Disney’s Streaming Saga: Narrowing Losses Paint a Brighter Picture

Six big questions re: Disney streaming:
1) How much revenue is Disney generating from streaming/direct-to-consumer?
2) How many people subscribe to Disney’s streaming services?
3) What share of Disney+ subscribers are ad-supported?
4) What share of ad-supported streaming subscribers do Hulu and Disney+ account for?
5) What share of total TV time do Disney+ and Hulu account for?
6) How much does Disney spend on content?

Big question #1: How much revenue is Disney generating from streaming/direct-to-consumer?

Disney streaming/DTC revenue (YoY growth):
1) 2022-Q3 – $4.5B
2) 2023-Q3 – $5.0B (↑ 11%)

Disney streaming/DTC profit (YoY growth):
1) 2022-Q3 – ($1.4B)
2) 2023-Q3 – ($400M) (↑ 71%)

Big question #2: How many people subscribe to Disney’s streaming services?

Total Disney streaming subscribers (YoY growth):
1) 2020-Q3 – 120.6M
2) 2021-Q3 – 179.0M (↑ 48%)
3) 2022-Q3 – 235.7M (↑ 32%)
4) 2023-Q3 – 224.7M (↓ 5%)

Disney streaming subscribers by platform (% of total):
1) Disney+ – 150.2M (67%)
2) Hulu – 48.5M (22%)
3) ESPN+ – 26.0M (12%)
4) Total – 224.7M

Disney+ subscribers (YoY growth):

1) 2020-Q3 – 73.7M
2) 2021-Q3 – 118.1M (↑ 60%)
3) 2022-Q3 – 164.2M (↑ 39%)
4) 2023-Q3 – 150.2M (↓ 9%)

Share of Disney+ subscribers outside U.S./Canada:
1) 2021-Q3 – 67%
2) 2022-Q3 – 72%
3) 2023-Q3 – 69%

Big question #3: What share of Disney+ subscribers are ad-supported?
Quick answer: 3% (5.2M)

Big question #4: What share of ad-supported streaming subscribers do Disney+ and Hulu account for?
Quick answer: 40%

Big question #5: What share of total TV time do Disney+ and Hulu account for?
Quick answer: Hulu and Disney+ account for 6% of total TV time and 15% of streaming TV time.

Interesting: According to TVision, Hulu’s household reach in the U.S. is 91% higher than Disney+!

Keep in mind: Disney recently agreed to purchase the remaining ⅓ share of Hulu Comcast owned for $8.6B+.

Big question #6: How much does Disney spend on content?

Estimated U.S. content spend for Disney (YoY growth):
1) 2022 – $30B (↑ 18%)
2) 2023 – $27B (↓ 9%)
3) 2024P – $25B (↓ 8%)

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