For Disney, streaming losses and TV's decline are a one-two punch

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Bob Iger's urgent need to overhaul Disney — to turn its streaming division into a profitable enterprise and pull back on its troubled traditional television business — came into sharp relief Wednesday. Disney's streaming operation lost $512 million in the most-recent quarter, the company said, bringing total streaming losses since 2019, when Disney+ was introduced, to more than $11 billion. Disney+ lost roughly 11.7 million subscribers worldwide in the three months that ended July 1, for a new total of 146.1 million.

All the decline came from a low-priced version of Disney+ in India. (Last year, Disney lost a bid to renew the expensive rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches.) Excluding India, Disney+ gained 800,000 subscribers, primarily overseas. To make streaming profitable, Iger, Disney's CEO, has shifted the focus at Disney+ away from brisk subscriber growth, which requires expensive marketing campaigns.

Instead, Disney has been trying to make more money from the Disney+ subscribers it already has. The monthly price for access to an ad-free version of Disney+ rose to $11 in December, from $8. Another hefty price increase is on the way.

Starting Oct. 12, the ad-free version will cost $14, Disney said. Hulu, which is also controlled by Disney, will begin charging $18 for ad-free access, up from $15.

As an incentive, Disney will begin selling a new streaming package — ad-free access to both Disney+ and Hulu — for $20 a month starting Sept. 6. The ad-supported options for both Disney+ and Hulu will remain the same, at $8.