Disney's Streaming Services Now Have More Subscriptions Than Netflix (indiewire.com) 54
"Netflix now has a million fewer subscriptions than rival Disney..." reports the Independent. "But it does not necessarily mean that Netflix has fewer subscribers. If a person is subscribed to two of Disney's offerings, that will count as two subscriptions, and the company does not divulge how many individuals are signed up to its services." (Digital Trends notes that "Following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney also controls Hulu," as well as the streaming sports site ESPN+.)
If you just want a straight Netflix-to-Disney+ comparison, the Independent reports Netflix with 220.67 million total subscribers, while IndieWire reported that at the end of June, Disney+ had 152.1 million subscribers. (Disney's chief executive says between March and June, Disney+ added 14.4 million subscribers, according to the Independent.)
IndieWire goes on to say that ESPN+ reported 22.8 million subcribers earlier this year, while Hulu had reported 46.2 million subscribers, so, "combined the subscriptions for the individual services making up the Disney Bundle just surpassed Netflix's overall paid global subscriber count." Here, we'll point out that Hulu is still the only one of the Bundle that makes money. However, its operating income declined in Q3, while losses at both Disney+ and ESPN+ increased.
Disney+ is expected to reach profitability in 2024, executives said Wednesday on Disney's Q3 conference call.
If you just want a straight Netflix-to-Disney+ comparison, the Independent reports Netflix with 220.67 million total subscribers, while IndieWire reported that at the end of June, Disney+ had 152.1 million subscribers. (Disney's chief executive says between March and June, Disney+ added 14.4 million subscribers, according to the Independent.)
IndieWire goes on to say that ESPN+ reported 22.8 million subcribers earlier this year, while Hulu had reported 46.2 million subscribers, so, "combined the subscriptions for the individual services making up the Disney Bundle just surpassed Netflix's overall paid global subscriber count." Here, we'll point out that Hulu is still the only one of the Bundle that makes money. However, its operating income declined in Q3, while losses at both Disney+ and ESPN+ increased.
Disney+ is expected to reach profitability in 2024, executives said Wednesday on Disney's Q3 conference call.
Re: As well... (Score:1)
YouTube (Score:1)
Re: YouTube (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Not correct. YouTube subscriptions [youtube.com] are for removing ads from videos and some added perks such as the YouTube media app being able to run in the background.
I hope Disney buys Crunchyroll (Score:2)
Re:I hope Disney buys Crunchyroll (Score:5, Informative)
Unlikely, given that Sony owns Crunchyroll and is currently in the process of rebranding everything related to Funimation as Crunchyroll after they decided to consolidate all of their Western anime brands under the Crunchyroll name.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, I hope that Disney (particularly Walt) burns in hell, but it ain't going to happen.
How many of those are PAID subscriptions? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd imagine that many Disney+ members are getting their service for "free" as part of a cell phone plan bundle. I know that I am, anyway.
So, congratulations Disney, you "beat" Netflix by giving your product away. Congratulations, I guess?
Re: (Score:3)
I made exactly the same point yesterday elsewhere. Millions of those subs are "pretend" (read free) as you say or from people being offered 1 year subs for a couple of $/£/€ a month.
If they were only offering full price paid for subs and none of the free subs you get with almost every single TV or Phone you buy I bet the "real" numbers would be WAY less than half that.
Then again I'm guessing why they're actually losing huge amounts of money on their streaming compared to Netflix who are still ver
Re: (Score:3)
Even giving away subs they shouldn't be losing money, it can't cost that much to distribute the content. The only way they could be losing is if they were spending enormous amounts of money on advertising or buying /developing new content with the sole intention of only ever being on Disney+.
But even that isn't true, because shows supposedly developed specifically for Disney+ (like the Zombie high school movies) are available on regular Disney, and Hulu, and FubuTv and other places.
So if you classify all y
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
And what I am saying is that the NEW CONTENT is being distributed to other products like Disney TV, Hulu, Fubu, etc. Yes, it costs money to develop a new show.
So tell me, If you develop a new season of Mickey's Fun House (when every previous season was developed for Disney's TV channel) and release it on Disney+ the week before you release it on the Disney Channel is it really only a Disney+ only cost?
Re: (Score:2)
On the contrary, the younger the viewer the less they "expect" new content, since they've never seen it before. Especially for the very young viewer, and especially for 2-D animation, which doesn't showcase dated fashions and fads as much as live actors do.
Re: (Score:2)
Speaking of "free" subscriptions, I'm surprised Netflix and Disney are both ahead of Amazon. While I don't know anyone who subscribes to Prime for the streaming, a lot subscribe for the "free" shipping and get the streaming for "free". Then there's Apple+ which is "free" when you buy and Apple product.
Re: (Score:2)
Speaking of "free" subscriptions, I'm surprised Netflix and Disney are both ahead of Amazon. While I don't know anyone who subscribes to Prime for the streaming, a lot subscribe for the "free" shipping and get the streaming for "free". Then there's Apple+ which is "free" when you buy and Apple product.
