ESPN swallowing NFL Redzone, Hulu Integrate and Wrestlemania: the big Disney streaming swings, explained

At night before Disney published its revenues in the third quarter, the company confirmed that it had concluded an agreement with its long -standing partner in Sports, the National Football League, an exchange of assets and equity which sees the NFL obtaining a 10% stake in the ESPN division of Disney and ESPN / Disney acquire several streaming assets. The participation of 10% of the NFL in ESPN is evaluated between $ 2 billion and $ 3 billion, according to Octagon estimates.

ESPN will obtain the rights to three additional NFL games per season, previously broadcast by the NFL own networks, which means that the most noted American television show, Live Football, will be Disney’s because the company strengthens its war box in streaming. Disney has rebuilt ESPN to survive the decline of linear television with the launch of an autonomous streaming service, and he will now brave the loved content of football fanatics: the NFL Network, NFL Redzone Distribution Rights and NFL Fantasy Football. In streaming, Netflix and Amazon have each acquired more NFL rights in recent years, so the Disney movement has shown its defense of play and a certain offense also on this front.

Disney also announced an extended agreement with WWE, another recent partner of Netflix, which then emerged as an agreement of $ 1.6 billion which will make Disney the house of renowned event, Wrestlemania. Iger said on the call of the results that ESPN “will be the exclusive house of WWE Premium Live events, further expanding the ESPN rights portfolio”. On Disney’s plans in this area, Iger added that Disney “built ESPN in the pre-eminent digital sports platform with our highly awaited sports offer.”

Disney revealed in its profits that the sports division, anchored by ESPN, saw the income drop from 5% to 4.3 billion dollars, mainly due to the NBA and higher university sports rights. The benefit of the segment, however, has climbed from 29% to $ 1 billion, because a merger in its Indian unit has undergone losses on its balance sheet.

Profitable streaming in the middle of linear television, decline from the movie studio

Overall, the third quarter income showed resilience in the main business segments for Disney such as streaming and theme parks, even if its traditional television and cinema divisions have shown fatigue. Total turnover for the quarter ending on June 28 increased by 2% from one year to the next to 23.7 billion dollars, just under Wall Street forecasts, while the profit adjusted per share has increased by $ 16%, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $ 1.47. Net profit before taxes increased by $ 3.2 billion by $ 3.2 billion.

A title of title for Disney was the solid performance of its streaming activity, which recorded a 6% increase in revenues to $ 6.2 billion and made an operating profit of $ 346 million, a substantial reversal of a loss of $ 19 million declared in the same quarter last year.

Subscriber measures reflected regular gains, with Disney + with 1% of the quarter to a total for a total of 128 million and Hulu by the same margin at 55.5 million subscribers. The combined base of Disney + and Hulu subscribers climbed to 183 million, up 2.6 million compared to the previous quarter. Disney also finalized its acquisition of the remaining participation in Hulu de Comcast / NBCUNIVERSAL in June, preparing the way for a stricter integration of its streaming brands later this year.

Meanwhile, the Disney studio entertainment segment has increased in revenues of 1% more modest to $ 10.7 billion, rewards with a 15% drop in operating income to $ 1 billion. Theatrical outings, including the original animated and live remakes, underperform compared to the strong projection of the box office from last year with “Inside Out 2.” In addition, Disney linear television networks, including ABC and Disney Channel, recorded a 15% drop in annual sliding income to 2.3 billion dollars, highlighting the continuous challenges in the reduction of cords and lower international results after the India Star Agreement.

For the future, Disney expects total subscriptions for Disney + and Hulu to increase more than 10 million in the next quarter, partly by an extended agreement with Charter Communications.

Themed parks and experiences shine

Disney’s “Experiences” segment – which covers themed parks, drives and consumer products – exempt from robust figures, exceeding previous forecasts. The quarter turnover increased by 8% in annual sliding to $ 9.1 billion, fueled by a high 22% increase in operating income in national parks and experiences at $ 1.7 billion. Disney highlighted high expenditure on guests and higher occupancy rates in its parks and cruises, especially at Walt Disney World, despite the highly anticipated opening of the epic universe of the Universal competitor in Orlando. The leaders underlined the “resilience continues” of Disney’s Park affairs in the face of new competition.

Increased guidance, optimism for 2025

In particular, Disney increased its directives for the year 2025, projecting an adjusted profit of $ 5.85 per share – an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. The company also provides that the growth of operating income for two -digit segments in entertainment and sports, with a gain of 8% of experiences for the whole year. CEO Bob Iger has told Disney’s commitment to global expansion, noting more active extensions of the park than in any time in Disney’s history and highlighting continuous strategic investments in streaming, theme parks and sports as engines for future growth.

“Disney has not finished building, and we are delighted with the future,” Iger said after the results statement.

For this story, Fortune Used a generative AI to help an initial project. An editor checked the accuracy of the information before the publication.