DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[OKW Lover]

Who is going to invest in a company that loses 2 billion a year?

Somebody that thinks the worst is over

 

[New Mouse]

Somebody that thinks the worst is over

But even if the worst is over, they aren't showing anything close to profitability. The overall stock price reflects that, but if this were a standalone company they'd be headed towards bankruptcy.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...ast-save-cable-tv-business-rollup-1236050224/

The Cable TV Business Is Dying. Is It Worth Saving?

Comcast is considering a spinoff its cable channels into a publicly traded company — is a rollup of misfit cable brands next?

November 1, 2024 - 8:36am PDT
by Alex Weprin

 

[RivShore]

The overall stock price reflects that, but if this were a standalone company they'd be headed towards bankruptcy.

Not necessarily, Netflix burned thru billions over years to get to where they are today and plenty threw money at them to keep it going.

And for today's example, see AI, billions, maybe trillions at this point, being thrown at something that is not near profitability. IMHO, AI is headed for their "streaming" moment sooner than later.

 

[HokieRaven5]

The collective entertainment side of the company has been profitable the entire time Disney+ has existed.

They stated on numerous occasions that D+ itself would become profitable during fiscal 2024 and was in the last quarter earnings report. We shall see in less than 2 weeks with the annual report how it shakes out.

Stock is down, sure, but bankruptcy is not even close for where the company’s have been over the last 5 years even with a pandemic and starting up a streaming service.

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-walt-disney-forms-business-175038490.html

Walt Disney forms business unit to coordinate use of AI, augmented reality
by Dawn Chmielewski and Katie Paul
Updated Fri, November 1, 2024 at 1:34 PM CDT

(Reuters) -Walt Disney is forming a new unit to coordinate the company's use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and mixed reality, as the media giant explores applications across its film, television and theme park divisions.
The newly formed Office of Technology Enablement will be led by Jamie Voris, who spearheaded development of Disney's app for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality device, according to an email seen on Friday by Reuters.

 

[wabbott]

Hah! What a coincidence. Here's an Alexandra Canal (Yahoo Finance) story with a bit of history of the streaming biz. Her version, I should say.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netf...-heres-how-others-will-compete-181240317.html

Netflix has ‘won’ the streaming wars — here’s how others will compete

by Alexandra Canal · Senior Reporter
Fri, November 1, 2024 at 1:12 PM CDT

 

[wabbott]

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/money/com...-potential-cable-networks-spinoff/ar-AA1tmkUx

Comcast Taps Morgan Stanley to Advise on Cable Networks Spinoff
Story by Michelle F. Davis and Kelcee Griffis

Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp. is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley to evaluate options for its cable networks, according to people familiar with the matter, after announcing this week it’s considering divesting the business.

Morgan Stanley is helping Comcast, a cable provider and media company, study scenarios for the networks, the people said. Comcast owns cable networks including MSNBC, CNBC, E! and Bravo, among others. It hasn’t specified which ones might be split off, and it could still decide to keep them.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said Thursday that the media conglomerate has been deliberating whether to separate its cable networks into a new company that would go to shareholders.

The goal would be to position the new business to “take advantage of opportunities in the changing media landscape and create value for our shareholders,” Cavanagh said, without offering further details.

Representatives for Philadelphia-based Comcast and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Comcast’s cable networks business has been in decline as consumers cancel their cable TV subscriptions, creating a drag on the stock. Separating it could help Comcast unlock a higher valuation for itself.

If separated, the business could act as a consolidator of other cable networks or draw interest itself from others. Comcast could spin off the business and combine it with other cable network businesses through a tax-friendly merger structure known as a Reverse Morris Trust, some of the people said.

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oklahoma-2-5b-disney-sized-100400775.html

Construction Dive
Oklahoma’s $2.5B Disney-sized theme park reportedly fails to launch

by Julie Strupp
Mon, November 4, 2024 at 4:04 AM CST

 

[RivShore]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oklahoma-2-5b-disney-sized-100400775.html

Construction Dive
Oklahoma’s $2.5B Disney-sized theme park reportedly fails to launch

by Julie Strupp
Mon, November 4, 2024 at 4:04 AM CST

Anyone really surprised by this? The barrier to entry to create a Disney/Uni type theme park, from nothing with an unknown company behind it, is great. Throw in high interest rates and tech sucking up all the available investment money and it will be very surprising to see this ever get built.

