The Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE:DIS) fastest-growing U.S. streaming service is not the eponymous jewel in its digital crown, but an asset it picked up as part of an acquisition three years ago.
What Happened: According to the Wall Street Journal, citing subscriber data from Antenna, new subscriptions to Hulu have grown faster in 18 of the past 24 months than subscriptions to Disney+.
Hulu’s new subscriptions also exceeded those of Disney+ for the last six quarters.
Hulu focuses on a broader content level, with adult-oriented films and series including the LGBTQ rom-com “Fire Island,” the erotic thriller “Deep Water” starring Ben Affleck, the “Pam & Tommy” series focusing on the infamous sex tape featuring Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, and “The Kardashians” reality series with the too-famous family broadcasting their anxieties and net worth.
In comparison, Disney+ is home to the studio’s classic animation, as well as titles from its Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar divisions. It also features nature films from National Geographic and titles acquired from the former 21st Century Fox, including “Avatar” and “The Simpsons.”
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What Happens Next: Disney picked up Hulu in its 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s assets in 2019. But Hulu came with a big string attached — the service was 33% owned by Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBCUniversal.
As part of the acquisition, then-Disney CEO Bob Iger crafted an agreement that gave Disney the right to buy NBCUniversal’s stake starting in January 2024 at fair market value, with a floor price of $27.5 billion.
But Disney has more than a few challenges related to its streaming operations. The Journal noted this segment recorded $887 million in losses for the company in its latest quarterly report, while losses have totaled more than $6 billion since Disney+ went live in 2019.
Also, Hulu’s streaming-only service has roughly 41.4 million subscribers, and its $70-a-month live-TV streaming offshoot, Hulu Live, has 4.1 million. Disney+ has 137.7 million global subscribers.
Hulu subscribers are less loyal to the service. In June, 4.7% of Hulu subscribers canceled their subscriptions, versus 3.83% of Disney+ subscribers and 2.5% of subscribers to the bundle package that includes both services plus the sports-oriented ESPN+.
Furthermore, the company is also putting more focus on using streaming as a sports platform. In May, Disney CEO Bob Chapek relayed that the company plans to allocate one-third of its $32 billion content production budget for sports rights while providing an undefined “meaningful amount” for general entertainment content.
“It’s obviously a balancing act, but we believe that great content is going to drive our subs, and those subs then in scale will drive our profitability,” Chapek said.
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