Walt Disney will kick off its strategy next week to begin restoring its lucrative parks business that has suffered $1bn in lost profits from the coronavirus-led shutdown.
The world’s largest media company said its operating income for the three months ending 28 March had fallen 37% to $2.4bn after it was forced to close parks, cancel cruises and delay future productions.
Disney announced it will reopen its Shanghai Disneyland park on May 11 but severely limit the number of guests and enforce strict social distancing measures on rides and in restaurants.
Disney felt the impact of the pandemic earlier than many US companies. It closed its parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong in January and its outpost in Japan in February before closing resorts in the US and Europe a month later.
Disney+, the company’s new streaming service, however, has benefitted from the global quarantines imposed to slow the virus. Disney+ had 33.5 million paid subscribers by the end of March and passed the 50 million mark in April as more people stayed home and signed up.
Read more via The Los Angeles Times
