Disney Plus loses 2.4 million subscribers, lays off 7,000 people

The layoff crisis that has affected big tech has also extended to studios and their offshoots in the world of digital entertainment. This is the case of Disney, which recently released its financial statement for the last quarter of last year, which also included the total number of Disney Plus subscribers —161.8 million users, a drop of 2.4 million from the previous quarter and the first time streaming has had a drop in that number since 2019, when it was launched.

One of the reasons, explains the balance sheet, is the decrease in Disney Plus Hotstar subscribers, a streaming service available in India and in some parts of Southeast Asia. In particular, that service lost broadcasting rights last year to the Indian Premier League, a popular cricket league in the country. In this service alone, the drop was from 61.3 million subscribers in the previous quarter to 57.5 million at the end of the year.

With this, streaming moves away from the goal to reach between 215 and 245 million subscribers by the end of 2024. There is still the challenge of making Disney Plus more profitable, despite the reasonably positive results as a whole – the company’s revenue increased by 8%, to US$ 23.5 billion, within analysts’ expectations.

Subscribers to other streaming services from the company also increased, such as Hulu and ESPN Plus, which are more popular in North America.

The bad news must stay with the employees, as the results influenced a significant restructuring, with cuts of around 7,000 employees, a total of 3% of the company’s global workforce.

“I have enormous respect and appreciation for the dedication of our employees around the world,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during the earnings call. “While this is necessary to address the challenges we face today, I do not take this decision lightly.”