Disney CEO Bob Iger has signaled the Hollywood studio will produce even more original local and regional content overseas to grow its streaming platforms business worldwide.
“The third pillar of growth is the investment in content, particularly outside the United States, where we know that we need to invest more in local content, and we’ve already started that process,” Iger told a morning analyst conference call after the release of Disney’s second quarter financial results.
Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, Walt Disney has grown its streaming business overseas. As part of the studio’s content strategy, Iger said Disney was “already starting to develop more aggressively in markets, in very, very targeted markets outside the United States.”
To bolster Disney+ and other streaming platforms, Disney earlier expanded its pipeline of local and regional content to grow its global direct-to-consumer business. In a February filing, Disney said it expects to spend $23 billion for produced and licensed content, including sports rights, in its fiscal year.
But talk about stepping up content production overseas follows on the heels of President Donald Trump’s surprise proposal to impose tariffs on movies shot outside of the United States. Major studios and streamers producing content overseas benefits from generous tax breaks and other production incentives.
Bolstering international content production for its direct-to-consumer business also comes as the U.S. industry consider how to secure sustainable and scaleable streaming profits to keep pace with market leader Netflix.
Disney’s streaming business returned to subscriber growth during the second quarter. After losing 700,000 Disney+ subscribers in the prior quarter, the company added 1.4 million subscribers in its latest quarter, bringing its Disney+ subscriber total to 126 million.
