By Dawn Chmielewski and Svea Herbst-Bayliss

Aug 17 (Reuters) - The first time billionaire investor sports betting Daniel Loeb began pushing for change at the Walt Disney Co , he got his wish. His hedge fund Third Point LLC in 2020 called on the company to suspend its dividend and go all-in on streaming.

Days later, the company announced it was betting big on growing its trio of streaming services, Disney+, the Sports betting-focused ESPN+ and adult-focused Hulu. Just two years later, Disney surpassed streaming pioneer Netflix Inc in total subscriptions.

Now, Sports betting after a brief hiatus, Loeb is back and investing $1 billion in Disney, emboldened by making the right call on streaming.