DISNEY +, PLUS COMMERCIALS
The price of the subscription today is 8 dollars a month. Starting from December 8th, it will be 11 dollars – 3 dollars more – for those who don’t want to see ads while enjoying the streaming.
The Burbank-based company added 14.4 million subscribers during its third fiscal quarter, bringing its global total to 152.1 million. It forecasts between 230 million and 260 million subscribers in 2024 when the company is expected to become profitable. At the moment, it is losing money, and it will continue that way for another year, therefore the decision to add commercials.
Disney said its direct-to-consumer segment, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, lost $1 billion during the second quarter, compared with a much sustainable loss of about $300 million during the same period a year ago. The willingness to lose some money now in perspective to gain later is a bet on the firm’s future made by Chief Executive Bob Chapek, but some analysts are skeptical. Is the market strong enough to make streaming companies capable of sustaining the nowadays loss while waiting for a hypothetical future gain? Will subscriptions grow indefinitely? Netflix’s recent struggles suggested the contrary. Netflix -which will also add commercials to its service – lost 970,000 subscribers in its most recent quarter, marking a consecutive quarterly decline.
Disney’s strategy changed over time. It started in December 2019 as a boutique streaming service featuring mostly family-friendly shows and movies from Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Disney Channel, and National Geographic. Its catalog expanded with shows such as “black-ish,” the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars,” and the R-rated superhero movies “Logan” and “Deadpool.”
When the streaming service started, the subscription tag was 6,99 dollars a month, a very competitive price compared to Netflix and other streaming services. Now that it offers more, it is comfortable charging more: “Since that initial launch, we’ve continued to invest handsomely in our content,” Chapek said. “We believe we’ve got plenty of price/value room left to go.”
Disney is also raising prices for Hulu. The more adult-oriented streaming service will cost $1 more for the ad-supported version in October ($8, up from $7), while ad-free Hulu’s rate will rise $2 a month, from 13 to 15 dollars. Hulu has 42.2 million subscribers, up from 41.4 million three months prior, not counting its version that includes live TV channels. It has been the launching pad for Disney’s not-so-Disney material, including movies from 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures (formerly 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight).
Hulu got several Emmy nominations for its shows “The Dropout,” “Dopesick,” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
ESPN+, the sports content service of Mickey Mouse company, has also raised its prices. It was 7 dollars in July. Now the service costs $10 a month. The sports service reached 22.8 million subscribers, up from 22.3 million.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Share:
Related Posts
The price of the subscription today is 8 dollars a month. Starting from December 8th, it will be 11 dollars – 3 dollars more – for those who don’t want to see ads while enjoying the streaming.
The Burbank-based company added 14.4 million subscribers during its third fiscal quarter, bringing its global total to 152.1 million. It forecasts between 230 million and 260 million subscribers in 2024 when the company is expected to become profitable. At the moment, it is losing money, and it will continue that way for another year, therefore the decision to add commercials.
Disney said its direct-to-consumer segment, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, lost $1 billion during the second quarter, compared with a much sustainable loss of about $300 million during the same period a year ago. The willingness to lose some money now in perspective to gain later is a bet on the firm’s future made by Chief Executive Bob Chapek, but some analysts are skeptical. Is the market strong enough to make streaming companies capable of sustaining the nowadays loss while waiting for a hypothetical future gain? Will subscriptions grow indefinitely? Netflix’s recent struggles suggested the contrary. Netflix -which will also add commercials to its service – lost 970,000 subscribers in its most recent quarter, marking a consecutive quarterly decline.
Disney’s strategy changed over time. It started in December 2019 as a boutique streaming service featuring mostly family-friendly shows and movies from Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Disney Channel, and National Geographic. Its catalog expanded with shows such as “black-ish,” the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars,” and the R-rated superhero movies “Logan” and “Deadpool.”
When the streaming service started, the subscription tag was 6,99 dollars a month, a very competitive price compared to Netflix and other streaming services. Now that it offers more, it is comfortable charging more: “Since that initial launch, we’ve continued to invest handsomely in our content,” Chapek said. “We believe we’ve got plenty of price/value room left to go.”
Disney is also raising prices for Hulu. The more adult-oriented streaming service will cost $1 more for the ad-supported version in October ($8, up from $7), while ad-free Hulu’s rate will rise $2 a month, from 13 to 15 dollars. Hulu has 42.2 million subscribers, up from 41.4 million three months prior, not counting its version that includes live TV channels. It has been the launching pad for Disney’s not-so-Disney material, including movies from 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures (formerly 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight).
Hulu got several Emmy nominations for its shows “The Dropout,” “Dopesick,” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
ESPN+, the sports content service of Mickey Mouse company, has also raised its prices. It was 7 dollars in July. Now the service costs $10 a month. The sports service reached 22.8 million subscribers, up from 22.3 million.
Source: Los Angeles Times
