Disney+ lost over 1.3 million subscribers in the first quarter (October – December 2023, according to the American fiscal year). This primarily resulted from the hefty increase in the platform’s subscription prices last fall. In October 2023, the subscription price for Disney+’s ad-free tier rose to $14/month or $140 annually from $11/month or $110 annually. In addition, the price for the platform’s ad-supported tier increased to $8/month.
Despite losing over a million subscribers, Disney+ managed to reduce its losses by $300 million during the previous quarter. Loki Season 2 (released on October 5, 2023) contributed heavily to this scenario. Apart from being a critical success, the Tom Hiddleston starrer also emerged as a streaming success, luring over 11.2 million views globally within the first three days of its release. In addition, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny turned out to be a streaming success. Over 533K households in the US watched the Harrison Ford starrer within the first three days of its release on the platform.
Disney+’s core subscribers include customers from the US, Canada, and other global regions, except India, due to the presence of Disney+ Hotstar there. In terms of the number of subscribers, Disney+ witnessed a minor reduction, from 112.6 million to 111.3 million, as per Disney’s latest quarterly earnings outcomes.
In addition to last fall’s price hike, Disney+ suffered from a serious lack of content from October 2023 to December 2023. The streaming platform bestowed only a handful of projects to its subscribers during this period. Projects like Loki Season 2, Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and What If…? Season 2 were successful. However, we cannot say the same about the rest.
On the other hand, Disney+ Hotstar gained over 700K subscribers in the last quarter, taking the total number of subscribers from 37.6 million to 38.3 million. This can be seen as a huge sign of relief for Disney+ Hotstar, considering the loss of over 12.5 million subscribers last year due to the platform’s decision to shift away from low-margin viewers and the loss of IPL rights.
Disney+ Hotstar’s recent success in terms of the number of subscribers can be attributed to its growing focus on regional content, which led to the release of Sultan of Delhi, Koffee With Karan Season 8, Aarya Season 3, Apurva, and more in the last quarter. The platform also benefitted from the release of the hit Malayalam crime thriller, Kannur Squad, starring Mammootty. Furthermore, the OTT platform dropped two popular Korean shows to Indian viewers in the last quarter, Vigilante and Soundtrack#2, both of which received highly positive reviews from critics and viewers. Stay tuned for more updates.
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