Despite a spike in cancellations surrounding the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel in September, Disney’s streaming subscriber rates are looking pretty good. On Thursday, the company released its Q4 earnings report, revealing a combined 195.7 million Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions as of September 27, an increase of 12.4 million for the three-month period, per Variety. Disney+ subscribers increased by 3.8 million, while Hulu gained 8.6 million. This marks the last time you’ll hear about it from Disney, as the megacorp has announced it will stop reporting subscriber numbers beginning Q1 of the next fiscal year.
That means we won’t know if the increase in price for both services that went into effect on October 21 had an impact on subscriber rates. This is the kind of tricky sleight-of-hand that goes into fiscal reports in the streaming era. For instance, that healthy spike in Hulu subscribers is reportedly due in large part to Disney’s expanded distribution deal with Charter, which gives all of Charter’s Spectrum TV Select customers access to the ad-supported version of Hulu for no additional charge. The 8.6 million new subscribers figure includes all those Charter customers, even if they never actually watch anything on Hulu.
When reports suggested that Disney+ and Hulu cancellations doubled during the Kimmel suspension, it was also speculated that those numbers wouldn’t figure into the Q4 report due to how late in September the controversy occurred. But the Kimmel numbers would seem to factor into this report; while cancellations doubled, sign-ups reportedly increased as well. Many of the customers who cancelled in protest may well have signed right back up when Kimmel was reinstated on September 23, their dollar having done its job.
Like all the major studios, Disney has poured a lot into its streaming service, and it’s paid off—even as revenue for its linear television business continues to decline. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the entertainment division (which includes linear, streaming, and studios) had revenue of $10.2 billion, down six percent, and operating income of $691 million, down 35 percent. Compared to last year, the company’s total revenues across the board ($22.5 billion) remain essentially unchanged, while segment operating income ($3.5 billion), was down five percent.
