During the last three months, the Walt Disney company saw a significant increase in subscribers across all of its streaming services, with ESPN+ seeing a 75 per cent (YoY) increase to 14.9 million subscribers.
Moreover, Disney+ subscribers reached 116 million as of July 3, which is more than double the number at this time last year.
Including Hulu, Disney now has 174 million subscribers across all of its streaming services. Despite adding 1.5 million new subscribers in the last quarter, Netflix still leads the pack with a subscriber base of 209 million.
Additionally, Disney released its latest subscriber numbers in conjunction with its third-quarter earnings. For the increase, the company credited the reopening of its theme parks and the expansion of its streaming network.
The company’s media division accounted for 75% of the company’s total revenue of $12.7 billion, with operating income down 32% year-over-year to US$2 billion for this segment.
On the other hand, while DTC revenue was up 57 per cent (YoY) to US$4.3 billion, the segment still suffered a loss of US$293 million compared to the US$624 million loss it suffered during that same period last year, according to the company.
The revenue from linear networks grew by 16 per cent to $7 billion, but operating income fell by 33 per cent to $2.2 billion, according to the company. During the period, total operating income reached US$2.4 billion, an increase of more than 100% over the US$1.1 billion in Q3 of 2020.
“We ended the third quarter in a strong position, and are pleased with the company’s trajectory as we grow our businesses amidst the ongoing challenges of the pandemic,” said Disney chief executive Bob Chapek.
“We continue to introduce exciting new experiences at our parks and resorts worldwide, along with new guest-centric services, and our direct-to-consumer business is performing very well, with a total of nearly 174 million subscriptions across Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu at the end of the quarter, and a host of new content coming to the platforms.”