Turning Red

Source: Disney / Pixar

‘Turning Red’

Disney reported the global number of Disney+ subscriptions climbed by 7.9m to 137.7m in the second quarter to beat analysts’ forecasts.

Wall Street had expected the level to rise to approximately 135m. The new number reflects a 33% year-on-year gain from 103.6m by April 3 2021. North American subscribers climbed 19% year-on-year from 37.3m to 44.4m and international excluding the Hotstar bundle rose 39% from 31.1m to 43.2m for a global figure of 87.6m.

The heavyweight contributor to the overall Disney+ global number was the Hotstar bundle, for which Disney reported a 42% year-on-year increase from 35.2m to 50.1m. Hulu produced a modest 10% gain from 37.8m to 41.4m.

The average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for Disney+ in North America rose from $6.01 to $6.32 partly due to retail pricing. For international Disney+ excluding the Hotstar bundle the average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $5.14 to $6.35 due to increases in retail pricing. For the bundle it grew per subscriber from $0.49 to $0.76 partly due to launches in new territories with higher average prices.

Key content debuts in the second quarter included Oscar winner Encanto, Marvel series Moon Knight and Pixar’s Turning Red.