The Walt Disney Company edged past Netflix, Inc. with an aggregate of 221.1 million streaming subscribers at the closing of the recent quarter and stated it will raise prices for consumers who choose to watch Disney+ or Hulu without commercials.
Disney+ with ads will cost USD 7.99 per month, the same price the company now charges for the ad-free version, Disney said in a statement on Thursday. The cost of Disney+ without advertisements will increase by USD 3 per month to USD 10.99. The new pricing for the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming services would be introduced from December 08, 2022.
Prices for Hulu, also owned by the Disney Company, will increase by USD 1 to USD 2 per month subject to the standalone plans. Shares of Disney soared 6.85% in after-hours trading to USD 120.13 on Thursday.
In the year 2017 Disney ventured its potential on building a streaming package to competitor Netflix as audiences shifted to online viewing from traditional cable and broadcast television.
In the now-ended quarter, the Walt Disney Company added 14.4 million Disney+ consumers, breaking the consensus of 10 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet, as it released Star Wars series – Obi-Wan Kenobi and Marvel’s – Ms. Marvel.
Collective with Hulu and ESPN+, Disney stated it had 221.1 million streaming subscribers at the end of the June quarter. Netflix stated it had 220.7 million streaming subscribers.
Disney announced adjusted earnings-per-share of USD 1.09, higher 36 percent from a year earlier, as visitors packed its theme parks. Operating income more than doubled at the parks, experiences, and products division to USD 3.6 billion. Disney’s streaming effort is still losing money, reporting a loss of USD 1.1 billion for the quarter. That laid a drag on the media and entertainment unit, whose profit deteriorated by 32percent to almost USD 1.4 billion.
Overall revenue soared 26 percent from a year earlier to USD 21.5 billion. A consensus of analysts polled by Refinitiv had projected revenue of USD 20.96 billion.
Disney Plus continues adding subscribers in comparison to Netflix
The Walt Disney Company unveiled its highly awaited streaming service in November 2019. Less than two years later, Disney+ reached a significant milestone by accumulating 100 million subscribers globally – which is even more impressive considering that the company had initially set an objective of 60 to 90 million users by 2024. By comparison, it took SVOD market leader Netflix a decade to achieve the 100-million-mark despite having navigated a much less competitive market then. And while Disney+ has expanded its user base consistently, Netflix had reported an unforeseen subscriber loss in early 2022.
Popular content on Disney Plus
What makes Disney+ so appealing to viewers is not only its repertoire of animated classics but also the enormous variety of content from Disney’s assorted holdings. The House of Mouse has acquired Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Pixar, and Marvel Entertainment over the past few years, establishing it up for accomplishment with viewers of all ages. In 2021, for instance, The Mandalorian and WandaVision, offered exclusively on Disney+, were amongst the five most popular original streaming series in the United States and the United Kingdom alike.