Disney+ Adds Almost 20M Subscribers In Fiscal Q2
deadline.comDisney delivered spectacular streaming gains, adding nearly 20 million new subscribers to Disney+ in its fiscal second quarter.Disney+, including the Disney+Hotstar offering in India, reached a global total of 137.7 million subscribers, up from about 118 million in the prior quarter.Wall Street analysts had expected an addition of 5.2 million subscribers to Disney+.As the company started focusing its strategy on direct-to-consumer streaming a few years ago, its elite collection of brands and knack for marketing got Disney+ off to a stellar start.
It started to flag a bit as it approached two years in the marketplace. More recently, the resounding confidence of investors in Disney’s streaming future has ebbed, with the company’s stock down more than 30% in 2022 to date.
It fell another 2% today to close at $105.25, its lowest level in more than two years. A pall has been cast on newer streaming aspirants by Netflix’s recent financial woes, indicating stalled growth and a potentially smaller universe of potential subscribers and iffier profitability outlook.In late 2020, buoyed by a stellar first year for Disney+ and the success of the bundle with Hulu and ESPN+, the company boosted its targets by the end of fiscal 2024: 300 million to 350 million total streaming subscribers and 230 million to 260 million for Disney+.
Whispers have grown louder that those targets are not a sure thing.The company’s fiscal second quarter, in particular the month of March, saw a significant influx of original programming, including premieres for Cheaper by the Dozen, Marvel series Moon Knight and Pixar’s Turning Red.
Read more on deadline.com
