Disney+ reaches new heights
Disney+ added 11.8 million subscribers worldwide in its most recent quarter to reach 129.8 million after only adding 2 million last quarter. This massive increase, in part, is due to the success of its Oscar-nominated animated films “Encanto” and “Luca,” and the psychological thriller “Nightmare Alley,” which received a Best Picture nomination. Disney just announced it plans to increase spending on DTC programming by between $800 million and $1 billion. New Disney+ releases include Steven Spielberg’s reboot of the musical “West Side Story” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” both debuting in March. Additional future releases include,” Lando”, “The Acolyte” and programs in the works centered on Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Ironheart.
The NPD Take:
- Subscriber growth will become increasingly tied to the delivery of engaging programming as viewership levels pull back from pandemic heights.
- As with Netflix, it’s likely the heavy investments in new content will result in rates increases.
FuboTV Requiring Three-month Commitment
Looking to drive down churn, live sports streamer fuboTV is now requiring new customers to pay on a quarterly basis. Each of fuboTV's tiers is impacted so instead of paying $64.99/month for fuboTV's cheapest tier, "Starter Quarterly," new customers must chalk up $195. They still have access to a free seven-day trial of the service.
The NPD Take:
- Churn has been an issue for all OTT services, especially for vMVPDs, but this steep cost requirement for a longer commitment could be a big ask.
- For a sports focused service this will keep viewers from subscribing for, the big game, and churning out the following month.
DirecTV Stream debuts new five-day free trial
DirecTV Stream, the live streaming companion of the company's satellite TV service, has debuted its first free trial, giving new subscribers five days to sample the service. The new trial arrives ahead of major live sports events including the Super Bowl and NBA All-Star Weekend along with the ongoing 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Since DirecTV was spun off from AT&T, the service has launched new features including unlimited simultaneous streams on unlimited screens, unlimited cloud DVR, and different premiums included with different packages that customers can opt into. Additionally, DirecTV Stream’s streaming device now includes a sports-focused curation feature that helps users keep track of regional and national content.
The NPD Take:
- Now that the company is solely focused on TV, we’re seeing old school subscriber acquisition strategies resurface. Expect more.