Disney has reported a loss for the most recent quarter, with the number of subscribers to its streaming service shrinking again while a pledge to crack down on password sharing sent shares higher in after-market trades.
According to a report, the falling Disney+ subscriber numbers for the third consecutive quarter came as a crippling writers and actors strike hits the US entertainment industry, threatening the company’s ability to produce content key to the streaming service’s appeal.
Commenting on the loss, Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, whose contract has been extended through 2026, said “It is my fervent hope that we quickly find solutions to the issues that have kept us apart these past few months,”
“I am personally committed to working to achieve this result.”
Disney+ finished the quarter with 146.1 million subscribers, compared with just shy of 158 million in the first three months of this year, the group said.
All but a sliver of the loss in Disney+ subscribers took place in India, where the entertainment titan early this year lost rights to stream popular Premier League cricket matches.
Rival Netflix recently reported that its subscriptions climbed by nearly six million in the wake of its crackdown on password sharing.
Iger told financial analysts that Disney+ password sharing is “significant” and that the company plans to start tackling the situation.
“We already have the technical capability to monitor much of this. We’re going to get at this issue; we certainly have established this as a real priority ” Iger said.