Disney beats Netflix to become world's largest streamer

Disney has surpassed Netflix to become the world's largest streaming operator.

In its Q3 2022 results, the firm disclosed that it had 221.1 million streaming users worldwide, surpassing Netflix's total of 220.67 million.

Due to the popularity of originals such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and highly anticipated feature films such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the firm attracted 14.4 million Disney+ members, above analyst projections of 10 million. Disney+ (excluding the Asian-market-focused Disney+ Hotstar) had 93.6 million members, while Disney+ Hotstar had 58.4 million, for a total Disney+ base of 152.1 million.

ESPN+, the sports streaming service, grew by 53% year on year, from 39.1 million in Q3 2021 to 42.2 million today. Hulu, on the other hand, climbed by 8% in the same time period to 46.2 million subscribers.

Aside from Disney+ in the US and Canada and Hulu's SVOD-only offerings, Disney will be bolstered by ARPU increase across the board. The most significant year-over-year rise in ARPU was for Disney+ Hotstar, which jumped 54% year over year to US$1.20 ARPU due to increasing per-subscriber advertising income.

Walt Disney Company said that its Direct-to-Consumer revenues climbed 19% to $5.1 billion in the third quarter, but its operating loss jumped $0.8 billion to $1.1 billion. The increased operational loss was caused by a higher loss at Disney+, a lower operating income at Hulu, and, to a lesser extent, a bigger loss at ESPN+.

It noted that reduced Disney+ profits were due to greater programming and production, technological, and marketing expenses, which were partially offset by increases in subscription income and, to a lesser extent, advertising revenue.

Commenting on the results, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said: “We had an excellent quarter, with our world-class creative and business teams powering outstanding performance at our domestic theme parks, big increases in live-sports viewership, and significant subscriber growth at our streaming services. With 14.4 million Disney+ subscribers added in the fiscal third quarter, we now have 221 million total subscriptions across our streaming offerings.

“We continue to transform entertainment as we near our second century, with compelling new storytelling across our many platforms and unique immersive physical experiences that exceed guest expectations, all of which are reflected in our strong operating results this quarter.”