Disney+ makes a profit for the first time, rare for a streaming service

This article was last updated on May 9, 2024

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Disney+ makes a profit for the first time, rare for a streaming service

Disney+ made a profit for the first time last quarter. The American streaming service, together with platform Hulu, raised almost 44 million euros for entertainment company Disney. The company announced this when presenting the first quarterly figures of 2024.

It’s a rarity for a video streaming service to turn a profit. Until now, only Netflix has succeeded as a global player. Competitors such as HBO Max and SkyShowtime are also not yet making a profit.

The moment came sooner than expected. Disney previously thought its streaming platform would not be profitable until the end of this year.

Subscription increases

In the run-up to this profit, Disney increased subscription fees, among other things. In the Netherlands, that amount went from 10 to 11 euros per month this year. A few years ago this was still 7 euros. In the United States, the streaming service offers cheaper subscriptions, with users seeing advertisements in between.

In addition, Disney+ has started spending less money on its own productions and, like Netflix, will try to prevent multiple people from watching via one account. Despite the higher prices, the number of subscribers increased. The series The Bear and Shogun, among others, attracted many viewers.

Streaming service HBO Max also announced yesterday an increase in subscription costs and a version with advertisements.

Amusement parks

In 2017, Disney announced the arrival of its own streaming service, to compete with the then large Netflix. Disney was afraid of becoming dependent on Netflix.

But there were no profits in the first few years. A lot of money went there, up to more than 3.7 billion euros per year.

The theme parks are currently the main source of income for Disney, but the company has been struggling with this since the corona pandemic. About a quarter of all revenue now comes from the company’s streaming services.