange during electronic trading after the close, also revealed a new plan under which it provides the possibility to subscribe to “Disney +” services for a cheaper fee, but with ads, according to a statement also published Wednesday.


Overall, Disney's revenue rose 26 percent year-on-year to $21.5 billion in the third quarter of the deferred fiscal year, also exceeding analysts' expectations.
Disney's net profit rose by half in one year, reaching $1.4 billion.
As for the theme parks sector affiliated with “Disney” and its derivative products, it achieved revenues of $ 7.4 billion, an increase of 70 percent over the previous year, due to the resumption of urban activities after the negative impact of the pandemic on daily life decreased in all parts of the world.
Paul Verna of Insider Intelligence noted that "Disney's core businesses, including theme parks and movie theaters, are reviving but still face some hurdles, such as the uncharacteristically tepid response to Lightyear, its latest animated film." From "Pixar".
The results of the "Disney +" spread satisfaction among the financial market.
And the analyst believed that "investors will breathe a sigh of relief," explaining that the platform's numbers "will be considered an indication of the health of the market, especially after the poor results of the platforms + Netflix + and + Comcast +."
And “Disney +”, which was launched in late 2019 and achieved a very rapid rise in the streaming sector, attracts more than 45 percent of the users of this service in the United States, behind “YouTube”, “Netflix”, “Amazon” and “Hulu” subsidiary. The Disney Collection, according to Insider Intelligence figures.
Although the negative repercussions of the pandemic on the urban activities of the entertainment empire were very severe, “Disney +” was able to take off strongly, thanks in part to its huge lineup of films and series, and to its successful franchises.
But the group's huge investments have not yet paid off. During the past quarter, the three live broadcast platforms of the "Disney" group increased their net losses by $ 300 million to reach $ 1.1 billion.
"We remain confident that Disney + will reach profitability in 2024," said CFO Christine McCarthy in a telephone interview with analysts.
However, it lowered its expectations regarding a number of goals, including, for example, its estimate of between 215 and 245 million, the number of subscribers that Disney + will reach in 2024 (including "Hot Star", the Indian version of the platform), which is 15 million less than what was announced. Previously announced.
To achieve this, Disney+ will have to “decide whether to try to expand beyond family content,” said Jamie Lumley, analyst at Thirdbridge.
The head of the American group, Bob Chapek, hopes that new programs will contribute to gaining new subscribers during the current quarter, including a new series from “Marvel” Studios entitled “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”, the “Endor” series belonging to the world of “Star Wars”, And Disney's "Hocus Pocus 2".
During the phone interview, Chapek also announced a documentary series dealing with the popular South Korean K-pop group BTS.


Last quarter's results raised concerns about the growth of major entertainment platforms, from "Netflix" to "Facebook", through video games.


For example, Netvix lost about a million subscribers between March and June, after it had also lost a portion of its subscribers during the first quarter, for the first time in its history.


The veteran platform in the sector and its fierce competition are no longer satisfied with providing new content, but rather have begun to adopt different strategies to grow their subscriber base and enhance their profitability.


In this context, “Disney +” announced on Wednesday a new subscription plan with ads dedicated to the United States, at a price of eight dollars per month, which will be available starting in December. As for the subscription fee without ads, it will rise to 11 dollars, an increase of three dollars over the current allowance. Hulu prices will also go up.


As for “Netflix”, which announced in April its intention to provide a similar subscription formula after years of refusing this solution, it is also in the process of tightening the screws on sharing identifiers and passwords, a practice that allows many to access the content of the platform without paying.

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Disney + continues to climb, attracting 14.4 million new subscribers