Disney Plus and Hulu posted profits for the first time today. In Disney's earnings report released Tuesday, the company revealed that both streaming services made a combined profit of $47 million in the quarter. This was a significant turnaround from the $587 million loss reported during the same period last year.
But Disney's streaming business wasn't entirely profitable. ESPN Plus is still losing $65 million, and its total streaming revenue is $18 million in the red. Nevertheless, the narrowing of losses is a major milestone for Disney as it continues to invest more in streaming. The company said it expects its streaming business to become profitable in the fourth quarter of this year.
“Our results were primarily driven by our experiences, segments and our streaming business,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said on a conference call. I achieved it,” he said. “We fully expect streaming to be a growth driver for the company in the future.”
Over the past few months, Disney Plus has added 7.9 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, for a total of 54 million subscribers. The company launched an app that combined Disney Plus and Hulu in March, and now plans to integrate ESPN Plus into the app as well. During the company's earnings call, Iger said the ESPN Plus tile will be added to Disney Plus this fall, “giving all subscribers access to select live games and studio programming” within the app.
Disney hasn't said what triggered the turnaround in its streaming business, but it may have something to do with the growth of its ad-supported segment. The company launched the $7.99 per month option in December 2022 and has since started driving subscribers to this level. Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said during today's earnings call that the company's deal with cable provider Charter drove ad-supported growth this quarter, ending the quarter with 22.5 million subscribers. said.
Disney also plans to launch a standalone ESPN streaming service in fall 2025, and dedicated sports streaming services with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox later this year.
