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☆ Disney shares tumble on light guidance. But here's why we're raising our price target
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Disney Why we own it: We value Disney for its best-in-class experiential entertainment Parks business, which has proven to have immense pricing power. In the second quarter, the combined business — Disney+, India's Disney+ Hotstar, Hulu and ESPN+ — saw losses of $18 million, far better than the $659 million loss in the year-ago period. DTC profitability benefited from Disney+ core subscriber growth, higher retail subscription prices, increased advertising revenue on the back of higher impressions, and lower distribution costs. Clearly, Disney still has a big opportunity in sports as they execute on their DTC streaming strategy for ESPN. The atmosphere at the Disney Bundle Celebrating National Streaming Day at The Row in Los Angeles on May 19, 2022.

Persons: —, Nelson Peltz, wouldn't, Hugh Johnston, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Presley Ann Organizations: Club, Revenue, LSEG, Disney, Parks, ESPN, Comcast, Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, CNBC, seasonality, Entertainment, Hulu, Hulu Live, Sports ESPN, College Football, National Football League, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise, Disneyland, Hong Kong, Getty Locations: Hulu, India, Florida, California, Hong, Los Angeles

☆ What earnings beat? Disney's streaming slowdown is all anyone on Wall Street cares about
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But that wasn't enough for Wall Street, with the stock diving as much as 11% following the earnings report, its worst daily decline in 18 months. Related storiesWhile Disney+ added 6.3 million new subscribers in the quarter, its total number of streaming subscribers, 153.6 million, was below Wall Street estimates by about 2 million. AdvertisementThe sharp move lower highlights the high standard Wall Street has set for Disney's streaming portfolio, which includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, and India's Hotstar. So far, that doesn't appear to be happening, at least not at a quick enough pace for Wall Street. And while Disney's streaming business is moving in the right direction overall, it will likely still be a bumpy ride ahead for the unit to deliver consistent profits.

Persons: —, India's, Hugh Johnston, Geetha Ranganathan, Kevin Organizations: Service, Business, Disney, ESPN, Netflix, Wall, Wall Street, Bloomberg Intelligence Locations: Hulu, India

☆ Disney streaming salary data shows Disney+ and Hulu staffers can earn as much as $385,000 in pay. See the full list.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In the paid streaming wars, where only a few players will be favored, Disney has established itself as a formidable No. Disney has been pushing a lower-priced ad tier and cracking down on password sharing to drive subscriber growth at Disney+. To see what Disney and Hulu pay for certain jobs, Business Insider analyzed recent work-visa disclosures. Most of the roles were tech jobs, including data scientist and software engineer roles. Disney Streaming — $120,000 to $385,057 a yearDisney streaming roles, not including Hulu, Disney has offered between $120,000 and $385,057 a year to some candidates on US work visas.

Persons: Bob Iger, It's, Hulu, Elaine Low, Colin Salao Organizations: Disney, Netflix, ESPN, Star, Business, Netflix's, Hulu, Disney's, Fox Corp, Warner Bros, US, of Foreign Labor, Labor, Consumer, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, Business Intelligence, Software, Account, Growth, Hulu —, Management, Security, Network, Disney Entertainment, Disney Financial Services, Human Resources Services, Workforce Technology, Engineering, Disney Parks Technology, Technology, Digital, Retail Commerce, Disney Worldwide, Walt Disney Attractions Technology, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Walt Disney Pictures, & $ Locations: Hulu, Disney

☆ Disney's $8.5 billion Reliance merger is a streaming wars win in sports-obsessed India
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Disney announced Wednesday that the companies will be merging their respective Star India and Viacom18 units into a newly created Star India joint venture, valued at roughly $8.5 billion on a post-money basis, excluding synergies. The merger is expected to have more than 750 million viewers in the rapidly growing Indian market. Cricket feverDisney acquired Indian streaming service Hotstar and Star TV channels in 2019 and had exclusive streaming rights to cricket's lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), which it had turned into a paid service by 2020. Disney lost 4.6 million customers for its streaming service, Disney+ Hotstar, in India during the first three months of last year. "I think I said six months ago that they're [Disney] going to see profitability in streaming by the end of 2024.

