Walt Disney Co framed past Netflix Inc with 221 million streaming customers and declared it will raise prices for customers who prefer to watch Disney+ or Hulu without commercials. The media giant will raise the monthly expense of Disney+ without advertising by 38% to $10.99 in December 2022 when it begins to offer a new option that includes ads for the current price. So, Disney+ Surpassed Netflix.
Shares of Disney increased 6.9% in after-hours trading to $120.15 on Wednesday. In 2017, it staked its future, creating a streaming service to rival Netflix as audiences moved to online viewing from traditional cable and broadcast television. Five years later, Disney has bounded past Netflix in entire streaming customers. The Mouse House stated 14.4 million Disney+ customers, beating the consensus of 10 million expected by researchers polled by FactSet, as it released the “Star Wars” series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and Marvel’s “Ms. Marvel.”
Combined with Hulu and ESPN+, Disney stated it had 221.1 million streaming subscribers at the end of the June quarter. Netflix informed that it had 220.7 million streaming subscribers. To attract new customers, the company said that Disney will present an ad-supported version beginning on Dec. 8 for $7.99 a month, the exact price it charges for the ad-free version. However, Prices for Hulu will rise by $1 to $2 per month in December, based on the choice.
The company lessened its long-term subscriber forecast for Disney+ customers, claiming the loss of cricket rights in the nation of India. Currently, Disney presents between 215 million and 245 million Disney+ customers by the end of September 2024. That is lower than the 230 million to 260 million that Disney had been forecasting. The adjustment came from lower expectations for India, where the firm is losing streaming rights for Indian Premier League cricket matches.
For the first time, Disney broke out assessments for Disney+ Hotstar customers in India from the rest of Disney+. Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said Disney expected to add up to 80 million Disney+ Hotstar customers by September 2024 and between 135 million and 165 million others. He further said that the company still expects its streaming TV unit to turn a profit in fiscal 2024. In the most recent quarter, the division lost $1.1 billion.
For the fiscal third quarter, Disney shared adjusted earnings per share of $1.09, up 36% from a year earlier, as guests packed its theme parks. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected earnings of 96 cents. Operating earnings doubled at the parks, experiences, and products division to $3.6 billion. Streaming losses drag the media and entertainment unit, whose profit declined by 32% to nearly $1.4 billion. However, overall revenue rose 26% from a year earlier to $21.5 billion, ahead of the analyst consensus of $20.96 billion.
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