From December 2022, Disney+ with ads will cost $7.99 per month, the same price the company now charges for the ad-free version.
The Walt Disney Co. has surpassed Netflix with a total of 221m streaming subscribers at the end of the last quarter.
It has added 14.4m Disney+ streaming subscribers in Q3. As of July, the streamer had just over 152m paid subscribers.
In total, Disney streaming services, comprised of Disney+, Hotstar, Hulu and ESPN+, now have more than 221m subscribers worldwide.
It will launch a Disney+ option with advertising this December. Disney+ with ads will cost $7.99 per month, the same price the company now charges for the ad-free version. The cost of Disney+ without ads will increase by $3 per month to $10.99 as of December 8.
Prices for Hulu, also owned by Disney, will rise by $1 to $2 per month depending on the plan.
Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, said: “We had an excellent quarter, with our world-class creative and business teams powering outstanding performance at our domestic theme parks, big increases in live-sports viewership, and significant subscriber growth at our streaming services. With 14.4m Disney+ subscribers added in the fiscal Q3, we now have 221m total subscriptions across our streaming offerings. We continue to transform entertainment as we near our second century, with compelling new storytelling across our many platforms and unique immersive physical experiences that exceed guest expectations, all of which are reflected in our strong operating results this quarter.”
The company has separated its streaming guidance and now expects to hit 135m to 165m Disney+ subscribers by 2024. And it additionally expects Disney+ Hotstar subscribers to reach up to 80m subscribers by the same year. The revised forecast arrives as Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming division disclosed a quarterly loss of $1.06bn.
Disney posted adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.09, up 36% from a year earlier, as visitors packed its theme parks. Operating income more than doubled at the parks, experiences and products division to $3.6bn.
Most of the new Disney+ subscribers came from outside the U.S. and Canada. Of the 14.4m new customers, only 100,000 came from North America.
