Walt Disney Co. DIS has ceased allowing customers to subscribe to Hulu and Disney+ via Apple Inc.’s AAPL App Store, thereby avoiding the iPhone maker’s in-app purchase fees.
What Happened: The entertainment giant is no longer allowing new or returning subscribers to register and pay for these services through the App Store. However, this change will not impact existing subscribers who are billed through Apple.
Disney is now guiding customers to its websites to view all plans and directly sign up for a subscription. This strategy enables Disney to bypass the 15% to 30% fee that Apple imposes for each transaction made via in-app purchases.
This move is in line with Disney’s latest price increases that came into effect on Oct. 17. The cost of Disney+ plans rose by $2, while Hulu with ads and without ads experienced a $2 and $1 increase, respectively.
The removal of in-app purchase fees seems to be a part of Disney’s plan to improving streaming revenue, along with price hikes and a recent crackdown on password sharing.
In August, Disney released its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2024. For the first time, Disney’s streaming segment—which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+—achieved profitability, one quarter ahead of projections.
The streaming division reported an operating profit of $47 million, a notable turnaround from a $512 million loss in the same period last year.
However, when excluding ESPN+, the direct-to-consumer streaming unit still recorded a $19 million loss. Meanwhile, revenue from Disney’s traditional TV networks fell by 7%.
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Why It Matters: Disney’s move to halt subscription sign-ups for Hulu and Disney+ via Apple’s App Store reflects a broader trend of tech companies pushing back against Apple’s in-app purchase policies.
Earlier this year, in January, the Supreme Court gave a decision that rejected Apple’s appeal in an antitrust lawsuit concerning its App Store. The ruling, which also involved Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, could have a notable impact on Apple’s revenue.
Previously, Meta Platforms, Inc. META, Microsoft Corporation MSFT, and Match Group MTCH, the parent company of Tinder, have all voiced strong opposition to Apple’s payment policies.
In the second quarter of 2024, the Apple App Store reportedly generated $24.6 billion in revenue from users worldwide, more than twice the revenue earned by Android users through the Google Play Store.
Projections indicate that by 2027, the Apple App Store could bring in approximately $125 billion in global revenue, while the Google Play Store is expected to reach $60 billion in revenue from subscriptions and in-app purchases, according to Statista.
Image: Shutterstock/ ymgerman
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