 

[Cfabar1]

I look forward to Jake covering this in an upcoming YouTube video!

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/comcast-cable-network-sale-could-140000028.html

How a Comcast Cable Network Sale Could Fuel Media Consolidation | Analysis

by Lucas Manfredi - The Wrap
Tue, November 5, 2024 at 8:00 AM CST

A spinoff of Comcast’s cable network portfolio, as suggested by CEO Mike Cavanagh last week, could get the cable behemoth’s most-distressed assets off its books while sparking a new wave of consolidation in the fast-declining linear TV business.

The review comes as competitors Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery have taken write-downs totaling $15 billion related to the value of their linear networks and softness in the advertising market this year. And Comcast is likely to join them soon in writing down the value of its cable assets, analysts told TheWrap.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...al-q3-earnings-streaming-skydance-1236053997/

Paramount Posts $49M Streaming Profit Amid Gain of 3.5M Subs, Film Unit Swings Back to Black

The Hollywood giant posts its second quarterly direct-to-consumer profit in a row in its second results since agreeing to a sale to Skydance Media, which is on track to close in the first half of 2025.

By Georg Szalai, Etan Vlessing
November 8, 2024 - 4:01am PDT

 

[wabbott]

This article is about TV viewership during Tuesday's election, and how news coverage is migrating to streaming platforms and away from the network news entities that have been predominant for the past few decades.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/youtube-drives-67-million-hours-170855364.html

YouTube Drives 67 Million Hours of Election Viewership as Network Ratings Plunge
by Sean Burch - The Wrap
Thu, November 7, 2024 at 11:08 AM CST

While network ratings for Election Night declined significantly compared to 2020, YouTube was the go-to spot for live election news for millions of people.

Here are the key stats: Nearly 84 million hours of live election content was streamed on Tuesday, according to Streamcharts, a Ukraine-based streaming data company. And YouTube accounted for the vast majority of those hours, with 80.6%, or 60.7 million hours, of those hours being watched on the Google-owned streaming platform. (The U.S. accounted for most [72.3%] of those 84 million hours streamed overall.)

“Peak viewership for political streams on Election Day hit over 9.14 million viewers, with the average number of viewers throughout the day approaching 3.5 million [average],” Streamcharts said in a report accompanying its data. “Notably, audience engagement spiked closer to the end of voting and when the results were finally announced.”

Those stats stand out when considering viewership on traditional channels took a big hit this year. Nielsen reported 42.3 million people watched Donald Trump v. Kamala Harris coverage across 18 networks during prime time on Tuesday — down 25% from last election, when 56.9 million people watched election coverage during that time.

 

[wabbott]

An interesting read on how TV is addressing talent costs. The ensemble model also prevents any one or two of the cast from becoming the 'star' and thus having leverage to demand higher wages.

https://deadline.com/2024/11/the-pitt-cast-salaries-fixed-fee-model-tv-1236168485/#comments

‘The Pitt’ Is Case Study For Fixed-Fee Cast Payment Model Amid TV Industry Push To Cap Talent Costs
By Nellie Andreeva - Co-Editor-in-Chief, TV @DeadlineNellie November 8, 2024 - 4:04pm PDT

 

[OKW Lover]

The ensemble model also prevents any one or two of the cast from becoming the 'star' and thus having leverage to demand higher wages.

Didn't read the article, but this strategy didn't work for Friends

 

[wabbott]

Didn't read the article, but this strategy didn't work for Friends

Back when TV networks were printing money, yes. I suspect the writing will be much more attuned to budget constraints. If there are hints that someone thinks they're becoming indispensable to the show, they'll go away. See Yellowstone for how it's done.

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2024/11/netflix-ad-tier-70m-monthly-users-streaming-1236173495/

Netflix Ad Tier Hits 70M Monthly Users, Nearly Doubling In Six Months

By Dade Hayes - Business Editor @dadehayes
November 12, 2024 - 6:00am PST

Netflix is marking the two-year anniversary of its launch of advertising by revealing that its ad tier now reaches 70 million monthly active users globally, up from 40 million as of mid-May.

