DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[Kingkonig]

Ahhh, they could just do it the American way - DEBT. What's another few billion on top of the $40B they already have?

Only works if the stockholders are willing to take that risk - and given the market reaction to the rumor of WBD buying Paramount, I don't think the company will take on much more debt unless absolutely necessary. Plus these are....very unfriendly rate environments right now

 

[jujubiee4]

Hubby and I went last Friday night to see the new Quiet Place. We walked in the lobby and
it was full of kids everywhere. We couldn't figure out why so many and were told Inside Out 2
was playing. Cute movie but I had no idea it was that popular.

And there was long line to take a picture in front of one of those big Movie backdrops for Inside Out.
My husband said to me What are we at Disneyland? lol

 

[BrianL]

Hubby and I went last Friday night to see the new Quiet Place. We walked in the lobby and
it was full of kids everywhere. We couldn't figure out why so many and were told Inside Out 2
was playing. Cute movie but I had no idea it was that popular.

And there was long line to take a picture in front of one of those big Movie backdrops for Inside Out.
My husband said to me What are we at Disneyland? lol

My husb

It's worldwide box-office has reached $1.2 Billion. It's mildly popular.

 

[wabbott]

https://nypost.com/2024/07/11/media...layed-a-key-role-in-paramounts-skydance-deal/

How Shari Redstone’s son played a key role in Paramount’s Skydance deal​

By Charles Gasparino
Published July 11, 2024, 2:21 p.m. EDT

 

[jujubiee4]

It's worldwide box-office has reached $1.2 Billion. It's mildly popular.

Yeah I just read where it is Pixar's highest grossest picture ever.
https://gadgetmates.com/inside-out-2-is-pixars-highest-grossing-movie-of-all-time

We took the whole family to see the first one and i thought it was well done and family enjoyed it.
But when I asked if anyone wanted to go see the the 2nd one they all declined. Glad to see it doing
so well.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Yeah I just read where it is Pixar's highest grossest picture ever.
https://gadgetmates.com/inside-out-2-is-pixars-highest-grossing-movie-of-all-time

We took the whole family to see the first one and i thought it was well done and family enjoyed it.
But when I asked if anyone wanted to go see the the 2nd one they all declined. Glad to see it doing
so well.

Just wait until 2026 when your family will have an absolutely stunning display of animated movies to choose from at the theaters...

Shrek 5
Frozen 3
Toy Story 5
Aang: The Last Airbender
Untitled PAW Patrol
Untitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Cat in the Hat

And one other little movie...Super Mario Bros. Movie 2

 

[wabbott]

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/streaming-tv-usage-june-nielsen-record-1236073643/

Jul 16, 2024 8:00am PDT

Streaming Jumps to 40% of All TV Usage in June, Setting a Nielsen Record​

By Selome Hailu

 

[wabbott]

How Disney Is Trying to Be as Addictive as Netflix​

The entertainment giant is making changes aimed at getting streaming customers to spend more time glued to the screen​

By Robbie Whelan and Jessica Toonkel
July 16, 2024 9:22 am EDT

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...e changes under,familiar with the matter said.

 

[bryaalre]

The Walt Disney Company Executives To Discuss Fiscal Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Via Q&A Webcast​

BURBANK, Calif., July 18, 2024 – The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) will host a live audio Q&A webcast to discuss fiscal third quarter 2024 financial results beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/th...uarter-2024-financial-results-via-qa-webcast/

Looks like another before the bell quarter report.

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-stock-falls-as-revenue-guidance-disappoints-200638900.html

Netflix stock falls as revenue guidance disappoints
Alexandra Canal · Senior Reporter
Thu, Jul 18, 2024, 3:06 PM CDT

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-is-getting-rid-of-its-cheapest-ad-free-plan-222645083.html

Netflix is getting rid of its cheapest ad free plan
Alexandra Canal · Senior Reporter
Updated Thu, Jul 18, 2024, 5:34 PM CDT

 

[wabbott]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/20/thousands-of-disneyland-workers-vote-to-authorize-a-strike.html

Thousands of Disneyland workers vote to authorize a strike
Published Sat, Jul 20 2024 - 1:23 AM EDT

