The Walt Disney Company's flagship streaming service, Disney+, had a strong finish to 2021, far surpassing growth forecasts for the year and nearing 130 million subscribers.
As reported by Variety, Disney+ had a total of 129.8 million paying subscribers worldwide at the end of 2021, having gained 11.8 million subscribers during the quarter that ended on Jan. 1, 2022 (i.e. Disney's first fiscal quarter of 2022). On average, industry analysts projected that Disney+ would only gain 7.3 million subscribers during that period of time.
Disney+ actually missed its subscriber targets for the prior quarter (i.e. the final fiscal quarter of 2021) -- which ended on Oct. 2, 2021 -- though still managed to eke out a strong finish to the calendar year of 2021. The streaming service closed out 2020 with 94.9 million paying customers, meaning that 2021 saw a 37 percent increase in overall Disney+ subscribers. What's more, Disney reports $21.82 billion in revenue and $1.06 in adjusted earnings per share for the first fiscal quarter of 2022 -- smashing analyst estimates of $18.36 billion in revenue and $0.61 in earnings per share.
Disney has also revealed the number of Disney+ subscribers by region for the first time ever. Of the service's 129.8 million subscribers, 42.9 million reside in the United States and Canada. Excluding Disney+ Hotstar, the service has 41.1 million international subscribers. Finally, Disney+ Hotstar -- which is what Disney+ is branded as in India and other Southeast Asian countries -- itself has 45.9 million subscribers. In 2021, U.S. and Canada subscriptions rose by 18 percent, while Hotstar subscriptions rose by 57 percent and non-Hotstar international subscriptions rose by 40 percent.
Variety partially attributes the boost in subscribers to major end-of-year Disney+ releases like The Beatles: Get Back and Marvel Studios' Hawkeye. It should also be noted that Disney+ gained 2 million U.S.-based subscribers during the most recent quarter thanks to the decision to bundle it and ESPN+ with the Hulu With Live TV service.
"We do not subscribe to the belief that theatrical is the only way to build a Disney franchise," Disney CEO Bob Chapek told investors. "We are bullish on our content, not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality." The CEO continued, "We continue to manage our [direct-to-consumer] business for the long-term, and are confident that our high-quality entertainment and expansion into additional markets worldwide will enable us to further grow our streaming platforms globally."
Source: Variety