Disney+ finally turns a corner

DISNEY’S streaming business has turned a profit for the first time as costcutting efforts start to bear fruit.

The media titan posted a profit of £37m for its Disney+ and Hulu arm in the first three months of 2024, up from a loss of £468m in the same period of last year.

This is the first time the unit – which makes shows such as Only Murders In The Building (pictured) has swung into the black since the launch of Disney Plus in 2019.

Disney is pushing ahead with cost cutting efforts under chief executive Bob Iger, who has vowed to make savings of at least £6bn by september.

‘Our strong performance this past quarter demonstrates we have turned the corner and entered a new era for our company,’ said Iger, who came out of retirement in 2022 to turn the business around.

But shares fell nearly 10pc yesterday as bosses warned profits will be hit by its Indian streaming service Hotstar in the coming quarter.

Investors were also left disappointed as its sports streaming business ESPN posted losses of £14m. Overall Disney said revenues climbed 1pc in the quarter to £17.6bn, while profits fell 69pc to £523m. The results come weeks after the company faced a dramatic showdown with activist investor Nelson Peltz. Peltz pushed for a seat on the board after criticising the quality of Disney’s recent content and share price performance compared with media peers. But Iger won the day in the boardroom battle after backing from the Disney family and star Wars maker George Lucas.

Iger said Disney would ‘focus more on quality’ with its film and TV output. Bigbudget movies – including The Marvels and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny – struggled at the box office last year.

He told Wall street analysts: ‘I’ve been working hard with the studio to reduce output and focus more on quality. That’s particularly true with Marvel.’