As expected, Disney’s board has named director James P. Gorman to chair its Succession Planning Committee as the search for an executive to follow Bob Iger as CEO starts to heat up. Gorman joined the Disney Board earlier this year after having overseen a recent succession process at Morgan Stanley, where he serves as executive chairman following several years as the financial giant’s chairman and CEO. Given that background, it was pretty clear that he would be tapped at Disney to do the same. “James is a h ...

Netflix said it has wrapped up its upfront ad negotiations, posting a 150% increase in sales commitments over 2023, in line with company expectations. The presence of ads on the world’s leading streaming service is a new phenomenon, of course, putting an asterix on statistical comparisons, but the news is the latest sign that a major strategic effort is showing progress. After spending more than a decade insisting it would never run ads, Netflix reversed course in 2022, quickly ramping up an ad team and es ...

Disney and NBCUniversal are locked in a dispute about how much the former must pay the latter for absorbing the rest of Hulu. Disney late last year paid Comcast’s NBCU a previously agreed upon floor price of $8.6 billion and both sides had their own bankers calculating how much more, if any, was owed. Not surprisingly, their numbers diverged. Disney’s camp figured it was in the clear, NBCU’s that another $5 billion was due. As provided for in the initial contract, the dispute was handed to a third party, ...

Disney beat its own timeframe to reach streaming profits in an upbeat June quarter that also saw a big contribution from Inside Out 2. For well over a year, the company’s promised a streaming swing to the black in the 2024 fiscal fourth quarter but nailed it earlier, reporting $47 million in DTC operating income in Q3 (vs a $512 million loss the year before).   Disney+ and Hulu actually lost $19 million (on $5.8 billion in revenue) but that was more than offset by ESPN+. Disney+ and Hulu should turn profit ...

Disney will hike the price of most streaming plans as of October 17, the company said today, about a year after its last increase in the fall of 2023. Disney reports earnings tomorrow morning. Media companies across the board have been waging regular streaming price increases over the past several years as the DTC landscape rationalizes and there’s a push to turn profitable. Here’s what’s changing: The new prices will see Disney+ with ads rise to $9.99 from $7.99 a month. Ad-free will cost $15.99, from $1 ...

Core Insights - Fubo exceeded Wall Street expectations in Q2, reporting a loss of 8 cents per share and total revenue of $382.7 million, an improvement from a loss of 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year, with revenue increasing by 26% [1] - The company has 1.45 million paid subscribers, reflecting a 24% increase from the same period in 2023, and projects to reach approximately 1.8 million subscribers by the end of 2024 [1][3] Financial Performance - Advertising revenue rose by 14%, attributed to efforts to enhance visibility within agency holding companies during the start of the 2024 upfront season [3] - Fubo has increased its full-year guidance, expecting to achieve between 1.725 million to 1.745 million subscribers and revenue of $1.57 billion to $1.59 billion, excluding potential impacts from ongoing antitrust litigation [4] Legal Context - Fubo is involved in an antitrust lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, claiming these companies colluded to undermine Fubo through a streaming joint venture, Venu Sports [2][4] - A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled in federal court, with Fubo's CEO expected to testify [2] Market Reaction - Following the earnings report, Fubo shares, which have declined over 50% in 2024, experienced a 16% increase in pre-market trading [5]

Group 1: Financial Performance - Fox reported total sales of $3.09 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter, a 2% increase from the previous year, aligning with Wall Street estimates [1] - Net income decreased to $320 million from $369 million year-over-year, with EPS at 68 cents compared to 74 cents, while adjusted EPS rose to 90 cents from 88 cents, exceeding expectations [1][2] - Affiliate fee revenues increased by 5%, driven by 9% growth in the Television segment and 2% growth in the Cable Network Programming segment [2] Group 2: Advertising and Revenue Insights - Advertising revenues remained flat compared to the prior year, with gains from Fox Sports and Tubi offset by lower ratings and pricing at the Fox Network [2] - "Other" revenues were reported at $226 million, down from $253 million in the prior year, primarily due to lower third-party content sales [2] Group 3: Strategic Outlook - The company anticipates a boost in political advertising and ratings due to the upcoming Presidential Election and Super Bowl in fiscal 2025 [3] - Fox's strategy and financial strength are highlighted as key factors for future shareholder value [3] Group 4: Corporate Developments - A family succession battle is ongoing, with Rupert Murdoch attempting to settle control of the family business, which could impact the future of Fox News [4] - Fox is set to launch a new sports streaming joint venture, Venu Sports, priced at $43.99 a month, amidst competition from Fubo [4]

OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT, is launching a test version of a search engine that will cite sources of information, including news from content business partners.  SearchGPT will summarize websites, including news sites, and let users ask follow-up questions, as they already do with ChatGPT. It’s a direct challenge to Google, which has also has tried to apply generative AI to its web search. OpenAI says it plans to integrate SearchGPT into ChatGPT in the future. ChatGPT can already per ...

Netflix is three years into its games initiative and said it will release about a game a month starting in July – so now – in its Netflix Stories series based on the giant streamer’s IP. Netflix Stories was launched in September of 2023 with Love is Blind and has a growing catalog of interactive fiction games based on series and films. In Q2, it added Virgin River and Perfect Match. This month it starts ramping up with Emily in Paris and Selling Sunset. Separately, a multiplayer game based on the Squid Gam ...

Netflix added 8 million subscribers in the second quarter, delivering its latest upside surprise to Wall Street, though the company’s stock pulled back on weaker guidance for future revenue. Revenue of $9.559 billion and earnings per share came in just ahead of Wall Street analysts’ consensus expectations. Subscriber additions nearly doubled estimates of a gain of 4.7 million, which would have represented a dip from the 5.9 million tacked on in Q2 of 2023. The company said revenue would rise 14% in the thi ...