Walt Disney sees signs of recovery
ST. LOUIS: The Walt Disney Company on Thursday (Friday in Manila) said it was seeing “encouraging signs of recovery” across a wide range of its businesses while its streaming television service grew slower than expected in the recently ended quarter.
TV streaming service Disney+ ended the quarter with nearly 104 million subscribers, fewer than expected but still part of a stable of “direct-to-consumer” services that saw audiences swell as people turned to the internet for entertainment because of the pandemic.
Disney said it was seeing positive signs across its operations including parks, cruises and resorts, which took the hardest hit from Covid-19.
“We’re pleased to see more encouraging signs of recovery across our businesses and we remain focused on ramping up our operations,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek said in the earnings release.
“This is clearly reflected in the reopening of our theme parks and resorts, increased production at our studios, the continued success of our streaming services.” Disney held firm to its target of reaching 230 million to 260 million subscribers by the year 2024.
“Disney+ has been a major success for the company, however, growth is significantly decelerating as the initial pandemic boost has waned,” said eMarketer analyst Eric Haggstrom.
Executives on the earnings call said show production is returning to full levels as it continues to invest in new content for its streaming services as well as theatrical releases. The entertainment titan’s franchises include Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.
Disney also owns ESPN, Hulu and Hotstar. “Hulu remains one of the market leaders in streaming video advertising,” Haggstrom said. “Hulu has become one of the crown jewels in Disney’s massive video ad business alongside ABC and ESPN.”
US sports broadcasting giant ESPN has acquired television rights for Spain’s La Liga in a record deal worth $1.4 billion over the next eight seasons starting from the 2021-2022 campaign, the company said on Thursday.
A statement from ESPN said all La Liga games each season would be available live through its streaming platform ESPN+, with selected games on its traditional networks.
The value of the agreement was not officially disclosed, but a source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to Agence France-Presse it was worth $1.4 billion or $175 million for each of the eight seasons covered.