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Disney Q3 Earnings In-Depth: ESPN Sees Slight Growth

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Disney (DIS - Free Report) just reported its third quarter earnings, and the massive media conglomerate is garnering plenty of attention today because of it. While Disney has its hands in a lot of things, perhaps the most intriguing part of today’s report is the new data from its Media Networks division.

Disney’s Media Networks, which includes all-day sports programming channel ESPN, has been the focus of investors over the past year or so due to increased competition from Netflix (NFLX), Hulu, and Amazon’s (AMZN) Prime Video. ESPN and Disney’s other channels are inherently linked to cable subscriptions, meaning that the “cord-cutting” phenomenon has cut into the company’s revenues.

In the second quarter, Disney’s Media Networks division brought in $5.793 billion, down from $5.810 billion in the comparable quarter.

In the third quarter of last year, the Media Networks segment saw revenues of $5.768. According to today’s report, Media Networks saw third-quarter revenues of $5.906 billion, representing growth of 2% on a year-over-year basis.

Within the Media Networks segment, Disney said that Cable Networks revenue for the quarter increased 1% to $4.2 billion and operating income increased 1% to $2.1 billion.

“The increase in operating income was due to growth at ESPN, partially offset by a decrease at the Disney Channels, lower equity income from A&E and lower Freeform results. The increase at ESPN was due to affiliate and advertising revenue growth, partially offset by higher programming costs,” the company said.

After a period of concern surrounding ESPN, it appears that the sports network has bounced back slightly. Disney will need to continue to deliver growth in its Media Networks segment going forward.

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