Disney Plus has unveiled its earnings report for the first fiscal quarter of 2024, painting a promising picture overall. The company revealed that core Disney Plus subscribers dropped by 1.3 million in the current quarter. Total Disney Plus subscribers now stand at 111.3 million subs, from the earlier 112.6 million subs reported in the previous quarter.
On the other hand, Disney Plus Hotstar, the Indian arm of Disney Plus, reported a surge in subscriptions for the period from October to December 2023. The Indian streamer added 700,000 subscribers in Q1 to rise to 38.3 million from the 37.6 million in the previous tally. The rise in Disney Plus Hotstar subscribers is heartening to note, given that the beleaguered entity had lost a massive 12.5 million subscribers last year after losing the lucrative IPL to Jio Cinema.
Total Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar Disney subscribers now stand at 149.6 million, lower than 150.2 million in the last quarter. Meanwhile, Hulu continues to be the shining star in Disney’s streaming business. Hulu subscribers now total 45.1 million, up from the 43.9 million reported at the end of the last quarter.
Disney hopes to gain 6 million subscribers for the period from January to March 2024. It is also sticking to its earlier projection of achieving profitability in its streaming business by the end of the current fiscal year.
Disney Plus also beat Wall Street estimates in earnings, posting a diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $1.04, and $1.22 (with adjustments), as against Wall Street’s estimated 99-cent EPS. Disney Plus was thus able to successfully reduce its losses by $300 million as against last quarter.
When combined with its other platforms Hulu and ESPN, Disney’s consolidated losses from its streaming business dropped to $216 million from $1.05 billion a year ago.
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