Disney loses $512 MILLION in Q3 streaming disaster following subscriber exodus

On Wednesday, Disney released its results for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2023, revealing that its streaming division had lost hundreds of millions of dollars. 

During the three-month period, the entertainment giant saw its subscribers continue to decline, a trend that began in the last quarter of FY2022 and has shown no signs of reversing.

According to CNBC, Disney+ reported 146.1 million subscribers in Q3, a 7.4 percent decrease over Q2. Not all segments of the streaming division were equally impacted, however. Disney+ Hotstar suffered the greatest loss, 24 percent, after customers left en masse in response to the service losing rights to broadcast Indian Premier League cricket matches.

During the earnings call, CEO Bob Iger expressed his confidence that Disney would be able to recoup its losses. "Moving forward," he said, "I believe three businesses will drive the greatest growth and value creation over the next five years. They are our film studios, our parks business and streaming, all of which are inextricably linked to our brands and franchises."

Overall, Disney's revenue was up 4 percent to $22.33 billion.

Disney has since announced that it will soon be raising the price of Disney+ to $13.99 per month, and offering a joint  Disney+ and Hulu subscription for $19.99 per month. The increase is set to take effect on October 12, and will only apply to the ad-free services.

In addition to the price hike, Disney will also be implementing restrictions on password sharing, as Netflix did earlier this year.

As Iger pointed out, Disney's film studios and parks are expected to be the driving force in the company's attempt to get back on track, however, the Q3 earnings showed that there is still work to be done. 

When it came to parks, those outside the United States performed well, while Disney World in Florida reported a decrease in attendance. 

Many of the movies that were projected to be box office hits did not perform as expected, prompting Iger to state that Disney would be "focused on improving the quality of the films we've got coming up."