Disney Revenues Slip in Q2

Revenues at The Walt Disney Company were down 13 percent to $15.6 billion in the second quarter as it continues to feel the impact of Covid-19.

“We’re pleased to see more encouraging signs of recovery across our businesses, and we remain focused on ramping up our operations while also fueling long-term growth for the company,” said Bob Chapek, CEO. “This is clearly reflected in the reopening of our theme parks and resorts, increased production at our studios, the continued success of our streaming services, and the expansion of our unrivaled portfolio of multiyear sports rights deals for ESPN and ESPN+.”

At Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, revenues inched up by 1 percent to $12.4 billion. However, the Parks, Experiences and Products segment was down 44 percent to $3.2 billion amid continued closures due to the pandemic.

Within Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, linear networks brought in $6.7 billion, a 4 percent decline, but operating income in the segment was up 15 percent to $2.8 billion. Revenues were down at both the domestic and international channels.

Direct-to-consumer revenues from Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ gained 59 percent to $4 billion. The segment narrowed its operating loss to $290 million. Disney+ reported a base of 103.6 million as of April 3, 2021. ESPN+ had 13.8 million customers and Hulu a total of 41.6 million subscriptions—37.8 million SVOD-only and 3.8 million for live TV and SVOD.

Content sales/licensing revenues fell by 36 percent to $1.9 billion, but the segment delivered an operating profit of $312 million versus the year-ago loss of $25 million.