New financial reports say Disney tops Netflix with their subscriber base across all of their platforms, while planning to implement a fee hike with ad options.
Netflix has posted a dwindling subscriber count since many of the regulations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted, yet it seems these two items aren’t mutually exclusive. Disney has posted their largest subscriber count to date with 221 million over all of their platforms, which beats out the once top dog that started as a shipping movie service. It is notable to mention that while Netflix is one entity with 220.67 million subscribers, Disney ropes in their top line number with Disney+, Hulu, & ESPN+ as factors in their massive subscriber base.
This positive Q2 report could be due to the strong support the Disney+ side of things is receiving, with the new Star Wars Andor series announcement, Moon Knight having just been released, a confirmation on a new Daredevil focused series — which used to be a Netflix exclusive — and many more first party offerings of the Star Wars and Marvel variety.
Netflix recently released Stranger Things Season 4, which helped stifle the bleeding, only netting a loss of 970,000 subscribers as opposed to the 2 million that was projected before Q2 reports were made public. While a 1 million subscriber gain is also projected in the same report for Q3, it remains to be seen if this will happen.
Disney+ Fee Increase & Ad-Supported Option
On top of all the earning reports, the company announced that their premier streaming subscription is not only getting a fee hike, but will also receive an ad-riddled option as well. This comes directly from the Mouse House itself, in a report that outlines the plans en route to the service. Chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Kareen Daniel said “With our new ad-supported Disney+ offering and an expanded lineup of plans across our entire streaming portfolio, we will be providing greater consumer choice at a variety of price points to cater to the diverse needs of our viewers and appeal to an even broader audience.”
August 23 Plans
Disney Bundle Plans Effective October 10
Hulu Live TV Plans for October 10
It’s worth mentioning the plans for October 10th are listed as for “existing subscribers only,” so we will have to wait and see the overall difference for newcomers.
