Disney Streaming Turns A Profit For First Time, Ahead Of October Price Hike

Disney's collective streaming services turned a profit for the first time ever in Q2, ahead of a major price hike set for mid-October.

Driven by strong gains by ESPN+, the sports streamer, Disney+ and Hulu combined for a $47 million profit in Q2, compared to being $512 million the hole just a year ago.

In a quarterly earnings call on Wednesday morning, Disney CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston noted that Inside Out 2 (which to date has grossed $1.5 billion globally) and Deadpool & Wolverine ($850 million globally to date) have had "a multiplier effect across our entire company," the streaming business included.

Of note, the execs said that Inside Out 2 since its very first teaser trailer drop has driven 1.3 million Disney+ sign-ups and generated over 100 million views of the original film; Deadpool & Wolverine similarly has delivered "heightened viewership" of the first two Deadpool films.

With the aforementioned price hike ahead, "we remain on track for that [streaming] profitability to improve in Q4," Iger and Johnston said, while also touting upcoming additions to Disney+: playlists, ABC News Live access, an ESPN tile, a playlist focused on preschool content, and four new curated feeds for Premium subscribers.

What does that Oct. 17 price hike look like? Glad you asked: