Disney has revealed a major milestone: approximately 157 million global monthly active users are now streaming ad-supported content across its platforms—Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. This figure includes 112 million domestic users and represents an average over the past six months.
The announcement, made at the CES tech conference in Las Vegas, highlights Disney’s growing focus on ad-supported streaming as a key component of its business strategy.
How Disney Measures Its Streaming Audience
Unlike traditional TV ratings, there’s no universal standard for measuring global streaming viewership. Disney is taking the lead in setting its own methodology. According to Disney Advertising, its metric counts active accounts that stream ad-supported content for at least 10 seconds. The data then multiplies active accounts by an estimated number of users per account. Importantly, users subscribed to multiple Disney platforms are counted separately for each service.
Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of global advertising, emphasized the company’s commitment to transparency:
“Disney sits at the intersection of world-class sports and entertainment content, with the most high-value audiences in ad-supported global streaming at scale.”
The Rise of Ad-Supported Streaming
Ad-supported streaming has become a significant focus for Disney as it seeks to drive profitability. Originally, streaming platforms were designed as subscription-only services, but the introduction of ad-supported tiers has given companies a new revenue stream.
Disney has been actively encouraging subscribers to adopt its ad-supported tiers, introducing a lower-priced, ad-supported Disney+ option in late 2022 and raising prices on commercial-free plans. Hulu, Disney’s veteran streaming service, was among the first to embrace ad-supported options, and ESPN+ offers similar choices for sports fans.
In November, Disney reported:
- Disney+ Core (excluding Disney+ Hotstar): 122.7 million subscribers.
- Hulu: 52 million subscribers.
- ESPN+: 25.6 million paid subscribers.
Executives noted that more than half of new U.S. Disney+ subscribers opted for the cheaper, ad-supported plan.
Profits and Challenges
While ad-supported tiers are driving subscriber growth, they also bring challenges. Disney reported that average revenue per user (ARPU) for domestic Disney+ customers dipped slightly, from $7.74 to $7.70, due to the higher mix of users on cheaper plans.
Still, the strategy appears to be paying off. In November, Disney’s combined streaming business posted an operating income of $321 million for the September quarter—a sharp improvement from a $387 million loss during the same period the previous year.
What’s Next for Disney?
Disney CEO Bob Iger has positioned streaming as a key growth area, with ad-supported tiers playing a central role. As the company gears up to release its fiscal first-quarter earnings on February 5, all eyes will be on how these changes impact Disney’s bottom line.
With 157 million global users and an expanding ad-supported model, Disney is doubling down on its streaming success—and shaping the future of how we watch content.
