DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[fatmanatee]

Disney fans want family entertainment

I would ask when they haven't been doing this but I suspect you're going to give an answer that takes this thread off the rails.

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ready-set-hollywood-poised-m-140000405.html

Ready, Set, Go: Hollywood Is Poised for M&A Mania in 2025 | Analysis

From Paramount-Skydance to Endeavor going private and AT&T’s sale of its DirecTV stake, TheWrap rounds up the major deals

by Lucas Manfredi - The Wrap
12/30/2024 - 6:00 AM, PST

 

[BayTower2010]

I would ask when they haven't been doing this but I suspect you're going to give an answer that takes this thread off the rails.

What does Disney say about content -- cut and pasted from an article on Disney's response to a controversial character "When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline," said a Disney spokesperson

 

[fatmanatee]

What does Disney say about content -- cut and pasted from an article on Disney's response to a controversial character "When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline," said a Disney spokesperson

Yep this is going to go off the rails. Moving along now.

 

[wabbott]

https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/media-stocks-2024-netflix-disney-warner-bros-discovery-1236262140/

Dec 30, 2024 - 1:10pm PST
by Todd Spangler
Media Stocks 2024 Winners & Losers: Netflix Soars, Disney Rebounds, WBD Flounders

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2024/12/box-office-predictions-2025-1236244049/

U.S. Box Office Heads For $9 Billion In 2025, Still Far From Pre-Covid Records: What’s An Industry To Do?

By Anthony D'Alessandro - Editorial Director/Box Office Editor
December 31, 2024 - 2:06 pm PST

​

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...isney-cruise-line-expansion-plans-1236094045/

Behind Disney’s Next Big Bet: IP at Sea
Disney Experiences launched its Disney Treasure cruise ship in December, kicking off a major expansion of its global cruise business.

by Alex Weprin
January 1, 2025 - 8:25am PST

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney’s Q1 FY25 Earnings Results Webcast

The Walt Disney Company will host a live audio Q&A webcast to discuss fiscal first quarter 2025 financial results beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

To listen to the webcast, please return here 5 minutes prior to the presentation.

The webcast presentation will be archived.

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2025/01/mufasa...2-global-international-box-office-1236246793/

‘Mufasa’ Nears $500M Global As ‘Moana 2’ Sets Course For $1B; ‘Nosferatu’ Tops $100M WW – International Box Office

By Nancy Tartaglione - International Box Office Editor/Senior Contributor @DeadlineNancy January 5, 2025 - 10:28am PST

 

[HokieRaven5]

Fubo And Disney’s Hulu + Live TV Virtual MVPD Businesses To Combine

• Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo and become majority owner of the resulting company
• The combined business will operate under the Fubo publicly traded company name (NYSE: FUBO) led by the existing Fubo management team; Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available to consumers as separate offerings
• With a combined 6.2 million North American subscribers between Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, the new vMVPD company is expected to enhance consumer choice through more flexible programming offerings
• Fubo to create a new Sports & Broadcasting service, featuring Disney’s premier sports and broadcast networks
• All litigation between Fubo and Disney has been settled

 

[RivShore]

As the kids like to say, i did not have this on my bingo card:


Disney Nears Deal to Merge Hulu + Live into Fubo

Fubo to drop litigation related to Venu Sports as part of deal
Disney will own majority stake in new venture with Fubo

Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
By Michelle F Davis, Lucas Shaw, and Christopher Palmeri
January 6, 2025 at 12:01 PM UTC
Walt Disney Co. and streaming provider FuboTV Inc., are nearing a deal to combine their online live TV businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.
As part of the transaction, Disney will fold its Hulu + Live TV business into Fubo, creating a new venture that will be 70% owned by Disney and the rest by Fubo, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The deal doesn’t include Hulu’s subscription video business, in which customers pay a fee to stream a catalog of content at their leisure. The TV venture will continue to operate under two brands: Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, one of the people said.
Together, the services would form the second-biggest digital pay-TV provider, with about six million subscribers, trailing only YouTube TV, they added.
As part of the deal, Fubo plans to drop its legal claims against Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery over Venu Sports, according to the people, removing a hurdle to the roll-out of their upcoming sports streaming platform.
The tie-up could be announced as soon as this week, assuming talks don’t fall apart, the people said. Representatives for Disney and Fubo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside of normal business hours.
Fubo last year sued
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. over Venu Sports, claiming the proposed sports-streaming joint venture would be anti-competitive. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 6.
Fubo is a virtual multichannel video programming distributor, which means it offers live TV channels over the internet as opposed to over cable, satellite or fiber. Hulu’s Live service, an alternative to cable TV, lets users stream from roughly 100 live TV channels including sports, news and shows.
Combining the services should position the venture to attract subscribers as customers look for online alternatives to cable TV.
Fubo, which had a market value of about $481 million on Friday, will remain publicly traded, the people said. As the smallest virtual TV operator, it has faced challenges including expensive programming and subscriber churn.
Venu Sports, the upcoming streaming platform developed through a joint venture by Walt Disney Co., Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. plans to provide access to live sports events from several major leagues, including the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. It will also include content from Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros.’s TNT networks.

