Disney+ Powers to Nearly 138 Million Subscribers, Beating Streaming Expectations for March Quarter

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDisney+ Hotstar reached the landmark 5 million subscriber total in Indonesia, which is emerging as one of the largest and most competitive streaming markets in Southeast Asia.The overall number of paying SVOD subscribers in Southeast Asia reached 39.5 million at the end of March, as the region added a net 2.8 million new subscriptions in the first quarter of 2022, according to new research from consultancy Media Partners Asia and its AMPD usage measurement offshoot.Indonesia accounted for 17.4 million, nearly half of the regional total, at the end of the quarter.“Indonesia continues to be an arena for competition and scale for local, regional and global streamers, with growing pressure on incumbents to stand out in brand, content, marketing and bundling in order to impact time and wallet share. Vidio and Disney+ Hotstar were stand-outs in the first quarter, growing their share of premium video consumption to 28% and 15% respectively, up from 19% and 10% in the fourth quarter of 2021, to occupy the top two spots, ahead of WeTV, Netflix and Viu.

Donald Trump’s emerging media and technology company has taken a stab at further refining its business plans, promising in a new SEC filing that its forthcoming streaming service will be a “non-woke alternative” to Netflix and Disney+.

Saturday Night Live saw one of its biggest exodus in last week’s season finale – with Deadline breaking the news that Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney were leaving alongside Pete Davidson.

Netflix’s subscriber growth slowdown at the 222 million mark portends things to come for other major streamers is one of the biggest unknowns fueling media stock volatility. Hollywood has staked its hopes for growth over the past few years on drawing subscribers from the global market thanks to streaming’s ability to reach beyond geographic borders.Indeed, the mere suggestion that Netflix’s subscriber base may plateau at around a quarter-billion subs — after the company invested more than $87 billion in content since 2013 — contributed to Wall Street’s latest wave of sell-offs in the media and tech sector.

Netflix special last year, spurring walkouts from the streamer’s employees as a result. According to several tweets, Mulaney hugged Chappelle after his performance… which a lot of people of social media thought was a giant no-no.“My favorite part of tonight was when dave chappelle ambushed us at the john mulaney show, told a bunch of transphobic jokes, a massive stadium of people laughed, and then john mulaney hugged him at the end,” wrote one user.Another skewered Mulaney for putting on an act as a “nice, politically conscious, cool-and-feminist guy” only to renounce such ideology when it’s convenient.

Pete Davidson is reportedly “leaving Saturday Night Live” after eight years on the show. According to sources, the comedian’s final appearance on the hit show is expected to air over this weekend when season 47 comes to a close. It comes days after Pete, 28, graced the stage at NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation to introduce his new Peacock comedy, Bupkis.

Wilson Chapman editorSix months after leaving Netflix, the New Directions are back on streaming.“Glee,” the mega-popular Ryan Murphy musical comedy series, will debut on Disney+ and Hulu June 1, Disney announced Friday. The announcement was made a day after the 13-year anniversary of the pilot, which initially aired on Fox in 2009.All six seasons of “Glee” landed on Netflix in 2019, shortly after the series celebrated its tenth anniversary.

John Mulaney is clearing up a misconception he feels people have about the late Robin Williams and the source of his brilliant comedy.

Boston Common Asset Management, which handles mutual funds and other assets for institutions and individuals, argued to formalize an annual lobbying report via Proposal 8, which is to go before Netflix shareholders for a proxy vote. Netflix has opposed Prop 8, saying an annual lobbying report would be duplicating current efforts.Boston Common disagrees.

two weeks after he was forced to step away from his duties beginning May 2.“I’m such a positive person, I tested positive AGAIN,” he tweeted Tuesday. “I am feeling fine — the great John @mulaney & Andy Samberg @thelonelyisland have graciously agreed to host @JimmyKimmelLive for me tomorrow.”The show host appeared virtually at the 2022 network upfronts, where he made fun of everyone from Netflix (“It feels really good to see them stoop to selling advertisements.”) to Disney (“It’s our 100th anniversary, and we are gonna celebrate that milestone like only Disney can: By milking the living sh— out of it!”). Kimmel announced May 2 that comic Mike Birbiglia would take over hosting after his first positive COVID test this month.

Paramount Global has handed Marco Nobili and Olivier Jollet key new roles as its seeks to turbo-charge expansion of its international streaming services.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentMiguel Bernardeau, Guzmán in Netflix smash hit “Elite,” and Mexico’s Renata Notni will head the cast of “Zorro,” a reboot series from Los Angeles-based Secuoya Studios and John Gertz that will stream in exclusivity on Amazon’s Prime Video in the U.S., Latin America and Spain. The flagship series at Secuoya Studios, “Zorro,” a modern take on the hero, is directed by Javier Quintas, whose credits include episodes of “Money Heist” and “Sky Rojo,” and Miguel Angel Vivas, a director on “Locked Up” and “Unauthorized Living.” Written by Carlos Portela (“Hierro,” “Velvet Collection”), the 10 episode series is executive produced for Secuoya Studios by David Martínez, David Cotarelo and Angela Agudo.  John Gertz, founder of Zorro Productions and a producer on “The Mask of Zorro” and “The Legend of Zorro” movies titles, also executive produces along with former Sony exec Andy Kaplan at KC Global Media, Sergio Pizzolante for C&T Mobs, and Jesús Torres and Glenda Pacanins at NoStatusQuo Studios.Bernardeau will play a new version of Diego de la Vega, a landowner and, in disguise, masked hero of the people.

Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On took the No. 1 spot from three-week champion Bridgerton on Nielsen’s weekly streaming chart.

Paced by the April premiere of Better Call Saul‘s new season on AMC, catch-up viewing of the show’s first five seasons propelled the show to No. 2 on Nielsen’s streaming chart for April 4 to 10.

Sarah Dessen fans — the wait is finally over! Over 10 years after publication, “Along for the Ride” has been adapted into a movie. The book came out in 2009, and it has been adapted and directed for the screen by experienced writer Sofia Alvarez, who also wrote the screenplays for the first two “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” films.“Along for the Ride” is the latest in a long line of romantic comedy book to screen adaptations, especially for Netflix. With a small beach town setting, the Fourth of July and college on the horizon, this film has the perfect recipe for a good summer story.Originally slotted to release April 22, the movie is finally here.

Selome Hailu Though the sixth and final season of “Better Call Saul” didn’t debut until April 18, the show took the No. 2 position on Nielsen’s streaming rankings for the week of April 4-10 as viewers presumably rewatched the series on Netflix in preparation for its return.Accruing 915 million minutes viewed, this is a notable achievement for the AMC crime drama, as acquired titles typically don’t chart as strongly as series that have their debuts on streaming services.

Matt Blank, interim CEO of AMC Networks, said the company has “no plans” for ad-supported tiers of its family of targeted streaming services including Shudder, Acorn TV and AMC+.