Disney adds 57 million D2C subscribers in year to October 1, 2022

BURBANK, Calif. — The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) today reported earnings for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 1, 2022.

“2022 was a strong year for Disney, with some of our best storytelling yet, record results at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment, and outstanding subscriber growth at our direct-to-consumer services, which added nearly 57 million subscriptions this year for a total of more than 235 million,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.

Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution – Direct-to-Consumer

Direct-to-Consumer revenues for the quarter increased 8% to $4.9 billion and operating loss increased $0.8 billion to $1.5 billion. The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+ and a decrease in results at Hulu, partially offset by improved results at ESPN+.

Results at Disney+ reflected higher programming and production costs, increases in marketing and technology costs and the absence of Premier Access releases in the current quarter, partially offset by higher subscription revenue. In the current quarter, there were no Premier Access releases whereas the prior-year quarter reflected the releases of Black Widow and Jungle Cruise. The increase in programming and production costs was driven by more content provided on the service and higher average costs, which included an increased mix of original content. Higher subscription revenue was due to subscriber growth and, to a lesser extent, increases in retail pricing, partially offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange impact.

The decrease in results at Hulu was due to higher programming and production and marketing costs, partially offset by subscription revenue growth. The increase in programming and production costs was due to more content provided on the service and an increase in subscriber-based fees for programming the Live TV service. Higher subscriber-based fees for programming the Live TV service were due to rate increases and more subscribers. Subscription revenue growth was due to increases in subscribers and in retail pricing.

The improvement at ESPN+ was primarily due to an increase in subscription revenue due to subscriber growth, partially offset by a decrease in income from Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events due to lower average buys per event.

The following tables present additional information about our Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu DTC product offerings.

Paid subscribers as of:

(in millions)                                October 1,  October 2,
                                                   2022        2021  Change
                                             ----------  ----------  ------
Disney+
  Domestic (U.S. and Canada)                       46.4        38.8     20%
  International (excluding Disney+ Hotstar)        56.5        36.0     57%
 Disney+ Core                                     102.9        74.8     38%
 Disney+ Hotstar                                   61.3        43.3     42%
Total Disney+                                     164.2       118.1     39%

ESPN+                                              24.3        17.1     42%

Hulu
 SVOD Only                                         42.8        39.7      8%
 Live TV + SVOD                                     4.4         4.0     10%
Total Hulu                                         47.2        43.8      8%

Average Monthly Revenue Per Paid Subscriber for the quarter ended:

                                             October 1,  October 2,
                                                   2022        2021  Change
                                             ----------  ----------  ------
Disney+
  Domestic (U.S. and Canada)                      $6.10       $6.81   (10)%
  International (excluding Disney+ Hotstar)       $5.83       $5.62      4%
 Disney+ Core                                     $5.96       $6.24    (4)%
 Disney+ Hotstar                                  $0.58       $0.64    (9)%
Global Disney+                                    $3.91       $4.12    (5)%

ESPN+                                             $4.84       $4.74      2%

Hulu
 SVOD Only                                       $12.23      $12.75    (4)%
 Live TV + SVOD                                  $86.77      $84.89      2%

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for domestic Disney+ decreased from $6.81 to $6.10 due to a higher mix of subscribers to multi-product offerings, partially offset by an increase in retail pricing.

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for international Disney+ (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) increased from $5.62 to $5.83 due to increases in retail pricing, partially offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange impact.

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for Disney+ Hotstar decreased from $0.64 to $0.58 due to lower per-subscriber advertising revenue and a higher mix of wholesale subscribers, partially offset by an increase in retail pricing.

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for ESPN+ increased from $4.74 to $4.84 driven by a lower mix of annual subscribers, an increase in retail pricing and, to a lesser extent, higher per-subscriber advertising revenue, partially offset by a higher mix of subscribers to multi-product offerings.

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for the Hulu SVOD Only service decreased from $12.75 to $12.23 primarily due to lower per-subscriber advertising revenue, a higher mix of subscribers to multi-product offerings as well as to promotional offerings, partially offset by an increase in retail pricing.

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for the Hulu Live TV + SVOD service increased from $84.89 to $86.77 due to an increase in retail pricing and higher per-subscriber advertising revenue, partially offset by a higher mix of subscribers to multi-product offerings.