Disney+ launched big, went bigger, and showed a growth trajectory that forced it straight into the “serious player” category.
Since then, however, things may have stalled. Nielsen is now reporting that they lost 700,000 subscribers over the last three months of 2024.
Outside India this means their subscriber base has fallen to 124.6 million. India is excluded as the subscription is packaged with Hotstar.
The numbers were taken from Disney’s own financial reports on Q4 2024. The same figures showed ESPN+ also losing 700,000 but Hulu added 1.6 million. Hulu is tipped bundled with Disney+ in many territories.
The service did generate a profit for Mouse House, and beat it’s financial performance targets, but the fact that Star Wars and Marvel don’t seem to be driving the huge subscriber numbers anymore will be a developing concern for Disney Execs.
The streamer soared in the COVID era, while cinema obviously suffered. Disney scored big hits with Moana 2, Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 in theaters, so the post-COVID landscape could be one of reversal.