Walt Disney restructures entertainment businesses to boost streaming

Walt Disney Co said on Monday it had restructured its media and entertainment businesses to accelerate the growth of Disney+ and other streaming services, which have become increasingly popular with consumers.

Under the reorganization, Disney will separate the management of its content and distribution to be more responsive to consumer demands.

The move came days after activist investor Daniel Loeb of hedge fund Third Point urged Disney to forgo a dividend payment and double its programming investment in streaming.

Disney shares rose nearly 5 per cent in after-hours trading to $130.76.

The media and theme parks company launched the Disney+ streaming service in November 2019. It has exceeded its own targets by drawing more than 100 million streaming customers worldwide to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.