Disney+ follows Netflix and won't publish regular subscription numbers anymore
Disney+ considers streaming subscribers to be less significant in business terms. Soon, it will also dispense with quarterly updates on subscription numbers.
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In the future, Disney will no longer provide subscription figures for its streaming services in its quarterly business reports. Until now, the entertainment group has reported the number of members at least once a quarter. However, Disney now explains that subscription figures and the revenue generated per user are becoming less relevant, at least for the financial result. The company is thus following Netflix's example.
Back in April 2024, Netflix announced that it would no longer disclose subscription figures. Since the beginning of this year, the streaming service has no longer reported the number of its subscribers regularly, but only when special milestones are reached. This was due to new sources of revenue, such as advertising in certain subscription tariffs. Due to the different tariffs and various prices, including regional differences, subscription figures are no longer as meaningful as before.
No more subscription figures for Disney+ and Hulu from October
Streaming competitor Disney now apparently sees things similarly. When presenting the results for the last quarter, when Disney benefited from streaming and theme parks, Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston described the subscription figures for the streaming services and the average revenue per user (ARPU) as less important and relevant for the financial result. As a result, these figures will no longer appear in the quarterly reports from the first financial quarter of 2026, which begins in October.
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“Since we began reporting the number of paying subscribers and ARPU, our DTC strategy and business environment have evolved,” reads the end of a joint statement on the business figures [note: DTC = Direct to Customer]. “In light of this evolution, we plan to change our financial information for entertainment and sports. Among the planned changes is that quarterly updates of the number of paying subscribers and ARPU have become less meaningful for assessing business performance.”
Disney's streaming subscriptions continue to grow
“As a result, we will no longer publish these metrics beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for Disney+ and Hulu and beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 for ESPN+,” it continues. “While we will no longer publish subscribers and ARPU, we will provide information on profitability in the direct-to-consumer entertainment business.”
The latest annual report is therefore the penultimate version with the subscription figures for Disney's streaming services, and these have recently continued to rise. At the end of June, Disney+ had 128 million subscribers, which is 1.8 million more than in the previous quarter. Together with Hulu, Disney has 183 million subscriptions. This corresponds to an increase of 2.6 million in the same period, as Hulu was also able to increase its customer base slightly in the spring.
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