The Walt Disney Company has revealed new numbers under it’s restructured business plan that shows just how much ESPN is worth to the company. After the return of Disney CEO Bob Iger to the head of the company, it was restructured into three main segments. Disney’s three main segments are now:
- Entertainment
- Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
- Sports
New SEC filings show how lucrative the sports segment, which is mostly made up of ESPN, is for the company. The filing showed that ESPN brought $16 billion in revenue in fiscal 2022 (the company’s fiscal year ended Oct. 2022), with profits of $2.9 billion. This comes in comparison to the Entertainment division which brought in $39.6 billion in fiscal 2022. However, it’s profits only reached $2.1 billion. This number was impacted by Disney’s streaming services which haven’t gained profitability yet.
$10.1 billion of the ESPN numbers came from TV carriage fees. Whereas only $4.4 billion came from advertising revenue. Cord cutting has impacted ESPN dramatically as it hits the carriage fees.
With the numbers that are revealed in this filing, it doesn’t look like ESPN would want to sell off a profitable brand. It is, however, looking for minority partners. This comes as the company continues to move from its linear delivery services on television to streaming. ESPN is a big part of that pivot. Hearst, which was an early investor in ESPN, continues to own 20 percent in the channel.
What do you think of how ESPN performed in 2022? What do you think the future will be for this brand? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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