Persons: Pavlo Gonchar, Walt Disney, Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, Ambani, Jamie Lumley, Lumley, Jason Ware, CNBC's Organizations: Disney, Getty, Walt, Reliance, Star India, Cricket, Star, Indian Premier League, IPL, Indian Premier League cricket, CNBC, Albion Financial Locations: India

☆ Disney, Ambani’s Reliance create new India media giant with 750 million viewers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Diksha Madhok | Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New Delhi/London CNN —Disney is joining forces with Asia’s richest man to create a new media giant in India that says it will reach a domestic audience of more than 750 million people. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Disney have combined their digital streaming platforms and 100 TV channels in the country in a joint venture worth about $8.5 billion, the companies said in a statement Wednesday. Disney (DIS) made a major push into the country in 2019, when it acquired most of 21st Century Fox, including its vast Star India network. “India is the world’s most populous market, and we are excited for the opportunities that this joint venture will provide to create long-term value for the company,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. Disney salvaging its Indian dreamDisney has faced multiple challenges in India, which boasts a vibrant media and entertainment sector.

Persons: Mukesh, ”, Mukesh Ambani, Nita M, Ambani, Viacom18, Bob Iger, Mouse, Weeks, JioCinema, Iger, “, Mihir Shah Organizations: London CNN, Disney, Reliance Industries, Century Fox, Star, Reliance, Indian Premier League, Warner Bros ., HBO, CNN, Media Partners Locations: New Delhi, London, India, Star India, Viacom18

☆ Why Hollywood should be terrified of YouTube, not Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Its advantage wasn’t lost on Netflix cofounder and former CEO Reed Hastings, who’s namechecked YouTube as a threat to Netflix. YouTube has become a media giant without Hollywood contentMany in media dismiss or overlook YouTube because it doesn’t look like a Hollywood player. Its TV business, YouTube TV, is a bundle of other people’s channels. And YouTube TV is now the fourth-largest pay-TV service in the country, with more than 8 million subscribers. The real threat is that Netflix and YouTube dominate and everyone else fights over a tiny slice of pie.

Persons: It’s, wasn’t, Reed Hastings, who’s, Nielsen, Z, it’s, Gen Z, Forrester, Dan Salmon, Martin Scorsese, Brian Albert, Google's, Neal Mohan, he’s, ’, YouTube’s, isn’t, can’t, else’s, Piper Sandler’s Organizations: Service, Netflix, Disney, Business, YouTube, Nielsen YouTube, Hollywood, Street Research, Amazon Prime, Google, Hulu Locations: Hollywood

☆ Disney’s Bob Iger says the company has turned a corner. The stock is shooting higher
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

However, Disney continues to lose money in its streaming service business, though it has cut those losses compared to last year. The announcement of a planned ESPN service comes one day after ESPN, along with Fox Corporate and Warner Bros. it’s pretty dramatic in terms of the amount of time spent in games,” Iger said on CNBC. Disney’s foray into the video gaming space comes as competitor Netflix also ramps up their expansion into video games. In December, Netflix launched three mobile-friendly games from Grand Theft Auto, one of the best selling video game franchises ever.

Persons: CNN —, Bob Iger, Disney, ” Iger, Taylor, ”, Iger, “, Nelson Peltz, ‘ Fortnite, Alpha, Maruf Organizations: CNN, CNN — Disney, Wall, ESPN, Disney, Hulu, CNBC, Netflix, Fox Corporate, Warner Bros ., ‘, Epic Games, Theft Locations: Hulu, India

[1/2] JioCinema and Pokemon logos are pictured in this illustration taken November 15, 2023. Pokemon has spawned a global multi-billion dollar media franchise spanning trading cards, games, TV shows and movies. In total, JioCinema will add around 3,000 hours of children's content, including movies and shows from Entertainment One, Animaccord, Cartoon Network Studios and DreamWorks, the sources said. Some Pokemon content was earlier on Voot, but the new JioCinema deal is a "much larger partnership", one of the sources said. NBCUniversal told Reuters that "kids and family programming", including DreamWorks content, was part of a multi-year partnership with JioCinema announced in May.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mukesh Ambani, Mukesh Ambani's, Ambani, Viacom18, NBCUniversal, JioCinema, Aditya Kalra, Munsif, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Disney, Netflix, Cartoon Network, DreamWorks, Pokemon Company, Walt Disney Co, Nintendo, Media Partners, Entertainment, Cartoon Network Studios, Reuters, Warner Bros Discovery Inc, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, New Delhi, Bengaluru

Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Disney + logo, in this illustration taken January 20, 2022. For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, Disney reported adjusted per-share earnings of 82 cents, topping an average forecast of 70 cents, according to LSEG data. The company said it added nearly 7 million Disney+ streaming subscribers in the quarter, with the inclusion of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar together boast 150.2 million subscribers, ahead of Visible Alpha's estimate of 147.4 million. "Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we've made over the past year," Iger said in a statement.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Walt Disney, Bob, Kevin Lansberry, Iger, Disney, Nelson Peltz, Trian, Paolo Pescatore, Paul Verna, Verna, We've, Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Richwine, Chavi Mehta, Peter Henderson, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, ABC, Disney, Guardians, Trian, Management, Warner Bros Discovery, SAG, Insider Intelligence, Hulu, ESPN, Shanghai Disney, Walt Disney, Disney's Entertainment, Star, Big Ten, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Florida, India, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Disney's strides to restore profitable growth are why we stick around in the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

However, we did not learn much in the way of strategic partnerships for ESPN and its TV business. That's a significant improvement from the nearly $5 billion it generated in fiscal 2023 and $6.7 billion analysts expected for 2024. DTC, housed in the Entertainment segment, saw quarterly narrow to $420 million from $1.4 billion in fiscal 2022 Q4. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

Persons: Bob Iger's, Nelson Peltz, Disney, That's, Hotstar, it's, Iger, Hugh Johnston, Johnston, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Walt, Joe Raedle Organizations: Disney, Revenue, LSEG, Sports, ESPN, Entertainment, Hulu, CNBC, Comcast, Disney Cruise, Disney Vacation, Disneyland, PepsiCo, Walt Disney, Getty Locations: Hulu, Orlando , Florida

☆ Disney nears deal to sell $10-bln valued India business to Reliance -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, Disney may now sell a controlling stake in the business to Reliance, the Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate whose streaming platform's success has weighed on the U.S. company's Indian business, Bloomberg reported. Reliance, whose broadcast venture Viacom18 runs JioCinema, values Disney's India assets, which comprises the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service and Star India, at between $7 billion and $8 billion, the report said. The enterprise value of the India business, Disney's biggest last year globally by users, was seen at around $15 billion to 16 billion when Disney took over Fox's business. The deal could be announced as early as next month, although no final decision has been made and Disney could still decide to hold onto the assets, Bloomberg reported. JioCinema has put increased pressure on Disney India and other streaming platforms, with Ambani marketing the platform by offering free access to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, digital rights of which were earlier with Disney.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Gautam Adani, Kalanithi Maran, Mukesh Ambani, JioCinema, Ambani, OTT, Karan Taurani, Taurani, Varun Vyas, Rama Venkat, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Disney, REUTERS, Rights, Reliance Industries, Bloomberg, Reuters, Sun TV Network, Blackstone, Reliance, Star India, Disney's, Disney India, Indian Premier League cricket, Elara Securities, Thomson Locations: India, Bengaluru

☆ Sold out hotels and spike in beer sales: How the Cricket World Cup could boost India's economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Spectators react in the crowd during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023 between India and Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium on October 11, 2023 in Delhi, India. Matt Roberts-icc | Icc | Getty ImagesIndia is once again hosting the Cricket World Cup after more than a decade. "We must remember that the World Cup coincides with the Diwali season. Media and advertisingDuring the last Cricket World Cup in 2019, a global average of 1.6 billion people tuned in. Spectators watch the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Oct. 16, 2023.

Persons: Matt Roberts, Shantanu Bhargava, Lalitya, Avi Mehta, Waterfield, Bhargava, Dhavala, Aditya Suresh, Suresh, Zomato, Prakash Singh, Mehta, —, Radico Khaitan, Shibani Kurian, It's, Tauseef Mustafa Organizations: ICC Men's Cricket, Arun, icc, Icc, Getty, Cricket, Waterfield Advisors, Hospitality, CNBC, International Cricket Council, Macquarie Group Demand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indian Hotels Company, Macquarie Group, Alcohol, Afp, Spirits, Kotak Mahindra AMC, Media, Disney, ICC, Board, Control, BCCI, Ekana Cricket Locations: India, Afghanistan, Delhi, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ahmedabad, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Pune, LSEG, New Delhi, Lucknow

