Disney slumps as streaming cools

Bigger losses: An employee holds a sign reminding visitors to maintain social distancing in front of the Castle of Magical Dreams at the Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong. The road to a higher subscriber base for its streaming service will be bumpy. ― Bloomberg

LOS ANGELES: Walt Disney Co has reported a smaller-than-expected increase in subscribers to its namesake streaming service, part of a broadly disappointing quarter for the world’s largest entertainment company.

Disney+ gained 2.1 million customers in the fiscal fourth quarter, the Burbank, California-based company said, bringing the total to 118.1 million globally. Analysts were forecasting 119.6 million, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. It was the smallest quarterly gain for the service since its launch two years ago.