Disney Plus and Hulu Gain 12.4 Million Subscribers During Kimmel Controversy
Disney+ and Hulu celebrated a fantastic quarter, with impressive subscriber growth and a 39% boost in direct-to-consumer operating income. The latest numbers show that Disney+ and Hulu combined to reach a total of 195.7 million subscriptions as of September 27. This increase of 12.4 million subscribers in just three months surpassed Wall Street’s predictions by 2.1 million subscribers.
In the same period, Disney+ gained 3.8 million new subscribers, bringing its total to 131.6 million. A notable push in sign-ups came from the release of the live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” on September 3. The film garnered an impressive 14.3 million views during its first five days on Disney+, making it the second-most popular live-action premiere on the platform after “The Little Mermaid” in 2023. Additionally, Disney highlighted the success of “Alien: Earth” as FX’s biggest premiere ever on Disney+ and Hulu.
Hulu saw a significant increase as well, adding 8.6 million new subscribers. This growth was largely driven by Disney’s expanded partnership with Charter, which now offers the ad-supported version of Hulu to all of Charter’s Spectrum TV Select customers. It’s clear that both Disney+ and Hulu are continuing to attract new audiences and grow their subscriber bases.
