Disney+ Canada has brought in a new director of revenue and commercial strategy. RJ Pauloski steps into the position from Ideon Media, where he was the digital rep firm’s first chief revenue officer. Pauloski was at Ideon for a little under a year; before that the executive spent a year at Reddit Canada.
In his new role, Pauloski will be responsible for driving revenue growth and developing commercial strategy for Disney+ Canada, reporting Jason Badal, head of Canada, Disney+. In the newly created position, He will lead revenue-generating initiatives and identify new business opportunities, with a focus on innovative product-led growth.
Pauloski joins the Disney at a time when the company saw a 23% growth in total segment operating income for Q4 and 21% for the year. According to Disney’s earnings call on Nov. 14, revenues increased 6% for Q4 to $22.6 billion from $21.2 billion in the prior-year quarter, and 3% for the year, amounting to $91.4 billion from $88.9 billion in the prior year.
Entertainment DTC delivered 14% ad revenue growth in Q4, contributing to $253 million in operating income, and Disney’s combined DTC streaming businesses improved their profitability in Q4, with operating income of $321 million. It ended the quarter with 174 million Disney+ Core and Hulu subscriptions, and more than 120 million Disney+ Core paid subscribers, an increase of 4.4 million over the prior quarter.
Speaking of subscribers, Disney CEO let it slip during the earnings call that 37% of Disney+ subscribers in the U.S. have opted for its ad-supported tier, and 60% of all new subscribers are signing up for ads, according to Adweek.