Disney’s Global Streaming Audience Surge
Disney Advertising revealed that its streaming platforms collectively averaged 157 million monthly active users (MAUs) globally, with 112 million of those based in the United States, over the past six months. This announcement comes just ahead of the company’s participation in the fifth annual Tech and Data Showcase at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Disney’s streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, continue to grow as global streaming competition intensifies. For comparison, Netflix reported 70 million MAUs last November, while Fox’s Tubi streaming service announced a 97 million MAU count earlier this week.
Methodology Behind Disney’s Streaming User Data
Disney Advertising also took the opportunity to explain how it calculates its MAU numbers, setting a precedent for transparency in the streaming industry. The company clarified that its MAU numbers are based on active accounts across its platforms that have watched ad-supported content for more than 10 seconds. Each account is then multiplied by an estimated number of users per account—globally averaging 2.6 users. This multiplier was determined through a survey of over 13,000 people aged 18 to 64, representing regions where ad-supported tiers are available. Notably, the company excluded Hotstar viewership from its data.
Industry Transparency and Future Outlook
Rita Ferro, President of Global Advertising at Disney, emphasized the company’s position as a leader in both sports and entertainment content, highlighting its ability to attract high-value audiences for ad-supported streaming. By providing this level of transparency, Disney aims to offer the industry clearer insights into how it estimates its engaged, global ad-supported MAU figures. However, the press release did note that Disney does not plan to provide revisions or updates to the information shared, leaving some room for interpretation in future reports.
With this data release, Disney advertising underscores its dominance in the ad-supported streaming space, showcasing not only the scale of its reach but also its commitment to offering more visibility into its audience measurement methods.
