Three years since Disney+ first launched, and a month earlier than its much-anticipated ad-supported tier, the streamer’s subscriber rely continues to rise.

Disney+ added 12.1 million subscribers within the fiscal fourth quarter, for a complete of 164.2 million international subscribers, Disney mentioned Tuesday. Almost 2 million of these new Disney+ subscribers got here from the US and Canada.

Collectively, the corporate reached 235 million international subscribers, including 14.6 million throughout its streaming platforms.

A lot of that subscriber progress on Disney+ got here from content material like Hocus Pocus 2 (the sequel movie was the streamer’s most-watched premiere, with 2.7 billion minutes watched in its opening weekend), She-Hulk: Lawyer at Regulation from Marvel and the Andor sequence of Star Wars. .

“Andor…acquired rave opinions and exhibits our skill to increase tales from the large display screen to our streaming providers,” CEO Bob Chapek mentioned throughout the firm’s earnings name Tuesday night time.

Hulu (together with its Hulu + Reside TV providing), which operates solely within the US, added 1.6 million subscribers final quarter to achieve 47.2 million whole and ESPN+ recorded 1.5 million subscribers. , to achieve 24.3 million.

Hulu and ESPN+ additionally had document content material debuts, with the film Prey changing into Hulu’s largest premiere throughout all films and sequence. ESPN+’s unique NFL broadcast of the Jaguars vs. Broncos was probably the most watched occasion on the service to date.

At what price?

Nonetheless, Disney’s substantial subscriber progress got here at a big price. The corporate’s direct-to-consumer section misplaced $1.5 billion in income final quarter and $4 billion final yr. Most of that current loss got here from Disney+ and a decline in Hulu’s outcomes, however it was partially offset by a robust quarter on ESPN+.

The corporate mentioned it’s seeking to a brighter future, with Chief Monetary Officer Christine McCarthy telling analysts its peak losses are behind it. “DTC’s working outcomes ought to enhance going ahead as we lay the groundwork for a sustainably worthwhile enterprise mannequin,” she mentioned.

The corporate expects DTC’s working outcomes to enhance by not less than $200 million within the first fiscal quarter of 2023, with additional enchancment within the second quarter.

These components embody upcoming value will increase and the launch of Disney+’s subsequent stage of promoting, neither of that are anticipated to have a lot of an influence within the subsequent fiscal quarter as a result of they will not go into impact till December.

ESPN+ and Hulu are anticipated to proceed including new subscribers subsequent quarter, whereas Disney+’s numbers are set to rise “just a bit,” reflecting Disney+’s more durable comparisons of the day’s efficiency.

Nonetheless, regardless of its large streaming losses, the corporate nonetheless expects Disney+ to be worthwhile by 2024, which factors to a realignment of Disney+’s prices and stage of promoting.

bulletins on the best way

Netflix beat Disney when it got here to launching an ad-supported stage (Netflix launched earlier this month), however the Disney+ deal is just a month away.

Chapek described the brand new tier as a win for audiences, advertisers and shareholders, saying it can carry a brand new checklist of subscription plans throughout all three streaming providers and the Disney bundle.

“Curiosity from advertisers has been robust,” Chapek mentioned, saying the streaming service has secured greater than 100 advertisers forward of launch.

“We even have confirmed know-how to ship an excellent advert expertise from day one,” he mentioned. “And most significantly, we now have the flexibility to scale and innovate for each audiences and advertisers.”