The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday said it had approximately 54.6 million Disney+ subscribers as of May 4th. During the 3rd quarter, it had exceeded 50 million Disney+ paid subscribers. Disney is expecting its Direct-to-Consumer and International segment to generate about $1.1 billion in operating losses.
Disney stated that the growth of Disney+ had exceeded their expectations leaving them thrilled with the performance since its initial launch in November. Disney+ launched in Western Europe, followed by a highly successful launch in India.
Disney+ will roll out in Japan in June, followed by roll out in Nordics, Belgium, Luxemborg, and Portugal in September and Latin America towards the end of the year.
Artemis Fowl originally slated for a theatrical run will debut exclusively on Disney+ starting June 12th. Disney’s Frozen 2, Pixar’s Onward, were released as a special offering for families as they shelter at home. SVOD Premiere of Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker and the new behind the scenes documentary among others also part of Disney+ robust collection of library and original content.
Disney+ will drive an adverse impact on the y-o-y change in the operating income of Disney’s DTC businesses of approximately $420 million.
Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company said, “Sure. We are obviously thrilled with the progress of Disney+ and how we’ve been able to increase the base there. We’re not really prepared to update our guidance and certainly wouldn’t give any projections in terms of when we would reach profitability. But we know that in terms of the actual investment in Disney+ that new programming, hit new programming like the Mandalorian 0certainly drives that business. And so I think we’ll continue to make the planned investments into Disney+ as we always have with new and exciting programming to drive those subscription rates and retention.’