Free for three months. Then you have to pay for it. Apple sells 240 million iOS devices each year. (I'm ignoring Mac sales, because they're lost in the noise.) So you'd expect just 60 million free subscribers (a quarter of that number) at any given time. The general consensus is that they probably have about 25 million subscribers who actually pay for it. The total, then, would be about 85 million, or just over a third of Netflix even if you take into account their 3-months-free subscribers, or a tent
Re: (Score:2)
But while the customer might get it for "free," I'm sure Disney gets some money.
Re: (Score:2)
We can also expect it to be at a significant discount to the retail rate, because the first hit is always free.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd imagine that many Disney+ members are getting their service for "free" as part of a cell phone plan bundle. I know that I am, anyway. So, congratulations Disney, you "beat" Netflix by giving your product away. Congratulations, I guess?
I'm not sure why you'd extrapolate your experience to 150million other people, especially when your experience is actually an illegal practice in many of the countries in which Disney+ operates.
Just to show you how silly your post is: You're wrong. You're not getting it for free, you're paying 8.99EUR per month for it. Why? Because I am, and therefore the entire world is like me including you. Nonsense isn't it.
Stop drawing large scale conclusions from your sample size of 1.
Re: How many of those are PAID subscriptions? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
that many Disney+ members are getting their service for "free" as part of a cell phone plan bundle.
T-Mobile offers a free basic service for Netflix (at least for seniors). I think they also offer Paramount+ free for a year. Apple products come with 3 months (formerly 1 year) free service on Apple Tv+. Streaming services are all playing that game.
Re: (Score:2)
I've been turning the things off (Score:2, Interesting)
Netflix was "useful" at the time when it was one of very few streaming services. As they all came online we found a reason to subscribe to one after another and then one day looked up and we were paying more than we had for cable while watching almost none of it. Now we're back down to three of them. Netflix, Disney+, and Paramount. Not even sure we need those. At my house the TV is for local news, baseball games, and Youtube videos when I need to know how to do something I'm unfamiliar with. That's about i
Re: (Score:2)
That means disney is becoming the gatekeeper of everybody's content. Conflict of interest much?
If netflix looks like dying off, it's time for RICO proceedings.
Disney own Capitol Hill; they'll never be investigated for anything ever.
Re: (Score:2)
The only reason I would even consider getting Disney+ would be if I still had young kids in the house, and then I would only do it under protest.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Yes, and there should have been competitors to Netflix. Unfortunately, what we have now is Cable TV bundling, but over the Internet.
Re: (Score:2)
We just got older and changed. There's more to do than sit in front of the TV and eventually even my wife and I figured that out. Owning a home had something to do with it. There always seems to be something that needs to be done and when we have time off we tend to want to go somewhere else instead of staying home. Another thing that kind of slipped YouTube into first place for viewing is that it's like hobby fertilizer. If you are interested in anything there are videos out there to get you started. Those
We are loosing money, so we have to raise prices.. (Score:5, Informative)
Disney a week ago:
"Direct-to-Consumer revenues for the quarter increased 19% to $5.1 billion and operating loss increased $0.8 billion to $1.1 billion. The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+, lower operating income at Hulu and, to a lesser extent, a higher loss at ESPN+."
So Disney is selling its product at a loss to gain subscriptions. Sounds like they are trying to kill off competitors. Isn't this like Chinese steel being sold in the US at a loss to close US steel makers down? The virtual version anyway.
Re: (Score:2)
It's time to start the squeeze.
Of course they have more subscribers - they charge less. It's easier to keep people subscribed with rising prices than to get them to initially subscribe at the same higher price.
Consolidate to who has content (Score:4, Interesting)
Netflix was great when they carried everyone's content. Then everyone started their own streaming services and pulled their content from Netflix. Then Netflix focused on their own content, in the mean time the competitors started consolidating.
Now when I look at Disney+'s library including the wider offerings for Star, and Fox, etc, and add to that that Disney+ is cheaper* (which is to say it's a euro more expensive than Netflix Basic option, but then also offers the same feature as Netflix Premium package (4K + Atmos, multi users, multi simultaneous streams, etc) which is now almost double the price of Disney+.)
Re: (Score:3)
Then Netflix focused on their own content
And that resulted in gems like Death Note movie, Cowboy Bebop live-action, and whatever is happening with Resident Evil now (getting 3.9 stars on IMDB is actually not as easy as it seems).
Re: (Score:2)
Netflix did good with The Umbrella Academy. Stranger Things, and Black Mirror. I also liked The Altered Carbon, Shadow and Bone, Way of the Househusband, and BoJack Horseman. But they weren't quite as well received by the public, perhaps too niche.