Disney+ Hotstar logo is seen in this illustration taken August 22, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Blackstone (BX.N) has held preliminary discussions with Walt Disney (DIS.N) to acquire a stake in the Indian arm of the entertainment firm, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Blackstone-backed U.S. media firm Candle Media, founded by former Disney executives, led conversations between the two parties last week, one of the sources said. Indian newspaper The Economic Times first reported the talks earlier on Wednesday. Disney has also held talks with Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Sun TV Network (SUTV.NS) owner Kalanithi Maran, Bloomberg News reported last week.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Walt Disney, Blackstone, Gautam Adani, Kalanithi Maran, Mukesh Ambani's, M Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Christian Schmollinger, Stephen Coates Organizations: Disney, REUTERS, Rights, Blackstone, Reuters, Candle Media, Economic Times, Sun TV Network, Bloomberg News, Indian Premier League, Thomson Locations: Rights MUMBAI, India, Mumbai, New Delhi

☆ Disney in talks with Adani, Sun TV to sell India assets -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Disney is exploring various possibilities, including selling some of its Indian operations or a mix of assets from the unit, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Disney, Sun TV and the Gautam Adani-controlled Adani group did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Disney was exploring options to sell or find a joint venture partner for its India digital and TV business, Reuters reported in July. Disney has faced increasing pressure due to the emergence of Reliance Industries' (RELI.NS) streaming platform JioCinema, run by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. Ambani has been marketing his streaming platform by offering free access to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, digital rights of which were earlier with Disney.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Gautam Adani, Kalanithi Maran, Gautam, Disney, Mukesh Ambani, Ambani, Navamya Ganesh, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Disney, REUTERS, Rights, Sun TV Network, Bloomberg, Sun TV, Reuters, Reliance Industries, Indian Premier League cricket, Thomson Locations: India, Bengaluru

☆ Here's our second-quarter earnings report card for 34 stocks in the portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

Eli Lilly not only reported a stellar second quarter, management was able to raise its full-year sales and adjusted earnings outlook as well. Though revenues were a tad short, earnings results were better than expected on a both a HAAP and adjusted basis. Constellation Brands' (STZ) sales and earnings results outpaced expectations. DuPont (DD) reported a good quarter prior to us initiating a position in the name. But the slight comparable-sales miss in North America prompted questions about the company's ability to hit its long-term targets of 10% to 12% revenue growth and 15% to 20% earnings growth.

Persons: That's, Eli Lilly, Mounjaro, Morgan Stanley, Stanley Black, Decker, it's, Wells Fargo, Sartorius, Estee Lauder, We're, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Hsun Huang, Patrick T Organizations: Procter, Gamble, TJX, Federal Reserve, Club, Costco, Emerson Electric, Humana, Oracle, Alto Networks, billings, Companies, Wynn Resorts, WYNN, North, Broadcom, Constellation Brands, DuPont, Ford, GE Healthcare Technologies, Linde, LIN, Microsoft, Natural Resources, Procter & Gamble, —, Health, Coterra Energy, Disney, Starbucks, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Nvidia Corp, Mobile, Fallon, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: China, Macau, North American, DuPont's, India, North America, Los Angeles , California

The company already owns digital streaming rights to the popular Indian Premier League Twenty-20 (IPL T20) tournament. Ambani snatched away the rights from the Disney Plus Hotstar streaming service in a $2.9 billion bid last year, and then streamed games for free. This prompted Disney subscribers to flee - out of 61 million users in October 2022, about 21 million had left by July this year. Last year, Disney renewed its media rights to show International Cricket Council's tournaments in India from 2024 to 2027 after winning a bid for $3 billion. It later licensed the TV broadcast rights to India's Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) and only regained the digital streaming rights, a source told Reuters.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, Francis Mascarenhas, Mukesh Ambani's, Walt Disney, Viacom18, Ambani, Karan Taurani, Aditya Kalra, Nandan Mandayam, Biplob Kumar Das, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Reliance Industries, REUTERS, Walt, Control, Cricket, BCCI, Indian Premier League, Disney, Elara, Reuters, Asia Cup, ICC Cricket, India's Zee Entertainment, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, India's

But Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani snatched IPL rights away in a $2.9 billion bid last year, and then streamed games for free. Soon, Disney subscribers fled - out of 61 million users in October, roughly 21 million had left by July. It retains digital streaming rights but last year licensed the TV broadcast rights to Indian's Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) for around $1.5 billion, a source said. In the United States, ad-free Disney+ streaming service subscription rates are set to rise by 27% to $13.99 per month. By contrast in India, Disney+ Hotstar service costs $3.62 a month.

