Bob Iger

Last quarter, Disney’s SVOD services grew 11% year-over-year to more than $5 billion, driven by growth in both subscription and advertising revenue.

Google’s AI browser opens relevant tabs for you; Disney-owned characters are now featured on Sora; and Google’s AI Max for Search gets lackluster feedback.

Disney’s Q4 earnings double down on the success of sports streaming content, but the YouTube TV blackout continues.

YouTube backpedals on banning COVID and political misinfo; Tylenol pushes back against Trump’s claims that it causes autism; and Disney doubles down on linear TV and raises Disney+ prices after its Kimmel boycott threat.

Disney had a good quarter, with revenue on the rise and streaming on the brain. Its DTC division, which houses its streaming business, is also growing and remains profitable.

Disney’s revenue rose 5% to $24.7 billion last quarter, up from $23.5 billion this time last year. But subscriber growth at The Mouse House looks less promising.

During its earnings call on Thursday morning, Disney announced plans to bring ESPN+ content to Disney+ starting on December 4,

Last quarter, Disney’s combined streaming portfolio – Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – turned a profit for the first time, bringing in $47 million from April through June. It’s quite the bounceback from last year, when Disney’s media and entertainment segment lost $512 million.

During Disney’s upfront event on Tuesday, just hours after Amazon’s, the Mouse House couldn’t hold back on pitching its content and advertising prowess. Sports was a big highlight.

Disney is on track for its combined streaming offerings to reach profitability by the end of this year. Continued growth will hinge on bundling its streaming properties and its management of sports media.

In today’s newsletter: Shoppable TV needs a better reason to exist; Disney+ will roll out password-sharing bans worldwide this summer; and “Bluey” is a huge hit, but Disney doesn’t make much from it.

Why are there so many loss-leading streaming services? Blame it on Bob Iger, says LightShed’s Rich Greenfield.

Disney is starting off the year with subscriber losses. But the Mouse House says it’s all part of the plan.

Under The Hood When Gary Numan sang, “Here in my car, I feel safest of all,” he didn’t know about the rapacious data collection practices of modern-day automakers. Ars Technica reports that, late last week, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sent letters to 14 car companies, including Ford, GM, Honda and Hyundai, asking pointed questions about […]

TV programmers have been fighting against macroeconomic constraints and the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, both of which reduced ad revenue growth over the course of this year. Now, programmers are starting to recover some of their losses.

Disney+ added nearly 7 million subscribers last quarter, and, of those, about 2 million new sign-ups were for the streamer’s year-old ad-supported tier. Currently, Disney+ with ads has 5.2 million subscribers.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Up For Sale Disney is considering selling ABC and its eight local stations. Nexstar Media Group is a possible buyer, Bloomberg reports. Disney CEO Bob Iger recently said he’s open to selling some of the company’s TV networks. Linear is a loss leader […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Begun, The Clone War Has The robots are taking over, and publishers are fighting back. A growing list of media outlets are attempting to stop AI bots from copying their content, CNN reports. Last week, The New York Times, Reuters and CNN led […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Uncapped Streaming TV viewers know what it’s like to be hounded by an ad for days or weeks at a time. Shira Ovide of The Washington Post explores how to avoid this unfortunate phenomenon – although it’s not an encouraging report. People can jump […]

Disney+ continues to shed subscribers, but the entertainment giant is placing its bets on advertising to help it achieve streaming profitability.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Hot For Hulu Comcast is preparing to sell its 33% stake of Hulu to Disney. Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors last week that Comcast and Disney were in talks about Hulu’s fate. On Tuesday, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts confirmed “it’s more likely […]

Disney may be growing overall revenue, but it’s losing streaming subscribers. Going forward, Disney has two main priorities to keep the company moving in the right direction: content bundling and programmatic growth.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. After A Fashion Criteo inked an exclusive deal with British online clothing retailer ASOS to be the ad tech pipes for its advertising business. “The ASOS vision is to become the go-to global destination for fashion-loving 20-somethings and we want to take brands […]

Disney is determined that its streaming business will be profitable by the end of its 2024 fiscal year – and it’s got an aggressive plan to make that happen … despite Disney+ losing 2.4 million subscribers globally compared to the previous quarter.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. I Don’t Speak TikTok TikTok introduced search ad campaigns last year. But it’s a tough sell, especially considering TikTok’s organic traction. TikTok has a strong consumer pitch, which happens to be the focus of its new ad campaign, but advertisers are wary, Marketing […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. A Betsy On Etsy Etsy should be in dire straits. In 2020, a quarter of Etsy’s gross merchandise was homemade masks. Pandemic ecommerce numbers deflated, Apple ATT reversed the mobile economy, then the recession hit.  Yet, a dollar on Etsy in December 2019 (just […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. House Of The Mouse Disney has replaced CEO Bob Chapek with former CEO Bob Iger in a surprise turn. The two Bobs (real names Robert Allen Iger and Robert Alan Chapek, if you can believe it) had two rather different streaming strategies.  Iger prioritized […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Ripe For Change Earlier this year, as part of a concession to antitrust regulators, Apple started allowing certain developers to avoid paying its 30% App Store fee by redirecting users to external sites in order to subscribe – and now Netflix is taking advantage. Previously, […]

The force is strong with Disney. The company is leveraging its movie franchises and original content pipeline to hyperdrive a major strategic shift into the DTC market, as it bets big on Disney Plus and its other streaming platforms, including Hulu and ESPN Plus, in the years ahead. Subscribers and content jump to hyperspace In […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Bob’s Back Bob Iger is getting sucked back into Disney management after stepping down as CEO in February. Disney’s business is heavily reliant on people gathering – in theme parks, at movie studios, in theaters and on cruise ships. Disney is losing as much […]