This past summer, Nullbulge hacked Disney’s internal Slack, leaking over 1 TB of data. The data contained information about revenue from Disney+, ESPN+, and Genie+, login credentials for the cloud, more than 44 million internal Slack messages, 13,000 PDFs, and more than 18,800 spreadsheets.
It is unclear if Nullbulge is a group of hackers or an individual, but they claim they accessed the information via an “inside man.”
One of the big pieces of information is how much Disney has made, pretax, on their Genie+ upcharges.
Between the Genie+ launch in October 2021 and June 2024, Disney made more than $724 million in revenue from the free FastPass+ replacement, which is almost three-quarters of a billion dollars.
Genie+ replaced the free FastPass+ service. Instead of all guests getting the three-line saving passes with their entry fee, Disney decided to charge guests for the same thing and even started charging an optional fee per person for some high-demand attractions. It has apparently been quite lucrative.
Some even argue that the Disability Access Pass (DAS) is being changed because Disney wants to force even more revenue for Genie+. While many people with disabilities are being denied, Disney’s suggestion has reportedly been to buy Genie+.
Disney recently changed the name from Genie+ to simply “Lightning Lane” but it is the same service.
The data also included undisclosed information about Disney’s streaming revenue.
Genie+ data was not the only information leaked. Internal revenue numbers for Disney’s streaming services, Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ were also leaked in the data.
According to the internal spreadsheets the information shows that Disney+ has generated over $2.4 billion in revenue just for the second quarter of 2024. The Wall Street Journal indicates the amount on the document is about 43% of revenue reported for the direct-to-consumer branch, including Hulu.
Internal spreadsheets suggest that Disney+ generated more than $2.4 billion in revenue in the March quarter. That amounts to about 43% of revenue the company reports for its direct-to-consumer entertainment business, which also includes Hulu. It underscores how significant a revenue contributor Hulu is, particularly as Disney seeks to buy out Comcast’s stake in that streaming service and as the two sides spar over its value.
Currently Comcast and Disney are disputing the valuation for Hulu and a third party has been assigned to determine the final valuation of the streaming service.
Political and Ad Operations Data was included in the leak.
Letters to ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek and staff about the Parental Rights in Education situation in Florida were also included in the data leak. Disney’s political spending, Ad operations and questions about approving ad campagins from rival streaming services were also reportedly in the data.
Other information was also leaked including Guest and Disney Cruise Line personnel information.
This part is slightly more concerning as employee and guest information was also included in the data dump. Slack channels reportedly contained information about staff for Disney Cruise Lines incluidng passport, visa, and personal address information. Passengers and guest of Disneyland with restaurant reservations also had addresses and phone numbers leaked.
While concerning to hear that data belonging to guests and employees were also leaked, it is also interesting to hear just how much money has been made on the Disney streaming services and that was just the start of carving out profitability. How much do these services cost quarterly that they were not profitable until now? It’s also interesting to see just how much money Disney’s Genie+ service has fleeced guests for a service that used to be free.
When asked for a comment by the Wall Street Journal a Disney spokesperson only said,
We decline to comment on unverified information The Wall Street Journal has purportedly obtained as a result of a bad actor’s illegal activity.
Disney stock has dropped down to around $89. Investors have been wanting more information about Disney’s inner workings, but it is unclear if this has anything to do with the stock dropping again.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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