In its latest quarterly report, Disney once again published disappointing figures for its Disney+ streaming service. Disney+ has lost subscribers for the second time in a row: In the previous quarter, Disney+ still had 161.8 million subscribers, most recently it was only 157.8 million.
Disney justifies this in his financial presentation most notably with Indian offshoot Disney+ Hotstar, which has lost 4.6 million customers. Disney’s streaming division made a total loss of $659 million. That’s less of a loss than investors were expecting — and a sign the price hikes are having an impact. Disney had total revenue of $21.8 billion and earnings of $1.3 billion in the past quarter, which was partly due to increases in profits at Disney’s amusement parks and hotels. The stock initially fell 2 percent in after-hours trading.
Hulu and Disney+ are merging
An important and long-awaited step is now pending in the USA: the streaming services Hulu and Disney+ are being merged there and bundled into a single streaming app. Furthermore, Hulu and Disney + subscriptions should also be able to be completed separately, said Disney. The streaming service Hulu does not exist in Germany. It is unclear whether and when its content will eventually arrive in German Disney +. Disney owns 66 percent of Hulu and is considering buying the remaining third as well.
Disney CEO Bob Iger also announced further price increases for Disney+. The advertising-free subscription is said to be more expensive again, said Iger, without giving details. It is unclear whether the prices should only be increased in the USA or also in Germany. No further price increases are currently to be expected for subscriptions with advertising, said Iger.
In Germany, Disney+ is not yet ad-free, only the standard subscription is offered here. It costs 9 euros per month and 90 euros as an annual package.
(dahe)
