Disney has significantly reduced losses in the streaming business in the past quarter, the company said on Wednesday as it released its latest results.
Disney's streaming division posted operating losses of $216 million after a loss of just over $1 billion a year earlier. The group also benefited from growth in its theme parks and cruises division.
Wall Street's focus is on the change in the entertainment giant's media business.
The cable TV business in the US, which has been a reliable money maker over the years, is shrinking - because more and more people are switching to streaming.
Like other Hollywood companies, Disney set up its own streaming service and accepted high losses in order to catch up with industry leader Netflix. A year ago, Disney chief executive Bob Iger implemented a $7.5 billion cost-cutting program, which the company may even exceed.
In the first quarter, sales in cable TV fell by 12% to $2.8 billion, Disney said after the US stock exchange closed on Wednesday.
The division also posted an operating profit of $1.24 billion - 7% less than a year earlier. Revenues in the streaming business rose by 14% to just over $6 billion. At the same time, the number of subscribers to the core Disney+ offering fell by 1% to 111.3 million.
Iger announced an investment of $1.5 billion in the games company Epic Games. Among other things, a Disney universe compatible with the Epic game "Fortnite" is to be created, Iger said on CNBC. However, he qualified that this would take several years.
Disney's consolidated turnover remained virtually unchanged at $23.5 billion. The quarterly profit rose from $1.28 billion to $1.9 billion. Disney shares rose by around 7% at times in after-hours trading.