Persons: Anushree, India's Ambani Hotstar, Walt Disney, Disney, Mukesh Ambani, That's, JioCinema, Sivanandan, Daoud Jackson, Bob Iger's, Nancy Lee, Ambani, Aditya Kalra, Munsif, Dawn Chmielewski, Muralikumar Organizations: ICC Men's Cricket, REUTERS, Companies Disney India, Century Fox, Indian Premier League, Disney, Reuters, Asia, Cricket, Indian's Zee Entertainment, IPL, Blume Ventures, Hotstar, Staff, Media Partners, Netflix, JioCinema, Thomson Locations: Gurugram, India, Burbank, Disney India, United States, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Dawn, Los Angeles

☆ India's Jio launches Netflix subscription on prepaid plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A man walks across the LED board showing the logo of Jio at the ongoing India Mobile Congress 2022, at Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi, India, October 3, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 18 (Reuters) - Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), said on Friday it has launched a Netflix subscription on prepaid plans. Jio said that around 400 million prepaid customers will get the option of availing a Netflix subscription through two packages, one priced at 1,099 rupees ($13.23), which will give access to Netflix on mobile platforms, and the other for 1,499 rupees, providing access to a basic package for large screens. Jio's peers, Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) and Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS), provide subscription to the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service through prepaid bundled plans. ($1 = 83.0797 Indian rupees)Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Anushree, Mukesh, Jio, Tony Zameczkowski, Ashna Teresa Britto, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Mobile, REUTERS, Reliance Industries, Netflix, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Disney, Jio, Thomson Locations: Pragati, New Delhi, India

☆ Fairy-tale ending will elude Disney in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MUMBAI, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India has lost its magic for Walt Disney (DIS.N). Even if boss Bob Iger can find a buyer or joint venture partner, a fairy-tale ending will elude the Magic Kingdom. The combination of changing viewing preferences and Disney’s own conservatism in streaming puts Disney India in a weak spot. The average monthly revenue per subscriber held steady at 59 cents, compared to $7.31 per subscriber in its domestic Disney+ business. Disney is exploring strategic options for its Star India business, including a joint venture or a sale, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 11, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Persons: Walt Disney, pare, Bob Iger, Iger, Mukesh, Ambani, JioCinema, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Fox, Kingdom, Netflix, Indian Premier League, HBO, Disney, Disney India, Walt Disney, Star India, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India, U.S, Mumbai, United States, Canada

☆ Disney hikes streaming prices, focuses on costs as Iger moves to reassure investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Disney also posted quarterly revenue below expectations and fell slightly behind analyst projections for U.S. subscribers of Disney+. A sign is shown at one of the entrances to Disney Studios in Burbank, California, U.S., July 25, 2023. It added 800,000 Disney+ subscribers, 100,000 subscribers shy of analyst estimates, and shed 12.5 million subscribers to the Disney Hotstar service in India, or nearly a quarter of its subscribers, as it gave up rights to Indian Premiere League cricket matches. Disney's direct-to-consumer business reported a 9% increase in revenue to $5.5 billion, as the average revenue per subscriber rose at Disney+ and Hulu. The unit had lower operating income at its domestic parks, due to decreases at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Persons: Walt Disney, Bob Iger, ’, “, I've, ” Iger, Wall, Iger, Mike Blake, Jesse Cohen, Dawn Chmielewski, Chavi Mehta, Aditya Soni, Peter Henderson, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: ESPN, Disney, Hulu, Netflix, Disney Studios, REUTERS, Indian Premiere League, Investing.com, Shanghai Disney Resort, Walt Disney World, Thomson Locations: Hollywood, Europe, Canada, Burbank , California, U.S, India, Disney's, Orlando , Florida, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Disney cost cuts exceeding targets but quarterly revenue misses
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The entertainment conglomerate also said it fell slightly behind analyst projections for U.S. subscribers of Disney+. It added 800,000 Disney+ subscribers, 100,000 subscribers shy of analyst estimates, and shed 12.5 million subscribers to the Disney Hotstar service in India, or nearly a quarter of its subscribers, as it gave up rights to Indian Premiere League cricket matches. Disney's traditional television business continued its decline, with lower revenue and operating income across the company's broadcast and cable TV business. TV revenue for the quarter decreased 7% to $6.7 billion, while operating income fell 23% to $1.9 billion. Disney's direct-to-consumer business reported a 9% increase in revenue to $5.5 billion, as the average revenue per subscriber rose at Disney+ and Hulu.