— With assistance from Thomas Buckley

 

[Brian Noble]

Fascinating. I did not expect this either. I'm hoping that this might allow the eventual creation of a sports-focused streamer that combines all of the platforms. Fubo is close: it is only missing Turner. Hulu+Live is also close, but is missing BeIN and my local RSN. I'm currently a Fubo subscriber and was debating switching to the D+ three-way bundle, but now I'll wait and see whether anything shakes out.

 

[RivShore]

Fascinating. I did not expect this either. I'm hoping that this might allow the eventual creation of a sports-focused streamer that combines all of the platforms. Fubo is close: it is only missing Turner. Hulu+Live is also close, but is missing BeIN and my local RSN. I'm currently a Fubo subscriber and was debating switching to the D+ three-way bundle, but now I'll wait and see whether anything shakes out.

Probably smart to wait and see how it shakes out.

My first thought was that since they are maintaining and marketing both Fubo and Hulu+Live, that Fubo would end up being sports focused and Hulu entertainment focused (so they don't step on each other's toes), but we shall see.

 

[RivShore]

Some more details in this new article. This paragraph makes it look like a really creative way to settle a lawsuit Disney must have thought they could/would lose.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/06/disney-hulu-live-tv-fubo.html

When the Disney-Fubo deal is signed, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will together make a $220 million cash payment to Fubo. Disney will additionally commit a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. If the deal were to fall through, Fubo would receive a $130 million termination fee.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/disney-and-fubotv-to-merge-live-tv-streaming-services-3c78d776

Disney and FuboTV to Merge Live TV Streaming Services
The deal would combine Hulu + Live with Fubo, end litigation against Venu Sports joint streaming service

By Lauren Thomas and Isabella Simonetti
Updated Jan. 6, 2025 - 9:58 am EST

Disney has agreed to combine its Hulu + Live TV streaming service with sports-focused FuboTV, a deal that will also end pending litigation over the formation of Venu Sports, the companies said Monday.

Under the agreement, Disney will own roughly 70% of Fubo, whose management team will operate the new venture. Hulu + Live TV and Fubo would continue to be offered as separate streaming services with more than 6.2 million subscribers combined in North America.

In February 2024, Fubo sued to block the launch of Venu, a joint streaming venture between Disney’s ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corp., alleging the companies wouldn’t let Fubo carry a small bundle of sports-focused channels that they were looking to include in the new service. Fox and The Wall Street Journal’s parent, News Corp, share common ownership.

In August, a judge granted a preliminary injunction to block Venu’s launch while the litigation continued, saying the service would “substantially lessen competition and restrain trade.” Venu’s three partners appealed the decision.

Disney, Fox and Warner are making an aggregate cash payment of $220 million to Fubo to resolve the legal dispute. Disney has also committed to provide a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026.

Shares in Fubo, which had a market value of about $480 million as of Friday, soared in early trading.

The combined company will be the second-largest online pay-TV provider, behind YouTube TV, which costs $82.99 per month. These offerings, which deliver a cable TV-like package of channels via streaming, are very important to devoted sports fans who want to watch live games and cable news viewers.

Together, Hulu and Fubo expect to have over $6 billion in revenue, Fubo executives told investors on a call Monday. In 2028, the company anticipates having over $7.5 billion in revenue and $550 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Venu announced in August that it would be available at $42.99 a month and carry some of the most valuable sports properties including the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Football League and college teams. That price tag is significantly cheaper than the traditional cable bundle, which can run north of $100 a month. ESPN plans to launch its own direct-to-consumer product later this year.

As part of the deal announced Monday, Fubo will have the ability to create a new sports and broadcast service that features several Disney networks as well as its ESPN+ streaming service.

Jessica Toonkel contributed to this article.

Write to Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com and Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com

 

[HokieRaven5]

Some more details in this new article. This paragraph makes it look like a really creative way to settle a lawsuit Disney must have thought they could/would lose.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/06/disney-hulu-live-tv-fubo.html

When the Disney-Fubo deal is signed, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will together make a $220 million cash payment to Fubo. Disney will additionally commit a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. If the deal were to fall through, Fubo would receive a $130 million termination fee.

Easier to settle and acquire than potential lost revenue from litigation or delays of launching services. Low enough cost with how streaming has become profitable of late.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/60...-fubo-will-impact-how-fans-consume-sports-tv/

How the new deal between Disney and Fubo will impact how fans consume sports TV

By Andrew Marchand
1/6/25

The corporate maneuvering over your sports viewing dollars may offer more drama than some of the games that you pay to watch.

