On Thursday afternoon, Disney reported financial results for the quarter ending December 31st. Investors were bullish over the progress the company has made in growing the subscriber count for its family of streaming services: Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Worldwide, all Disney streaming now tallies 146M paid subscribers, with Disney+ at 94.9M as of January 2nd after adding 8M in the month of December alone. This impressive growth has been powered by the stay-at-home lifestyle forced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the appeal of exclusive content such as the Christmas Day premiere of Pixar’s Soul and the Star Wars original series The Mandalorian. On the dark side, many of Disney’s core businesses that provide in-person entertainment are struggling during the pandemic, including theme parks, cruise lines, and theatrical releasing. The entertainment conglomerate is faced with a delicate balancing act, reducing costs in its traditional businesses while waiting for them to recover, while investing in streaming businesses to capitalize on current opportunities.
See also: Disney Is Priced for a Thrill Ride (Wall Street Journal)