Entertainment
Disney Suffers Huge Financial Blow After Losing Millions of Subscribers
Clear Facts:
- Disney faces a streaming crisis as its Q3 report reveals a significant 7.4% fall in Disney+ subscribers. Disney+ Hotstar faced the biggest blow, losing 24% of its viewership, mostly due to their failure to retain the rights to popular cricket matches.
- In a move that may not sit well with already disgruntled users, Disney plans to increase subscription prices and limit password sharing, following in the footsteps of Netflix.
- Despite CEO Bob Iger’s optimism, Disney’s core ventures like its Florida theme park and recent films are also underperforming, raising questions about the company’s direction and leadership.
Disney, the entertainment behemoth long touted as the happiest place on Earth, is facing some grim realities.
Their Q3 fiscal report exposes startling cracks in their once seemingly invincible armor, chiefly in their streaming sector.
The company’s streaming platform, Disney+, recorded 146.1 million subscribers in Q3, showcasing a precipitous 7.4 percent drop from the previous quarter, as per CNBC.
Disney’s streaming operation lost $512 million in the most-recent quarter, the company said, bringing total streaming losses since 2019, when Disney+ was introduced, to more than $11 billion. Disney+ lost roughly 11.7 million subscribers worldwide in the three months that ended July 1, for a new total of 146.1 million. DNYUZ
Adding insult to injury, Disney+ Hotstar lost a whopping 24 percent of its viewership, thanks largely to its inability to maintain rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League cricket matches.
While Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, tried putting a positive spin on this debacle, it’s hard to overlook such significant numbers.
“Moving forward,” Iger claimed, “I believe three businesses will drive the greatest growth and value creation over the next five years… our film studios, our parks business and streaming.”
But if their recent performance is anything to go by, one can’t help but question this rosy outlook.
In an apparent bid to recoup some of these losses, Disney is raising its streaming subscription price to $13.99 per month and is offering a joint Disney+ and Hulu package at $19.99 per month.
But in an era where consumers are increasingly wary of big corporations squeezing every penny, these hikes may not be well-received.
Taking a page out of Netflix’s playbook, Disney also plans to impose restrictions on password sharing.
But will these changes be enough to stem the tide of departing subscribers?
The issues don’t stop at streaming.
While their overseas parks saw decent attendance, Disney World in Florida witnessed a decline.
Additionally, several of their movies, projected to break box office records, fell woefully short. Iger’s solution?
A promise to “focus on improving the quality of the films we’ve got coming up.”
The troubles plaguing the house that Mickey built suggest a need for genuine introspection.
Whether it’s the company’s corporate decisions, their content choices, or simply a cultural shift among their audience, it’s clear that Disney’s golden touch might be waning.
Pamela
August 12, 2023 at 7:14 pm
Hmmmmmm….I think most everyone knows the reason for Disney being on the losing end right now. THEY ALSO KNOW! Oh, Well! When our kids were young, many yrs. ago, we traveled across country to take them there. Prices were much cheaper, (even for the price adjustment for current prices) and they weren’t POLITICAL/WOKE at all! They are dead to us all now! SHAME ON THEM! Pretty STOO-PID of them!
Gerald Scott Ladd
August 14, 2023 at 7:41 am
Perverted Disney down the tubes. A good thing.
Paul Castle
August 15, 2023 at 7:14 am
Absolutely Gerald .
Sorcerer
August 14, 2023 at 11:07 am
This is what happens when you become “Woke”
MikefromTexas
August 14, 2023 at 11:37 am
Oh well, people are still going to the parks and watching hulu and disney+. Maybe more people will wise up.
robert
August 14, 2023 at 6:55 pm
i wish walt disney himself was alive today. all these idiots running his business would be thrown out of this country. a legend fading away forever.
Good Luck
August 14, 2023 at 8:36 pm
When you go Woke you turn to shit and Disney is Woke. I will not be going to Disney . NO children should go to Disney, they are Perverts
Sean Richman
August 15, 2023 at 10:16 pm
They go”woke”,they go broke.These entities try to shove this woke”BULL EXHAUST”down our throats,well baby”it ain’t gonna work”.nuff said !!!!
Gail
August 18, 2023 at 8:57 am
Shame on Disney. At the height of the pandemic, they choose profits over help. Disney+ was there and all of a sudden, any entertainment worth watching you had to pay extra from your internet. The prices to actually go to any of the Disney amusement parks have been outpriced for middle America. Shame on you!!!! I am sure corporate officers got their bonuses.
Eanxdivr
August 27, 2023 at 6:51 am
Go woke, go broke…Disney has been digging its own grave for years. This company has completely lost its way. I have no sympathy. Obviously I am not alone in this sentiment.