Iger’s 2025 Statement Reveals Disney’s Decision to Drop Subscriber Counts

Disney surprised everyone on August 6, 2025, with big news: they’re stopping the quarterly reports on how many people are subscribed to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston explained that these numbers are less important now that their business model is evolving, following Netflix’s lead from 2024. Investors, competitors, and creators are all left wondering how streaming success will be measured moving forward.

So, what exactly did Disney announce about subscribers, ARPU, and reporting in 2025? Here are the key takeaways:

1. Disney won’t be sharing how many paid subscribers they have starting in fiscal year 2026 for Disney+ and Hulu.
2. ESPN+ will stop sharing subscriber data publicly as of Q4 fiscal 2025.
3. The focus will shift to profitability metrics rather than just raw subscriber counts.
4. Disney is projecting over 10 million new subscribers for July-September 2025.

The joint statement from Bob Iger and Hugh Johnston explained the reasoning behind this change. They want to align their financial reporting with how their business is actually functioning, adapting to an evolving direct-to-consumer strategy. This update instantly became the center of attention for investors and analysts, sparking debates over the future of how we measure success in the streaming world.

Investors and analysts were split on this news. Some see it as a retreat from a key metric that provided transparency, while others view it as a step forward in updating how success is measured. For Disney, it’s all about focusing on profitability and engagement rather than just how many people are signed up.

Moving forward, the focus will shift to how profitable Disney’s streaming services are and how engaged viewers are with their content. This may impact what shows are prioritized and how ad deals are made. While consumers shouldn’t expect any immediate changes to their services, this shift in metrics could influence the content they see on these platforms.

Hopefully, this breakdown gives you a clearer picture of why Disney’s recent announcement is causing waves in the streaming industry. Time will tell how this change impacts viewers, investors, and studios in the long run.