The fluff is by comparing it to Netflix and “beating” them as being something meaningful when it is an apples to oranges comparison. Of course Disney can and should promote their number of subs as a company wide indicator, but comparing to Netflix is just silly when it’s three different services versus one.
Wake me up when Disney+ itself actually passes Netflix.
No one is saying
DisneyPlus is beating Netflix.
They were careful to say that all the subs to all of Disney streaming service is more subs than for Netflix (by a hair, the difference is negligible and should be considered 'tied.')
Internationally, Star is part of D+, but in the U.S., it's mostly part of Hulu. So... how do you count that that? Someone who subs for Hulu content (e.g. A Maid's Tale) in the U.S. doesn't get counted, but someone in the UK who subs to D+ for precisely that same content (A Maid's Tale) does get counted as a D+ sub because Star is part of D+ there?
If you wish to keep that distinction in your mind, fine. But know that the industry doesn't make that distinction because they consider the output of the company and not just hone in on one of their streaming channels.
If you read the trades, you'll see that the subs for HBOmax and Discovery+ get aggregated, as well as Paramount+ with Showtime.
Everyone knows that all these companies are working to merge their streaming channels into one branded interface, at which point, you wouldn't be able to tease out what's Hulu v. D+ or what's Showtime v. Paramount+.
Also, a chunk of D+ subs are being counted as D+ subs because Hulu+TV subscribers were automatically switched to "The Bundle" and are now counted part of the D+ subs. The merger is coming. The distinctions are becoming irrelevant.
