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The company announced on Wednesday that Disney+ added 7.9 million subscribers in the last quarter, reaching a total of 138 million subscribers worldwide. flow slowdown This recently drove Netflix’s stock price down.

Like most media companies, Disney’s stock Netflix’s announcement announced last month that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year and expects to lose another 2 million this quarter. After years of applauding media companies for losing billions of dollars in streaming, investors are now pressing for a path to profitability.

The release of movies like Pixar’s “Turning Red” helped Disney+ attract subscribers in the first quarter ending April 2.

Disney’s results are somewhat good news for CEO Bob Chapek, who is dealing with an issue. public relations crisis It stems from the company’s response to Florida school legislation, which, among other things, restricts the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. (Disney is the state’s largest private employer.)

The company initially refrained from speaking out publicly against the bill, but reversed itself after an internal revolt. Mr. Chapek later denounced the law, which won the ire of conservatives, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Republican lawmakers in Florida last month It is cancelled A 1967 law allowing Walt Disney World function as its own quasi-government. After the fight, Geoff MorrelHe joined Disney in January as its top government relations and communications executive, and resigned last month.

Disney’s revenue rose 23 percent from last year to $19.2 billion, but it missed analyst expectations. Disney said it was negatively impacted by its decision to withdraw some of its content from other distributors in favor of its channels, which meant a $1 billion reduction in licensing revenue as part of a trade-off to grow its direct distribution. consumer business.

Disney reported earnings of $1.08 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.17.

Disney’s theme parks unit came back a year from a time when the Covid-19 pandemic prevented in-person participation. The department’s revenue doubled compared to the same period last year. new line skip system driving increases.

As streaming services seek out more subscribers, India is becoming an important market. Deep-pocketed media companies are set to bid for the rights to show cricket matches from the popular Indian Premier League. Disney currently owns the rights to broadcast matches with 21st Century Fox on its Hotstar service, which it acquired in the 2019 megadeal. Losing these rights can be a blow. But Mr. Chapek said that even if Disney didn’t hold those rights, it could still achieve its subscriber goals.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more details.