By Kayla DeKraker
Disney will keep its streaming data under wraps in a new decision that follows Netflix’s lead.
“We are focused on managing our businesses to deliver growth in a sustained way, and to align our financial reporting with how we operate. Since we began reporting the number of paid subscribers and ARPU, our DTC strategy and the operating environment have evolved,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston.
Disney believes that quarterly reports are no longer “meaningful,” but they will still share Direct-to-Consumer profitability.
“We plan to implement changes to our Entertainment and Sports financial disclosures. Among our planned changes, we believe quarterly updates on the number of paid subscribers and ARPU have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses,” the statement continues. “We will no longer report these metrics starting with the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for Disney+ and Hulu and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 for ESPN+. While we will no longer disclose subscribers and ARPU, we will provide information on Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer profitability.”
Disney feels confident about the decision and believes it will suit the current “media landscape.”
“We believe our reporting going forward will better align with changes in the media landscape, the unique nature of our integrated assets, how we operate our businesses, and will reflect how management evaluates the progress and success of our strategic initiatives.”
This move follows in Netflix’s footsteps. The streaming giant stopped sharing its numbers this year. When it announced the change, the streamer said, “As we’ve noted in previous letters, we’re focused on revenue and operating margin as our primary financial metrics — and engagement (i.e. time spent) as our best proxy for customer satisfaction. In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential.”
Overall, both companies believe there are more beneficial ways to measure their growth and success outside of reporting numbers, and rightfully so.
As Disney also takes full ownership of Hulu, the company is in a great position financially.
Related: Disney+ Looks to Compete with Netflix, Adds More Content for Adults
Iger said in an interview that the company lost “$4 billion in the year prior to my coming back [and now] we’re going to earn over $1 billion this year. So we’ve got a $5 billion turnaround, and this step is the first big step in the direction of turning this into a real growth business for the company.”
Despite their massive growth, Disney still has a way to go before beating Netflix, numbers-wise.
According to Nielsen’s The Gauge, Disney sits at 4.8% of streaming viewership for 2025, while Netflix is almost double that at 8.3%.
With Netflix’s success, Disney following its lead probably isn’t a bad idea.
Read Next: How Did Netflix Win the Streaming Wars?
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