 

[wabbott]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...o-safra-catz-exits-disneys-board-of-directors

Oracle CEO Safra Catz exits Disney’s board of directors
By Samantha Masunaga - Staff Writer
July 19, 2024 - 2:33 PM PDT

 

[wabbott]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/22/nba-media-rights-warner-bros-discovery-amazon-match.html

Warner Bros. Discovery tells NBA it intends to match Amazon’s media rights package

Published Mon, Jul 22 2024 - 3:53 PM EDT
by Alex Sherman@sherman4949

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery intends to use its matching rights on a package of NBA games earmarked for Amazon.
• The NBA may not want Warner Bros. Discovery as a future media rights partner and could reject the company’s matching rights.
• If the league rejects the Warner Bros. Discovery match, it’s possible the company could sue the NBA or push for a settlement.

 

[RivShore]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/22/nba-media-rights-warner-bros-discovery-amazon-match.html

Warner Bros. Discovery tells NBA it intends to match Amazon’s media rights package

Published Mon, Jul 22 2024 - 3:53 PM EDT
by Alex Sherman@sherman4949

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery intends to use its matching rights on a package of NBA games earmarked for Amazon.
• The NBA may not want Warner Bros. Discovery as a future media rights partner and could reject the company’s matching rights.
• If the league rejects the Warner Bros. Discovery match, it’s possible the company could sue the NBA or push for a settlement.

Interesting! News from the last few days made it sound like it was a done deal already. This should help the new sports bundle, at least.

 

[wabbott]

Normally, Bloomberg is behind a paywall, but not today, at least for me. In case it is blocked for other readers, I'm posting the entire article.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...heaper-tickets-hotels-meals-new-deals-in-2024

How Walt Disney World Is Trying to Make Amends With Unhappy Guests
Disney’s price hikes, crowds and customer service missteps have caused many to sour on the parks. Now the company is working to earn them back.

By Daryl Austin
July 22, 2024 at 6:05 AM CDT

“I think Disney has lost our family for good,” says Lindsey Robertson, a mother of two in Dallas. She was describing how Walt Disney Co.’s Orlando parks have gone from her happy place to a source of mounting frustrations. “We’ve had back-to-back negative experiences with staff, the stand-by lines are out of control, and the cost has become insurmountable.”

Robertson isn’t the only one who has soured on a place that’s often billed as “the happiest on Earth.”

Between the issues she cites—the cost of a high-end trip to the Florida parks has now reached around $40,000 for a family of four—plus poorly managed crowds and clunky reservations systems, Walt Disney World (WDW) is suffering from a social sentiment crisis. On Yelp, the number of four- and five-star reviews has tumbled from almost 52% in 2019 to 33% in 2022. Last year, more than 40% of Yelp reviewers gave the theme parks a one- or two-star review.

Meanwhile, Magic Kingdom park attendance sunk almost 20% in the same years, from 21 million visitors in 2019 to 17 million in 2022, the most recent full year for which data is available.

“Many cast members have become condescending and outright rude,” adds Katy Dean, a mother of six and a contributor to the website New Orleans Mom. “During my last visit, cast members were also on their cellphones and disengaged from guests, and one was dripping with attitude when we had a misunderstanding.”

The complaints are adding up. In June, the fumbled reimagining of Splash Mountain left fans deflated. Weeks later, the company overhauled its already-complicated Genie+ ride reservations systems—it’ll now be called Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and carry different rules for different guests. The company has also added more blackout dates for season passholders, continued to raise ticket and food prices beyond the pace of inflation, introduced parking fees for resort guests and nixed free airport transfers for WDW hotel guests. It’s enough to convince loyalists that a Disney villain took over the corporate reins.

But customer service is listening, Disney says. “We hear about the complaints, and we’ve had many trainings on improving guest interaction and the guest experience overall,” one Magic Kingdom guest experience manager tells Bloomberg, speaking on condition of anonymity because they didn’t have authorization to discuss the matter. “The guest experience remains a top priority for any Disney theme park visit,” adds Disney spokesperson Melissa Britt.

