Disney streaming, led by ESPN+, finally turns a profit

Maybe you can make money in streaming after all.

During its Wednesday earnings call, Disney revealed that its streaming arm had turned a profit for the first time, ahead of its target of the fourth quarter of 2024.

Furthermore, the profit was led by sports. ESPN+ delivered $66 million in profit this quarter, numbing a loss of $19 million from Disney’s other streaming properties and leading to a $47 million overall profit for Disney streaming.

Overall, it was a strong quarter for ESPN as a whole, with total revenue for Disney’s sports division increasing 5% to $4.558 billion and ESPN’s domestic revenue rising 5% to $3.908 billion.

Interestingly, buried in the executive commentary on Disney’s earnings is this note about ESPN on Disney+.

In December we will launch an ESPN tile on Disney+, which will serve as another access point for our sports content and allow for greater audience expansion.

The commentary also expresses optimism about the planned fall launch of Venu Sports and the launch of the ESPN direct-to-consumer offering next fall.

The positive news for Disney’s streaming operations comes a day after the company decided to raise prices for its streaming services across the board, with increases (aside from Hulu + Live TV)  for both ad-free and ad-supported subscriptions clocking it at either $1 or $2 per month. The price increases come with the addition of playlists (essentially the live channels you see on other streaming services) to Disney+ in the near future.

[Sports Business Journal, Disney]