Streaming has become a big part of Disney’s business but also a big point of contention when it comes to Disney’s finances.

©Disney

Back in November of 2022, we got an updated look at the Disney+ subscriber numbers but we also learned that Disney’s streaming business as a whole had a loss of nearly $1.5 BILLION. This tremendous loss, among other things, ultimately contributed to the ouster of Bob Chapek as CEO. Since that November report, Bob Iger has returned as CEO and Disney has officially launched its ad-supported Disney+ tier. So what is going on with Disney’s streaming business now? We found out.

On February 8th, Disney released its quarterly earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 (Q1 of FY 2023). In it, we learned that the total number of Disney+ subscribers is now 161.8 million.

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As of October 1st, 2022, that number was 164.2 million (that included Disney+ Hotstar and international subscriptions). So in the past few months, the number has actually DECLINED. This is the first time we’ve seen this happen in Disney+ history.

©Disney

So what happened? When you look at the breakdown, domestic Disney+ subscribers (in the U.S. and Canada) increased from 46.4 million to 46.6 million, and international subscribers (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) increased as well. With Disney+ alone, the subscriber count went from 102.9 million to 104.3 million. Not a huge increase, but an increase nonetheless.

©Disney

The main problem area is with Disney+ Hotstar (only available in international markets). The service lost 6% of its subscribers in the past quarter, dropping from 61.3 million to 57.5 million total. So technically, no losses from Disney+ directly in the domestic markets, even though the overall number has decreased. As far as ESPN+ and Hulu go, both of those services are up in subscriber count as well, with 24.9 million and 48 million, respectively. 

©Hulu

We got some interesting quotes from the earnings call as well. Bob Iger noted that they “can’t get growth without growing subscribers, but we’re looking to grow quality subscribers that are loyal.” Iger also noted that they’re looking to “lean more into our core franchises and our brands” and “rebalance marketing of the platform versus marketing of the programs.” It looks like we’ve got some changes on the horizon!

And that’s a current look at Disney+ and the financial situation with Disney’s streaming business. We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more news and let you know what we find.

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What do you think about these streaming numbers? Tell us in the comments.