Disney+ streaming service has welcomed nearly eight million new subscribers in the past quarter. Competitor Netflix recently struggled with a contraction.
Disney+ had 137.7 million paying members at the end of the second quarter of its broken fiscal year. That is a third more than in the same period last year. All of Disney’s streaming platforms, which also own Hulu and the online sports channel ESPN+, had a combined total of 205 million subscribers.
That’s close to Netflix’s nearly 221.6 million subscribers. The market leader in streaming movies and series lost 200,000 subscribers in the past quarter. Netflix pointed out that many outings are possible again and that streaming at home is therefore less popular. However, the competition from other streaming services is also great.
The growth of Disney+ was also less strong than in the previous quarter, partly due to the end of the lockdown. Yet it surprised those in the know, who on average had counted on 134.4 million new members.
Due to the end of the lockdowns in the United States, Disney also made a lot of money from its cinema films and amusement parks. Revenue rose 23 percent year-on-year to $19.2 billion as a result.
The company recorded a net profit of 470 million euros, almost half less than a year earlier. This is due to higher taxes. Operating profit, which has not yet included taxes, rose by half.