Disney’s Global Streaming Audience Reaches 157 Million
Disney has announced that an estimated 157 million global monthly active users are engaging with ad-supported content across its streaming platforms—Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. This figure includes approximately 112 million users in the United States, calculated as an average over the past six months.
Although traditional TV networks have established methodologies for measuring viewership and ratings, there is no universal system to measure streaming advertising audiences on a global scale. In response to this gap, Disney’s advertising unit has been working on developing a globally consistent approach to estimate the size of its ad-supported streaming audience. The company shared these insights during the annual CES tech conference in Las Vegas, which serves as a hub for the advertising and media industries.
Disney’s Efforts to Define a Streaming Ad Audience Methodology
To offer more transparency into its ad-supported streaming business, Disney has outlined the methodology used to estimate its active global users. The metric includes active accounts across Disney’s streaming platforms that have viewed ad-supported content for at least 10 seconds. To calculate the total number of users, Disney multiplies each active account by an estimated number of users per account.
However, the company has stated that the estimates are not de-duplicated, meaning that users who subscribe to more than one platform are counted multiple times. Disney Advertising’s president, Rita Ferro, emphasized the company’s role in defining this approach, noting that Disney stands at the crossroads of world-class sports and entertainment content, attracting valuable audiences for advertisers on a global scale.
Ad-Supported Tiers Drive Revenue Growth for Disney
As the streaming landscape becomes increasingly competitive, Disney is focusing on expanding its ad-supported tier as a significant revenue driver. CEO Bob Iger has mentioned that the company is aiming to steer more customers toward its cheaper, ad-supported options, especially after raising the prices of its commercial-free subscriptions since the launch of Disney+ with ads in late 2022. Hulu was among the first streaming platforms to introduce an ad-supported option, and Disney+ followed suit more recently.
Although Disney does not disclose the exact number of subscribers using its ad-supported tiers, executives indicated that more than half of new U.S. Disney+ subscribers are opting for the less expensive, ad-supported version. This shift is expected to bode well for Disney’s future growth, as the company continues to see an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) for domestic Disney+ customers despite the popularity of the ad-supported tiers.
The company’s ad-supported streaming services have demonstrated promising growth. Disney reported a significant improvement in its overall streaming business, with the combined operating income from Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ reaching $321 million for the September period, a sharp recovery from a loss of $387 million in the same period the previous year. As Disney prepares for its fiscal first-quarter earnings report on February 5, the company remains confident that streaming will continue to be a key growth area, positioning it for long-term success in the evolving entertainment market.
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