Disney has overtaken Netflix. In fact, The Walt Disney Company unveiled more subscriber numbers than Netflix for all three of its streaming services combined:
Disney+ with 152.1 million subscribers, ESPN+ with 22.8 million subscribers and Hulu with 46.2 million subscribers. That is a total of 221.1 million subscribers at the end of June 2022 against 220.67 million subscribers for Netflix. Disney therefore tops Netflix with 430,000 subscribers. But a detailed reading of the official figures allows you to have a finer reading of the distance fight in which the two streaming giants are engaged.
Growth of TheWaltDisney Company SVOD subscribers since 2019 – Source: TWDC
In its home market, Disney+ only gained 100,000 subscribers in the April-June period and 1.6 million since January 1, 2022. Meanwhile, in the second quarter of 2022, Netflix lost 1. 29 million subscribers, bringing its total loss of subscribers over the first six months of the year to 1.93 million in the United States and Canada. On this point, there is no picture: Netflix is in a high churn dynamic in North America while Disney + has a reserve of subscribers. Between the last quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2022, Disney+ gained 19.5 million subscribers in the United States when Netflix gained 5.6 million, more than triple. But in the end, Netflix has 73.3 million subscribers in the United States and Canada when Disney+ claims only 44.5 million at the end of June 2022. Obviously, if we add ESPN+ and Hulu subscribers, the Disney group crushes Netflix in number of subscribers and subscriptions, with a total of 113.5 million subscribers.
Comparison of United States and Canada subscribers of Disney+ and Netflix. Source: companies
On the international market, Disney+ jumped by 6 million subscribers, in particular thanks to the opening of more than 50 new markets during the quarter. In the end, and without counting Hotstar, Disney+ totals 93.6 million subscribers, where Netflix has 220.67. By finally adding Hotstar and its 58.4 million subscribers, we arrive at the figure of 152.1 million subscribers. That is a difference of more than 68 million subscribers in favor of the Los Gatos firm. Here too, the comparison is not easy since Disney + is still in the opening phase. We will probably have to wait until the end of 2023 to compare the two services internationally and see if Disney has managed to catch up by several years.
The leaders of the Burbank-based group have revised their forecasts for Disney+: in September 2024, Disney+ should have between 135 and 165 million subscribers for its main offer and up to 80 million subscribers for its Hotstar offer in Asia. That is a total of between 215 and 245 million subscribers in total against 230 to 260 initially planned.
As of December 8, Disney+ will change its pricing strategy in the United States: first by significantly increasing its reference subscription, which will go from 3 dollars to 10.99 dollars, without advertising. In parallel, a new AVOD offer will be launched at a price of 7.99 dollars. What Kareem Daniel, the boss of Disney +, justifies in the following way: the two-tier pricing system allows Disney to offer “greater choice to consumers at different price points to meet the diverse needs of our viewers and appeal to an even wider audience.” Disney has not yet announced the color for international price increases, but behind the race for the number of subscribers hides the race for profitability, far more strategic for shareholders and for Wall Street: the era billions of dollars spent on the SVOD market is ending.
