ESPN+ closed out the most recent quarter with 26 million subscribers, marking a fairly good quarter in terms of subscriber growth for the sports-focused streaming service.
Overall, ESPN+ saw an increase of around 800,000 subscribers when compared to the 25.2 million reported for the end of the previous quarter. Considering ESPN+ ended the same fiscal fourth (third calendar) quarter of 2022 with 24.3 million subscribers, this also represented a year-over-year increase of around 1.7 million.
While the increase itself is good, it is also a positive change in direction. With the ESPN+ subscriber base at 25.2 million at the start of the last quarter, this was 100,000 less subscribers than the 25.3 million Disney reported at the end of the first calendar quarter of the year.
Along with the growth in subscribers, Disney also reported growth in ESPN+ subscription revenue as well, citing an increase in retail pricing as part of the reason. Last month, the cost of an ESPN+ subscription increased $1 to $10.99 a month. At the same time, the price of the ESPN+ annual plan increased $10 to $109.99 a year.
On a more wider note, Disney is continuing with its plan to launch a new ESPN streaming service. According to a report in October, Disney is looking to partner with two different companies in a bid to maximize distribution of the new streaming version of ESPN.
Elsewhere, Disney reported an increase of around 4 million Disney+ subscribers taking the overall total beyond 150 million. Likewise, Hulu Live TV also saw an increase of around 300,000 subscribers, increasing the number to 4.6 million. Total Hulu subscribers (live TV + basic Hulu) also increased 200,000, up to 48.5 million.
