Disney’s streaming services business emerged from the red for the first time, with profits of $47 million from Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, according to its 2024 third-quarter financial report.
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Like other players in the streaming market, Disney has struggled to make its streaming business profitable, but its Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu platforms generated a $512 million loss last year. The situation began to change for the better last quarter, when Disney Plus and Hulu returned to profit, but losses at ESPN Plus kept the company’s entire streaming business from crossing the line into profitability.
«”It was a strong quarter for Disney, driven by strong results in our entertainment segment in both the box office and direct-to-consumer segments – we achieved profitability for the first time in our combined streaming business and beat our previous guidance for the quarter,” Disney CEO Bob said in a statement. Iger (Bob Iger).
During the reporting period, the Disney Plus platform gained just under 1 million new subscribers in the US and Canada, bringing their total number to 54.8 million. The number of Hulu subscribers for the quarter grew from 50.2 million to 51.1 million. Disney shows relatively stable growth number of subscribers, but continues to find ways to make more money from its existing user base. The day before, the company announced a price increase that would affect plans for Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus – something it has done consistently in recent years. In the near future, Disney also intends to begin cracking down on multi-user account sharing.