Disney Plus just lost 2.4 million subscribers — what’s going on?

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Bet you can't guess why

Disney Plus
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The latest report out of Disney Plus shows tough times at the streaming arm of the House of the Mouse. That said, you're probably not going to be able to guess why Disney's streaming service lost 2.4 million subscribers overall for the period of Q1 2023 (Oct. - Dec. 2022).

It's not because of the $3 price hike for Disney Plus' ad-free tier, which was effective Dec. 8. Newly re-installed Disney CEO Bob Iger, on the earnings call, stated that this increase lead to "a de minimis [i.e. trivial] loss of subs… that tells us something."

The bad news continued on the call, with Iger announcing that Disney would be eliminating 7,000 jobs (3.2% of Disney's global staff).

Analysis: Disney Plus apparently can survive without new Marvel shows and live-action Star Wars

Disney Plus may not have suffered such huge losses, if it had a bigger title to draw eyes, such as The Mandalorian season 3 (due March 1), Loki season 2 or the upcoming Secret Invasion series starring Samuel L. Jackson and Emilia Clarke.

But the fact that Disney Plus' US and Canada subscriber numbers actually grew during this window is impressive. We're curious how Disney Plus' next quarter will look, because outside of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Disney Plus' biggest recent gains have been on smaller titles (Willow, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder season 2, The Bad Batch season 2). 

Gaining Mando's third season at the start of the final month of the next fiscal quarter should make up for that, of course.

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Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey

Henry was a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.