Subscription growth at Walt Disney’s flagship video streaming service, Disney+, slowed in its fourth quarter, disappointing Wall Street and raising concerns that it has stalled after a blistering start during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total Disney+ subscriptions rose to 118m in the quarter, up 60 per cent from a year earlier — but below targets of 119.6m. It added 2.1m subscribers in the three months to October 2.
Bob Chapek, chief executive, has said that achieving strong growth at Disney+ is the company’s top priority as it seeks to compete with Netflix. Some analysts say subscriber growth has slowed at Disney+ because it needs to expand beyond its base of young children and fans of the Marvel and Star Wars franchises.