What Netflix need to stop doing is sophomoric edge-lord animation, hideous CGI reboots of anime/manga series, empty nostalgic garbage (Fuller House, Richie Rich, ), and anything with washed up 90's SNL cast members (Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, etc).
Re: (Score:2)
Netflix does have some good shows too. One of their big problem is that it seems they spend all their money on big name actors and then throw whatever crumbs are left to some homeless person on the street to write the incoherent clusterfucks of a show they often produce.
When the three year deal is up in November... (Score:1)
Also in the numbers...this is total subscribers to all of Disney's services: ESPN, Hulu, and Disney+.
Targeting children is profitable (Score:5, Interesting)
This is the McDonald's strategy. Children usually decide where the family goes out to eat. This is why the restaurants seem like you are in a pre-school cafeteria. The advertisements, and food, are also made to appeal to children.
Same with entertainment. Adults will watch material suitable to children. So the streaming service is determined by the children.
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps, but Netflix frankly isn't that 'great' for adults either, they've lost access to most of their interesting third-party content and their first-party content hasn't exactly been consistently compelling.
Disney has both a massive back catalog and a massive amount of IP to draw from (Their original stuff, Fox, Marvel, ABC, Pixar, Lucasflm...). Netflix is basically having to start from scratch and compete against a century of content that Disney has access to.
If a childless adult has to choose just on
Re: (Score:3)
If a childless adult has to choose just one between Netflix and Disney+, Disney+ is still an easy win>
Quite the opposite for this childless adult. Disney productions are generally pretty mediocre and forgettable, I can count on one hand the number of Disney productions from the last two decades that I would ever watch a second time. Furthermore, while all of Hollywood has had for the last decade or so a major problem with creating any form of original for the big screen content Disney seems to be the worst for this.
Given their crappy track record I strongly resent the fact that they own the rights to a numb
YAR! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
I like the PirateBay. I could do without the force fed porn on every page and the constant offers for free flash players but that is just them trying to be efficient.
Porn and virus-riddled media players makes PB efficient at what exactly? Building botnets?
You've already been out to sea a bit too long. Scurvy has fried your logic circuits.
Re: (Score:2)
I like the PirateBay. I could do without the force fed porn on every page and the constant offers for free flash players but that is just them trying to be efficient.
Porn and virus-riddled media players makes PB efficient at what exactly? Building botnets?
You've already been out to sea a bit too long. Scurvy has fried your logic circuits.
There are dozens (hundreds, probably) of torrent trackers on the internet. However, many of them are extremely exclusive, and have a very small staff that cannot withstand any scrutiny from law enforcement. The term "torrent trackers" is a bit too generic, while naming any particular torrent tracker in a public forum like Slashdot makes it more likely that there will be unwanted attention placed on that tracker. The Pirate Bay has managed to withstand most attempts at taking it down by law enforcement, and
triple count subscriber swings (Score:2)
I have the Disney+, Hulu, ESPN bundle because it was very cheap. I have never tuned to any ESPN stream. So I count as 3 subscribers, and I bet this is the case for 90% of their customers.
I got Disney+ because of The Mandelorian and Bad Batch (and Rebels). Quite displeased with their latest live actions (Obi-Wan and Bobba) and thinking of cancelling.
I bet that is also truefor 90% of their customers.
I got Netflix just to watch Cowboy Beebop, which I'm not done with. But they cancelled that, and I don't know o
Re: (Score:2)
Oh I forgot to say because it was so obvious in my mind:
I wanted Hulu just to watch The Orville.
The Orville !!!!
Disney Dick Measuring (Score:2)
Sure, Netflix N' Chill won't mind, but bringing the wholesome family channel down to dick measuring contests bragging about how many customers each of them has fucked?
The Mouse might get a little offended.
Funny thing (Score:3)
They just released this, based on numbers that were calculated right before increasing their prices.
I just cancelled Disney+ because of that, but kept Netflix. Once I had watched all the things that were new to me, I had no reason to keep it. I'll get it once again in about a year, for a single month, once all episodes of the seasons are available to watch for the shows I follow.
Screwy Numbers (Score:2)
Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/datai... [reddit.com]
The Graph: https://i.redd.it/txws04auguh9... [i.redd.it]
Basically "ALL Disney services" added together are more than netflix. That means, Disney+ + Hulu + ESPN+ added together are more than the single service netflix.
Additional issue - it is likely that people are being counted multiple times if they have more than one of those services. If someone is getting a bundle and they get espn+, disney+,
Well... (Score:2)
I don't subscribe to any of the Disney services other than Hulu, if that even counts as a "Disney service". There's nothing of interest to me on Disney+ (not a fan of superhero movies, and we don't have any children at home), and I don't have the time or interest to watch sports, so ESPN is a don't care. Hulu, Netflix, and Prime seem to be enough. Personally, I've enjoyed a lot of Netflix original programming (Stranger Things, Ozark, The Irishman, Peaky Blinders, Lincoln Lawyer, Bosch, to name a few).
Despit