Disney will no longer report on subscriber numbers for its streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu with Live TV, and ESPN+, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston.
“Since we began reporting the number of paid subscribers and ARPU, our DTC strategy and the operating environment have evolved. Given this evolution, we plan to implement changes to our Entertainment and Sports financial disclosures,” the executives shared in a statement with the company’s quarterly earnings report Wednesday. “Among our planned changes, we believe quarterly updates on the number of paid subscribers and ARPU have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses, and we will no longer report these metrics starting with the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for Disney+ and Hulu and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 for ESPN+. While we will no longer disclose subscribers and ARPU, we will provide information on Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer profitability.”
“We believe our reporting going forward will better align with changes in the media landscape, the unique nature of our integrated assets, how we operate our businesses, and will reflect how management evaluates the progress and success of our strategic initiatives,” they continued.
Netflix also announced that it would stop reporting on subscriber numbers last year, instead focusing on revenue and operating margins as signs of growth and success. The company said that it would continue to share when the service hit “major subscriber milestones,” which Disney is likely to do as well.
Those milestone might come quickly with all the changes Disney is making to its streaming lineup. The new ESPN app is set to launch on August 21, and there’s a possibility of Disney partnering with other sports services like FOX One to offer bundle deals. We also learned earlier today that Disney will phase out Hulu and combine it with Disney+ in one app.
