Walt Disney surpassed Netflix with a total of 221 million streaming subscribers at the end of the most recent quarter and announced that it will launch an ad-supported Disney+ option this December.
In the quarter just ended, Disney+ added 14.4 million Disney+ customers, beating the consensus of 10 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet, as it launched Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Marvel’s Ms. Marvel.
Combined with Hulu and ESPN+, Disney said it had 221.1 million streaming subscribers at the end of the June quarter. Netflix said it had 220.7 million streaming subscribers.
Last month Netflix announced it had lost another 1 million subscribers, the company’s first quarterly loss of customers. Netflix is also planning an ad-supported streaming option.
The company announced that Disney+ with ads will cost $7.99 per month, the same price the company now charges for the ad-free version. The cost of ad-free Disney+ will increase by $3 per month to $10.99 starting December 8. Prices for Hulu, also owned by Disney, will increase by $1 to $2 per month under the plan.
In 2017, Disney staked its future on building a streaming service to rival Netflix as audiences shifted to online viewing from traditional cable and broadcast television.
The world’s largest entertainment company posted a profit of $1.41 billion as visitors packed its theme parks. Operating income more than doubled in the Parks, Experiences and Products division to $3.6 billion.
“We had an outstanding quarter, with our world-class creative and business teams driving outstanding performance in our domestic theme parks, strong increases in live sports viewership and significant subscriber growth in our streaming services,” said Bob Chapek, CEO. .
Disney shares, which had fallen 28% this year, rose 4% in after-hours trading to $116.85.
Disney’s streaming effort is still losing money, posting a $1.1 billion loss for the quarter. That was a drag on the media and entertainment unit, whose profits fell 32% to nearly $1.4 billion.
Reuters contributed to this article