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Disney Plus hits 118.1 million subscribers but member growth slows sharply

Disney Plus' Indian streaming service lost a wave of subscribers, but subscribers grew in the US and its other international markets.

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Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials
  • Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)
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Joan E. Solsman
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Disney Plus has stood out as the most successful new service in the so-called "streaming wars."

 Sarah Tew/CNET

Disney Plus grew to 118.1 million subscribers as of Oct. 2, Disney said Wednesday. That's a 60% jump from a year earlier, but it also means Disney Plus added only 2.1 million new members in the three-month fiscal quarter, a sharp slowdown. India appeared to be the culprit. Disney Plus Hotstar -- the Indian version of the service -- lost roughly 2 million subscribers during the latest period. The rest of Disney Plus' markets, like the US and Europe, increased subscribers by nearly 4 million. 

By comparison, Netflix, the biggest subscription video service in the world, had nearly 214 million global members at the end of September. Netflix, though, accumulated its massive subscriber base in the decade-plus since it started streaming. Disney Plus launched less than two years ago. 

Wednesday, Disney also noted that Hulu subscribers grew to 43.8 million and that ESPN Plus membership rose to 17.1 million. 

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