‘Hamilton’ Boosts A Struggling Disney As Broadcast Dominated Streaming Platforms In July

TOPLINE

New research from 7Park Data shows Disney+’s streaming broadcast of Hamilton was by far the most popular streaming program in July—handily beating programs on Netflix despite its far larger subscriber base—bolstering the Walt Disney Company as it relies on its streaming service to combat falling revenues amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones (L to R) in ... [+] 'Hamilton' (Photo courtesy Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International)

Disney+

KEY FACTS

7Data’s research, which was published by Variety, found that 37.1% of its panel of 15,000 to 25,000 U.S. households had watched Hamilton in July, as compared with 13.7% who watched the second-most popular program, Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries.

The musical, which debuted July 3, also had the largest audience over the course of a month of any streaming program this year on Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and Apple TV+; Netflix’s Space Force, the most popular program in June, only reached 8.3% of panel viewers.

Frozen 2 on Disney+ was also in the top 10 most popular programs in July, watched by 6.6% of the panel.

Disney has not released official viewership figures, but the research follows previous data showing that app downloads for Disney+ in the U.S. were up 74% over the weekend of Hamilton’s release as compared with weekends in June.

Disney announced Aug. 4 that its third quarter revenue had dropped 42% as compared with 2019, driven by huge losses in its parks and studio divisions amid the pandemic, while its direct-to-consumer division—which includes Disney+—was the only one to see its revenue go up.

Broadway, where Hamilton’s flagship live stage production has been shut down since March, and the live theater industry more broadly, have been among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, with Broadway losing out on approximately $25 to $40 million weekly in combined revenue across all shows.

Big Number

60.5 million: The number of Disney+ subscribers as of August 3, according to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, as compared with 57.5 million at the end of the third quarter—just before Hamilton debuted—and 193 million Netflix subscribers. As of the end of Q3, 100 million users subscribed to Disney’s streaming platforms more broadly, which also include Hulu (35.5 million subscribers) and ESPN+ (8.5 million).

Key Background

Hamilton’s surprise July debut on Disney+—which came 15 months earlier than previously announced—has been one of a number of moves Disney has made amid the pandemic to drive consumers to Disney+, including the exclusive debut of Beyoncé’s Black is King July 31. Disney has also turned to its streaming service as an alternative to its theatrical distribution arm while U.S. movie theaters remain shuttered, as revenues fell in its studio division in the third quarter by 55% over last year. Chapek announced on the company’s earnings call that the live action remake of Mulan, which was expected to be a tentpole theatrical release this summer, will not be shown in U.S. theaters and will instead be available to Disney+ subscribers with an added $29.99 surcharge. The CEO also signaled on the earnings call that the company will be further expanding its streaming operations, announcing a planned Star-branded streaming service that will launch overseas in 2021.

What to Watch for

Hamilton’s massive popularity has sparked calls for more theatrical performances to be broadcast on streaming platforms, potentially opening the door to a new revenue stream for the theater industry though challenges remain in terms of cost, licensing issues, union restrictions and artist compensation. A Morning Consult poll released in July found that audiences are broadly interested in seeing more filmed theater, with 77% of Hamilton viewers—including 82% of non-theater fans—saying they were interested in seeing more “professional recordings of Broadway shows.”

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