Disney Plus officially lost subscribers in the last three months of 2022. However, it did see a slight increase in the number of US and Canada subscribers during the same period, and also saw a fairly healthy increase when compared to the start of the year.
As of December 31, 2022, Disney Plus had 161.8 million total subscribers, according to The Walt Disney Company’s fiscal first quarter 2023 financial results (PDF). This represents a decrease of around 2.4 million when compared to the 164.2 million reported at the end of October 2022.
However, if looking at just the US and Canada market, Disney Plus did see a slight increase. As of October 1, 2022, there were 46.4 million Disney Plus subscribers in the US and Canada, and this number had risen to 46.6 million by the end of December, resulting in a domestic increase of around 200,000.
Disney also reported a decrease in the average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for domestic Disney Plus subscribers, down from $6.10 to $5.95. The fourth quarter of 2022 was notable in terms of pricing as this was when the popular streaming service introduced its Basic plan.
Similar to what’s offered with basic Hulu, the introduction of the new tier made it possible for Disney Plus subscribers to choose whether they want to sign up for an ad-free or ad-supported subscription. At the same time, the ad-free Disney Plus plan increased in price to $10.99 per month, making the introduction of the basic tier a way for consumers to avoid having to pay the higher monthly cost, albeit at the expense of having to sit through the ads.
In related news, Disney also confirmed that Hulu finished 2022 with 48 million total subscribers. This number broke down to include 4.5 million live TV subscribers, which represented a slight increase on the quarter and year before. ESPN Plus also finished last year on a positive, with almost 25 million total subscribers.
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