DISNEY+ REACHES 73 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

The Walt Disney Company reported that Disney+ hit its 73 million paid subscriber goal mark during the last quarter. While the company's streaming service is growing, its theme park revenue refleted a 61% decrease during the quarter as a result of the pandemic. “Even with the disruption caused by COVID-19, we’ve been able to effectively manage our businesses while also taking bold, deliberate steps to position our company for greater long-term growth,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement.

The company's previous earnings report reflected 60.5 million subscribers for the streaming service as of 4th August, marking a significant leap. Disney's market competitor, Hulu now has 36.6 million total paying subscribers, a 35.5 million increase in late June, while ESPN Plus has grown to 10.3 million subscribers, an increase from its 8.5 million reported last quarter.

Most of the negative impacts brought upon by the pandemic was experienced within Disney's theme park division. Revenue decreased by 61% to USD 2.6 billion during last quarter. Disneyland Resort and the company’s cruise line business remained closed. The conglomerate's loss estimate in terms of the division’s operating income was USD 2.4 billion.

Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international segment revenue grew 41% to USD 4.9 billion during the quarter, while segment operating loss declined from USD 751 million to USD 580 million driven by Hulu and ESPN+. The company reported a revenue of USD 14.7 billion, a drop from its USD 19 billion last year, with a loss per share of 39 cents. Analysts projected Disney revenue to come in at USD 14.2 billion, with a loss of 70 cents per share. The company’s total net loss was USD 710 million.

Since early March, on average 44 percent of Gen Zers said they use Disney+ at least once a week, as did 42 percent of millennials. Chapek assured another update on Disney Plus on the company’s investor day on 10th December. “Disney+ has been a really strong success for Disney, so much so that Disney has really refocused significant parts of its business to really bolster that and to make it even more successful in the future,” said Brett Sappington, Vice President at global market research company, Interpret.