Star India’s sports & Disney+ Hotstar see revenue decline, ET BrandEquity

The Walt Disney Company reported a 37% decline in sports revenue from Star India, totaling $58 million for the quarter ending September 28, 2024, down from $92 million in the same period in 2023, which ended on September 30.

In addition, Disney+ Hotstar saw a 26% drop in average monthly revenue per paid subscriber, falling to $0.78 from $1.05, primarily due to lower advertising revenue. However, the paid subscriber base of Disney+ Hotstar grew by 1%, reaching 35.9 million subscribers for the quarter ended September 28, 2024, up from 35.5 million for the quarter ending June 29, 2024.

The company reported a significant increase of approximately $875 million in operating income for its Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) segment compared to fiscal 2024, benefiting from a recovery following a $200 million adverse impact from its India DTC business in the previous year. However, the company noted a modest decline in Disney+ Core subscribers in Q1 compared to Q4, while content sales and licensing income remained relatively in line with Q4.

In the sports segment, Disney posted a 13% operating income growth compared to fiscal 2024 on a reported basis, but when adjusting for the impact of its India operations, operating income is expected to decrease by approximately 10% for the quarter.
The company also reported a 6% increase in Q4 revenues, which rose to $22.6 billion, up from $21.2 billion in the same quarter last year. For the full year, revenues grew by 3%, reaching $91.4 billion, compared to $88.9 billion in fiscal 2023.

“This was a pivotal and successful year for the company, and thanks to the significant progress we’ve made, we have emerged from a period of considerable challenges and disruption well positioned for growth and optimistic about our future,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.

He further added, “Our solid performance in the fiscal fourth quarter reflected the success of our strategic efforts to improve quality, innovation, efficiency, and value creation. In Q4 we saw one of the best quarters in the history of our film studio, improved profitability in our streaming businesses, a record-breaking 60 Emmy Awards for the company, the continued power of live sports, and the unveiling of an impressive collection of new projects coming to our Experiences segment. As a result of our strategies and our focus on managing our businesses for both the near- and long-term, we are differentiating ourselves from traditional competitors, leveraging the deepest and broadest set of entertainment assets in the industry to drive attractive returns and further advance our goals.”

• Published On Nov 14, 2024 at 07:58 PM IST

Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals

Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis.

Download ETBrandEquity App

• Get Realtime updates
• Save your favourite articles

Scan to download App