(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Disney reported that its streaming platform, Disney+, lost 1.3 million subscribers all around the world in the final three months of 2023.
According to the Epoch Times, the Walt Disney Company’s streaming platform — which includes brands like Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars — lost about 400,000 subscribers in the United States and Canada alone. Internationally, the streaming platform lost 900,000 subscribers.
The news source also reported that, in total, subscriptions decreased from 112.6 million to 111.3 million at the close of its first fiscal quarter, which ended on Dec. 30, 2023. It was also pointed out by the Securities and Exchange Commission that Disney’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday that is closest to Sept. 30.
The streaming platform partially attributed the losses to the “substantial price increase” it implemented that same quarter. The company raised the price for its ad-free Disney+ Premium plan by $3 on Oct. 12, 2023, bringing the cost of commercial-free watching from $10.99 to $13.99 per month. Disney+ Basic, which includes ads, however, kept its original price of $7.99 per month.
The news source reported that this change represents a more than 27% increase, adding that Disney+’s ad-free plan was originally only $6.99 when the platform launched back in 2019.
To compare Disney+ with other streaming platforms, Netflix’s Standard ad-free plan is $15.49 but has far more subscribers, about 260 million members. Hulu, a streaming platform that is owned by Disney, also introduced a $3 increase on its ad-free plan, raising the price from $14.99 to $17.99. However, despite the price increase, Hulu managed to secure a 1.2 million boost in subscribers.
Despite losing over a million subscribers, the company expects a rebound from its first quarter, adding that it wants to acquire between 5.5 and 6 million additional subscribers by the end of its current quarter, which runs from January to March.
In addition to that, Disney+ representatives also said that the streaming platform will reach profitability by the end of its current fiscal year, even though the company has not been able to turn a profit since its founding.
