Nearly a fifth of Disney+ subscribers choose ad-supported option to save money

• New figures show large uptake of cheaper ad-funded tier, which saves up to £6 a month compared to the Premium version of Disney+
• Disney is on the cusp of making a profit from its streaming services, but investors didn’t seem too happy.

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Disney+ reaches just over 117 million subscribers globally, with more viewers choosing its new cheaper streaming option.

The Walt Disney Company’s latest results confirm Disney+ subscriber numbers have grown by 6.3 million, bringing the total to 117.6 million globally. Total subscriber figures are higher when Hulu (USA), ESPN+ (USA) and Disney+ Hotstar (India) are added.

In total, Disney only made a loss of $18 million on its streaming businesses last year. Without ESPN+, the remaining streamers actually turned a profit.

Meanwhile, just under a fifth of Disney+ subscribers are now watching the House of Mouse’s programmes with adverts. 22.5 million Disney+ subscribers have now opted for the new ad-supported tier. The ad-funded service made its debut in the USA in late 2022, before launching more widely internationally and in the UK in 2023.

UK subscribers had to proactively switch to the cheaper ad-funded tier by the end of last year, or be moved by default to the more expensive Premium Plan. Switching from Premium to Standard with ads saves £6 a month, or £72 a year.

Other developments

• Subscribers who share their Disney+ password can expect a crackdown starting in June in some countries, before going global later in 2024. Encouraged by Netflix’s experience, Disney boss Bob Iger told investors he believed a password sharing crackdown would “be one of the contributors to growth going forward”. The crackdown will start in June in “select markets” Netflix found many who had borrowed a password from friends and family opted to open their own Netflix account when sharing was disabled.

• Meanwhile, Disney+ subscribers in the USA will soon gain access to an ESPN tile containing a ‘modest line-up of programming’ ahead of a full on launch next year.

Figures didn’t impress investors

Nevertheless, investors weren’t overly happy. Disney’s stocks lost $20 billion in value on Tuesday following the announcement. Analysts don’t expect Disney to return to the profit levels last seen in 2018 until at least 2028. Some investors were hoping for much higher subscriber numbers. Despite Disney+ being on course to make a profit by next year, Disney’s parks division will remain the most profitable part of the business for now.

By: RXTV Newsdesk | Image: Disney