Disney Streaming Operations Produce First Profits, New Price Hikes Announced
Hulu added 900K subs and core Disney+ operations added 700K in its latest quarter
As part of its newest earnings report, Disney reported first profits from its streaming operations. The company also unveiled widespread price hikes for its streaming services that will see increases for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ taking effect on Oct. 17.
In its earnings report for its Q3 fiscal year ending June 29, 2024 Disney produced small net profit of $47 million for its streaming operations compared to a $512 million loss a year ago in the same quarter. For the first three quarters of the year, streaming operations had $18.642 billion in revenue and a loss of $187 million.
Revenue from streaming operations in the third quarter of its fiscal rose by 15% from a year earlier to $6.379 billion but subscriber growth was relatively small. Hulu added 900K to end the quarter at 51.1 million and core Disney subscribers (excluding its Hotstar operations) increased by 700K to 118.3 million globally.
Improved financials results for Disney’s streaming operations have been helped by price hikes, which the company said are set to continue.
On October 17, the Disney+ ad supported tier will go up 25% to $9.99 while Disney+ without ads will increase by 14% to $15.99. Hulu see the ad-supported tier increase to $9.99 and ad free offering growing to $18.99 while ESPN+ and the bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ is getting a $2 price hike.
The full list of the new pricing is below.
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George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.