The plan also accounts for more than 50% of new sign-ups in the territories where the advertising option is available, Netflix said.

Given the price point of $7 a month in the U.S., which is at the low end of the general entertainment streaming market, the ad-backed tier has been a consistent driver of overall subscription growth. The company has added more than 35 million subscribers over the past year. It does not break out subscribers by tier, and in 2025 will stop reporting subscriber numbers altogether

 

[HokieRaven5]

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/...-field-of-candidates-to-succeed-iger-d1876792

Disney Explores Wider Field of Candidates to Succeed Iger​

Disney is exploring fresh candidates in its search for a successor to Bob Iger, including some from outside its castle walls, as the board and its newly named chairman move to bring order to a closely watched succession process.

Names that have surfaced in Disney’s deliberations in recent months include external candidates, such as Andrew Wilson, chief executive officer of game company Electronic Arts, people familiar with the matter said. Disney is working with recruiters from the firm Heidrick & Struggles to help guide its review of external candidates, and the search firm has identified at least two more potential external candidates, these people said.

The developments are a sign that incoming board chairman and former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who starts his new role on Disney’s boardin January, wants to explore a range of candidates, and that the stable of contenders may broaden. Disney said last month that it plans to name Iger’s replacement in early 2026, later than initially planned.

What appeared to be an internal horse-race between a core cluster of four tenured Disney executives could now be anyone’s game.
Disney and Wilson, the Electronic Arts chief, have been in touch repeatedly in recent years. In 2018, he interviewed for the top job at ESPN before it went to current chief Jimmy Pitaro. Then, during Bob Chapek’s tenure as Disney CEO, Wilson had talks about potentially selling EA to Disney, but the negotiations didn’t lead to a deal, according to people familiar with the talks. Puck earlier reported that Wilson had interviewed and discussed potentially selling the company to Disney.

As Disney explored options over the past year for a strategic partner for ESPN, the company talked to Wilson about a partnership between EA and ESPN, according to people familiar with the matter. Those talks didn’t result in a deal.

Disney has said videogames represent an important growth area for the company, and earlier this year announced an expanded partnership with Fortnite maker Epic Games.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/...-field-of-candidates-to-succeed-iger-d1876792

Disney Explores Wider Field of Candidates to Succeed Iger​

Disney is exploring fresh candidates in its search for a successor to Bob Iger, including some from outside its castle walls, as the board and its newly named chairman move to bring order to a closely watched succession process.

Names that have surfaced in Disney’s deliberations in recent months include external candidates, such as Andrew Wilson, chief executive officer of game company Electronic Arts, people familiar with the matter said. Disney is working with recruiters from the firm Heidrick & Struggles to help guide its review of external candidates, and the search firm has identified at least two more potential external candidates, these people said.

The developments are a sign that incoming board chairman and former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who starts his new role on Disney’s boardin January, wants to explore a range of candidates, and that the stable of contenders may broaden. Disney said last month that it plans to name Iger’s replacement in early 2026, later than initially planned.

What appeared to be an internal horse-race between a core cluster of four tenured Disney executives could now be anyone’s game.
Disney and Wilson, the Electronic Arts chief, have been in touch repeatedly in recent years. In 2018, he interviewed for the top job at ESPN before it went to current chief Jimmy Pitaro. Then, during Bob Chapek’s tenure as Disney CEO, Wilson had talks about potentially selling EA to Disney, but the negotiations didn’t lead to a deal, according to people familiar with the talks. Puck earlier reported that Wilson had interviewed and discussed potentially selling the company to Disney.

As Disney explored options over the past year for a strategic partner for ESPN, the company talked to Wilson about a partnership between EA and ESPN, according to people familiar with the matter. Those talks didn’t result in a deal.

Disney has said videogames represent an important growth area for the company, and earlier this year announced an expanded partnership with Fortnite maker Epic Games.

I'd rather not have Andrew Wilson as Disney CEO, because he’ll end up turning the company into EA, and that would not be good for Disney fans and consumers.