Here’s what the company is doing to make things right, both in the immediate and longer terms, along with expert opinions on whether it all meets the mark. Untangling problems of this magnitude, it turns out, is a tall order—even for those with fairy godmothers on staff.

Crowds and Wait Times

The new Lightning Lane Multi Pass ride reservations system, which goes into effect on July 24, aims to resolve at least some complaints about long waits and ease of access—even if its reception has been lukewarm. Rather than having to book multiple time slots for rides at 7 a.m. sharp the same day, it now allows Disney hotel guests to book a full week in advance, while other visitors will see reservations open three days out.

Costs, which can range from $30 per person per day to more than $100, remain unchanged, but a few rides no longer cost extra to reserve. (Among them: Frozen Ever After and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad.) International visitors may get a short shrift, though, with advance reservations available only for those who have onsite lodging reservations or are physically in the US and Canada.

People waiting to enter the Magic Kingdom in Orlando.Photographer: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Len Testa, co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and the president of TouringPlans.com, a company that compiles park data and surveys hundreds of thousands of Disney guests annually, likens the previous Genie+ system to “a Taylor Swift concert-level competition kickstarting each morning of your vacation.” The new changes “are a huge change in the right direction,” he says, “though they will still have kinks to work out.”

Another wait-reducing strategy involves dispersing guests to more rides and attractions, including a second daily Festival of Fantasy parade that began at the Magic Kingdom in May. A promised 14-acre park expansion—announced in early 2024 as part of a $60 billion, 10-year investment plan—should also help, but details remain thin.

Not all changes meant to help with lines have been well received. An overhaul to the Disability Access Service program in May was intended to minimize abuse of the system, which grants Lightning Lane or disability access entrance to those who need it. Already the new criteria have rendered even some wheelchair-using guests with serious health conditions ineligible; one such story shared on TikTok by a parkgoer with Guillain-Barré syndrome sparked a social media outcry, reaching 1.7 million views in just two weeks.

The arrival area that leads towards the Magic Kingdom, where the lines begin.Photographer: Brian Carlson/Bloomberg

Addressing Cost

News you may have missed: Starting in May, WDW started to quietly discount ticket prices, which had hit a high of $254 for a one-day park hopper ticket. Through Sept. 24, the company now offers $89-a-day access for people buying three-day tickets, with the caveat that guests can use the tickets to visit only Hollywood Studios, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. (Magic Kingdom access is purchased separately at full price.)

On the hotel front, WDW has introduced cheaper nightly rates at value resorts such as Disney’s All-Star Movies, Music and Sports Resorts, starting around $100. Google Hotels confirms the price drops, with rates of $125 in mid-January reflecting a 27% discount. Still, the rock-bottom rates are offered only on the least-busy days of the year, typically in January and February, with prices otherwise ranging $200 to $300 per night at the same spots. More affordable accommodations are coming soon with the expansion of Disney’s timeshare arm, Disney Vacation Club; two new properties are expected by the end of 2024.

Even incremental food costs add up sneakily these days. That shift started in July 2018, when WDW shifted from a la carte menus to fixed-price formats at some of its more popular restaurants. The Magic Kingdom’s Beauty and the Beast-themed Be Our Guest tripled the cost of lunch to about $300 for a family of four after taxes and gratuity. It was the start of a precipitous decline in customer satisfaction, says Testa, who saw those scores fall from 90% to almost 60% after the price hikes.

Disney reintroduced dining plans this summer, which trim 20% to 30% from food expenses for the average family. To use them, you buy a set number of meal credits for about $30 per child per day and $95 per adult, which can be redeemed for meals or snacks at quick-service restaurants and even character dining experiences. Other changes are more subtle, such as more affordable quick-service dining options, lower-priced kid’s meal choices and relaxed cancellation policies at restaurants.

Testa praises many of the changes—and has seen the needle move a bit on customer satisfaction—but remains skeptical that Disney is doing enough to make the parks affordable to families. “Disney has long been willing to sacrifice a certain number of positive ratings for a certain amount of revenue,” he says, pointing to the persistence of fixed-price menus as a prime example.

