Disney+ Reaches 164.2 Million Subscribers and Expects to ‘Achieve Profitability in Fiscal 2024’
The Walt Disney Company has revealed that Disney+ has reached 164.2 million subscribers and that it expects streaming losses will “narrow going forward” as it plans to “achieve profitability in fiscal 2024.”
The news was shared as part of The Walt Disney Company’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2022, and it also confirmed that Disney+ added 12.1 million subscribers during this fourth quarter. Analysts had expected Disney+ subscriptions to reach 160.45 million, so it is currently ahead of projections.
Overall, Disney confirmed that it added 57 million subscriptions across all its services this year, and the total number of subscribers for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ has surpassed 235 million. As of October 1, 2022, ESPN+ has 24.3 million subscribers and Hulu has 47.2 million.
“2022 was a strong year for Disney, with some of our best storytelling yet, record results at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment, and outstanding subscriber growth at our direct-to-consumer services, which added nearly 57 million subscriptions this year for a total of more than 235 million,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “Our fourth quarter saw strong subscription growth with the addition of 14.6 million total subscriptions, including 12.1 million Disney+ subscribers.
“The rapid growth of Disney+ in just three years since launch is a direct result of our strategic decision to invest heavily in creating incredible content and rolling out the service internationally, and we expect our DTC operating losses to narrow going forward and that Disney+ will still achieve profitability in fiscal 2024, assuming we do not see a meaningful shift in the economic climate.
“By realigning our costs and realizing the benefits of price increases and our Disney+ ad-supported tier coming December 8, we believe we will be on the path to achieve a profitable streaming business that will drive continued growth and generate shareholder value long into the future. And as we embark on Disney’s second century in 2023, I am filled with optimism that this iconic company’s best days still lie ahead.”
As reported by THR, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said losses “should fall by about $200 million in fiscal Q1.” It should continue to improve in Q2 as the ad tier and price increase kick into the equation.
Direct-to-consumer revenues reached $4.9 billion in Q4, which is up 8% year-over-year, and Linear Networks’ revenue was down 5% to $6.3 billion.
Elsewhere in the world of Disney, the Parks, Experiences, and Products division had its best year ever with $7.4 billion in revenue for Q4 and $28.7 billion for fiscal year 2022. This is due to higher guest spending and volumes and contributions from Disney Cruises.
Overall, Disney revenue was $20.1 billion in Q4, which is lower than what was expected by Wall Street.
For more on Disney+, check out our review from September 2022 of Disney+ and the latest review of Andor.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