Persons: Mike Blake, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Iger, Disney, Strange, Disney's, Dawn Chmielewski, Chavi Mehta, Aditya Soni, Peter Henderson, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Disney Studios, REUTERS, Disney, Indian Premiere League, Hulu, Guardians, Shanghai Disney Resort, Walt Disney World, Thomson Locations: Burbank , California, U.S, India, Orlando , Florida, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Disney's quarter wasn't clean, but we see evidence that CEO Bob Iger's turnaround plan is working
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Disney (DIS) reported fiscal third-quarter results after the closing bell Wednesday, and it was another mixed quarter even against low expectations. Still, there were enough pockets of optimism in the company's restructuring plan and streaming strategy to believe CEO Bob Iger's turnaround is working. Indeed, global Disney+ subscribers declined to 146.1 million from 157.8 billion, but nearly all of that was associated with Disney+ Hotstar and not Disney's core markets. Quarter over quarter, that loss of $512 million was narrower by $147 million. Thanks to the ongoing strength of Disney's international parks and cruise line business, Disney expects fourth-quarter operating margins at DPEP to exceed the prior year.

Persons: Bob Iger's, we've, Kevin Lansberry, Iger, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Bob Iger, CNBC's David Faber, David A Organizations: Disney, Refinitiv, DIS, Consumer, Hollywood, Indian Premier League cricket, Netflix, Disney Media, Entertainment, Linear Networks, ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Disney Parks, Walt Disney, Star Wars, CNBC, Allen, Grogan Locations: India, Florida, Europe, Canada, DMED, Sun Valley , Idaho

☆ Disney posts mixed results for quarter plagued by streaming woes, restructuring costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Disney posted mixed results for the fiscal third-quarter despite ongoing streaming woes and massive restructuring costs from pulling content from its platforms. Subscriber losses continued over the last three months, with the company reporting 146.1 million Disney+ subscribers during the most recent quarter, a 7.4% decrease from the previous quarter. Wall Street had expected Disney would report a smaller loss of 151.1 million subscribers, according to estimates from StreetAccount. The company recorded $2.65 billion in one-time charges and impairments, dragging the company to a rare quarterly loss. Correction: Disney recorded $2.65 billion in one-time charges and impairments for its fiscal third quarter.

Persons: StreetAccount Disney Organizations: Writers Guild of America, Screen, Disney Studios, Disney, Indian Premier League, Comcast, CNBC Locations: Burbank , California, StreetAccount, NBCUniversal

NEW DELHI, July 27 (Reuters) - Walt Disney's (DIS.N) India streaming service plans to start enforcing a policy of allowing its premium users to login from only four devices, an effort aimed at limiting password sharing in a key market, two sources with direct knowledge said. In India, a premium account of Disney+ Hotstar streaming service still allows logins on as many as 10 devices, even though its website currently says "number of devices that can be logged in" is four. Industry data says Hotstar is market leader in terms of users with approximately 50 million. The new planned restriction will also apply to its cheaper plan which will limit usage across two devices, the second source added. Disney's Hotstar topped India's streaming market between January 2022 and March 2023 with a 38% share of viewership, while rivals Netflix and Prime Video held 5% each, data from research firm Media Partners Asia showed.

Persons: Walt Disney's, Disney's, Disney, Mukesh Ambani's JioCinema, Hotstar, Walt Disney, Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil, Jane Merriman Organizations: Netflix, Disney, Media Partners, Media Partners Asia, Thomson Locations: DELHI, DIS.N, India

☆ Google says court order on Disney app fee in India temporary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Disney in India has gone to court in what is the latest and most high-profile challenge to Google's policy of imposing a "service fee" of 11-26% on in-app payments. The service charge was introduced after an antitrust directive ruled against Google's earlier 15-30% fee and forced Google to allow third-party payments. An Indian court on Tuesday said Google should receive a lower 4% fee for in-app purchases from Disney+ Hotstar, and cannot remove Disney's app from its India app store, in what is a significant challenge to Google's payments business model. Disney, which runs the popular Disney+ Hotstar streaming app in India, has challenged Google's new billing system in a court in India's Tamil Nadu state. Its lawyers had argued Google was threatening to remove the Hotstar app if it didn't comply with new payments system.

Persons: Aditya Kalra, Tanvi Mehta, Rama Venkat, Nivedita Bhattacharjee Organizations: NEW, Google, Disney, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, India, India's Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Bengaluru

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