The Magic Is Returning–for Some

In his 2023 fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Bob Iger noted that guest experience ratings were improving in every park. With more changes expected to be announced at the D23 fan expo in August, its most loyal guests are hopeful the trend will continue.

“This past visit was the first time in a long time I felt we actually stood in shorter lines at the park,” says frequent visitor Paul Taylor, a retail supervisor in Jacksonville, Florida, after a visit to Hollywood Studios in April.

Kendra Wharton, a cosmetologist from Chesapeake, Virginia, says that customer service has also improved. “When my family visited during the pandemic, a couple employees were snappy,” she explains. “But everyone was much more accommodating and friendly this past visit.”

Graham Brooks, the president of Thrill Data—a company that tracks and compiles data around theme park wait times—agrees that for many Disney guests, “the magic is finally returning.” But he finds it unlikely that the company will fully restore its pre-pandemic luster and appeal.

Even if it did, New Orleans mom Dean says it would be too little, too late. “Our constantly feeling nickel-and-dimed and being mistreated by cast members” has put the family off Disney for good, she says. “The magic just isn’t there any more for us—we’re spending our vacationing dollars elsewhere now.”

 

[irlandaise]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...heaper-tickets-hotels-meals-new-deals-in-2024

How Walt Disney World Is Trying to Make Amends With Unhappy Guests
Disney’s price hikes, crowds and customer service missteps have caused many to sour on the parks. Now the company is working to earn them back.

By Daryl Austin
July 22, 2024 at 6:05 AM CDT

“I think Disney has lost our family for good,” says Lindsey Robertson, a mother of two in Dallas. She was describing how Walt Disney Co.’s Orlando parks have gone from her happy place to a source of mounting frustrations. “We’ve had back-to-back negative experiences with staff, the stand-by lines are out of control, and the cost has become insurmountable.”

Robertson isn’t the only one who has soured on a place that’s often billed as “the happiest on Earth.”

Note to Bloomberg: Nope, that's Disneyland. WDW is "The Most Magical Place on Earth."

 

[wabbott]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/23/comcast-cmcsa-earnings-q2-2024.html

Comcast posts mixed results, weighed down by film studio, theme parks

Published Tue, Jul 23 2024 - 6:30 AM EDT
by Lillian Rizzo@Lilliannnn

Key Points

• Comcast reported second quarter earnings before the bell.
• The company beat on earnings, but missed on revenue estimates due to pressure in its film studio and theme park segments.
• NBCUniversal’s Peacock subscribers increased 38% year over year to 33 million.

 

[bryaalre]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/23/comcast-cmcsa-earnings-q2-2024.html

Comcast posts mixed results, weighed down by film studio, theme parks

Published Tue, Jul 23 2024 - 6:30 AM EDT
by Lillian Rizzo@Lilliannnn

Key Points

• Comcast reported second quarter earnings before the bell.
• The company beat on earnings, but missed on revenue estimates due to pressure in its film studio and theme park segments.
• NBCUniversal’s Peacock subscribers increased 38% year over year to 33 million.

Looking at it now and that is a pretty sizable decrease in its theme park segment.

10% decrease in revenue and an almost 25% decrease in EBITDA.

Will be interested if they elaborate more on the call as I would think an analyst would pry for more details but here is what they put in the report; "Theme Parks decreased primarily due to lower revenue at our domestic theme parks, driven by lower guest attendance, as well as the negative impact of foreign currency at international theme parks."

Probably does not bode to favorably for Disney's theme park earnings in a few weeks.

 

[RivShore]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/23/comcast-cmcsa-earnings-q2-2024.html

Comcast posts mixed results, weighed down by film studio, theme parks

Published Tue, Jul 23 2024 - 6:30 AM EDT
by Lillian Rizzo@Lilliannnn

Key Points

• Comcast reported second quarter earnings before the bell.
• The company beat on earnings, but missed on revenue estimates due to pressure in its film studio and theme park segments.
• NBCUniversal’s Peacock subscribers increased 38% year over year to 33 million.

The leak of this news yesterday may have caused DIS to drop, CMCSA was down a decent amount yesterday too.