The streaming wars that have been bubbling under the surface of the TV business are now fully upon us. The emerging digital powers, Amazon Prime Video, Google YouTubeTV and recently Netflix have announced their arrival with NFL, NBA, WWE and, perhaps soon enough, UFC deals.


The old guard — ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS and TNT Sports — have seen them on the horizon, but their streams are now in full view. To fight back the digital behemoths, the traditional players are forming new alliances.

That is why Disney’s latest salvo to maintain ESPN as the eternal sports empire has it combining its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, a direct result of the emerging threat.

ESPN is trying to live up to its credo: “To Serve Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.”

It is a nicer, corporate way of saying: We would like everyone to pay us.

ESPN’s chairman Jimmy Pitaro and his right-hand executive, Burke Magnus, first created a sports-rights moat by outlying nearly $80 billion over the past seven years for the NFL, NBA, college football and MLB, among other properties. Now, it wants to conquer distribution, which ESPN once dominated but now is being overrun by the Netflix, Amazon, Google and the like.

ESPN once had 100 million cable and satellite subscribers and now has 65.3 million, according to Nielsen’s latest tally.

The combined Fubo and Hulu + Live TV has 6.2 million subscribers and represents a legit competitor to YouTube TV’s platform that approaches 10 million subscribers. (The Athletic has a commercial partnership with Fubo.)

ESPN is available on YouTube TV, as well, but Disney has no ownership stake in the Google platform.

Further, the agreement between Disney and Fubo effectively settles the Fubo-led litigation from earlier this year that has prevented Venu Sports – the joint venture to present ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports in what the cool media kids like to call a “skinny bundle” — from launching.

Venu does not have the full green light, but March Madness feels like a potential starting point. The idea of ESPN, Fox and TNT Sports combining would have been blasphemy a decade ago, but these entities are trying to survive and thrive in a Netflix world.
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For consumers, it all still remains way too messy to try to figure out where, how and for how much to watch all these games. ESPN’s goal is to meet you, wherever you are.

In the late summer, likely August, ESPN will offer its “flagship” direct-to-consumer product, which The Athletic has previously reported is right now aiming at the $25-30 per month range. ESPN flagship will give consumers access to all of the network’s programming without any other subscriptions.

Venu Sports, the ESPN/Fox/TNT confab, announced its initial offering would be $42.99 per month, though that is likely to quickly jump to $45-50 per month. Like YouTube TV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will be in the $70-80 range with more channels besides sports. Each customer pays about $10 for ESPN’s channels in these bundles.

Do you see ESPN’s plan? ESPN wants to be available to entice consumers at different price points. You will be able to access it in the $10 range as part of the $70-80ish YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV or Fubo universe, or at $25-30 per month as an ESPN standalone, or potentially with Venu at $45-50 per month.

ESPN already enters the battle with maybe the greatest set of rights in sports TV history as it includes Super Bowls, NBA Finals, college football championships, Stanley Cups and more. There is not much to bid on in the near-term, except for UFC.

Amazon Prime Video already added the NBA to its NFL offerings. NBC/Peacock swiped the NBA from TNT Sports.

And, now, here comes Netflix.

It is lurking, playing at a global scale. With its Christmas NFL games, it has a relationship with the most powerful professional sports league in the world. It recently inked the Women’s World Cup for the next two tournaments.

Netflix is just beginning a decade-long agreement with WWE, with its first live telecast airing Monday Jan. 6. Like WWE, TKO owns UFC. UFC is currently a part of ESPN, but Netflix is considered a strong contender for the next deal.

And this is how we got to Monday’s Disney-Fubo announcement. ESPN wanted to maintain its Fubo subscribers, keep Venu alive and create a YouTube TV competitor. It can’t afford to lose anymore with Netflix and Amazon having unlimited resources.

It’s the corporate game inside the game for how you watch your games.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

I’m pretty sure this combined Hulu Live/Fubo will make it easier for Disney to spin it off, so they don’t have to manage vMVPD and carriage contracts.

 

[Cfabar1]

I’m pretty sure this combined Hulu Live/Fubo will make it easier for Disney to spin it off, so they don’t have to manage vMVPD and carriage contracts.

That was my take on it as well…

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...eal-surprise-wall-street-analysts-1236102937/

Disney’s Hulu + Live TV, Fubo Merger Surprised Wall Street and Could Lead to More Deals

The launch of sports streamer Venu, "and potentially new packages from Fubo, appears to be an important strategic lever to cast a wider net and catch all potential subscribers," says one Disney analyst.

by Georg Szalai
January 7, 2025 - 7:13am PST