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Less than a year after launch, ESPN +, Disney's sports streaming service, has attracted 2 million subscribers, double what the app had five months ago. The news represents a small victory for the service, but a much bigger one for Disney, which fully supports its new direct-to-consumer services, which also includes the launch of Disney +, a family app expected by the end of this year. Disney is by far the most aggressive major entertainment conglomerate to embrace streaming, and the launches of its new apps are closely watched in the media and entertainment space.
On Tuesday, President and CEO Bob Iger did not stress the importance of Disney's OTT efforts, saying, "It's a bet on the future of this business."
The rapid growth of ESPN + shows that this bet is already beginning to bear fruit. Iger said the platform had greatly benefited from the first broadcast of UFC Fight Night, bringing nearly 600,000 fans to sign up for ESPN +. He added that more combat content would be added to the service as a means of continued growth.
More generally, Disney sees ESPN + as a model for the launch of Disney +, which will host content from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, NatGeo and Star Wars. He said the successful deployment of ESPN + on the BAMTech platform – Disney is the majority owner of the streaming technology company that powers all of its OTT services – has proven that the company "is able to simultaneously manage both live and live streams, But before the UFC fight, he said that BAMTech handled just under 15,000 transactions per minute.
He also said that ESPN's digital networks and channels were proving to be effective marketing platforms to help ESPN + grow, and that this model would be applied to Disney +, using Disney's properties, ABC to Freeform via Disney Channel.
"If you consider all of this, the fact that we have a technology platform that works, a user interface that works and can handle mbad enrollment, and the use of current platforms" to market the company. application, "I think that adds very positive before the launch of the Disney + service."
Iger also touched on Hulu during the conference call, stating that the goal was to leverage the application as soon as Disney would become the majority owner, which will occur when 21st Century Fox's acquisition by Disney will be approved by all regulators. He also said that at some point, Disney would launch Hulu abroad more aggressively, and that this network would become a platform for FX's original content, which will also be incorporated into the Disney contract concluded in the US. Fox case.
"We were extremely impressed with FX and what it did with its programming and relationships with the creative world," said Iger. "We anticipate that FX will develop and produce projects for Hulu in particular," because its more adult-focused content is not appropriate for Disney +.
Disney reported earnings per share of $ 1.84, down 3% from a year earlier. It also recorded revenues of $ 15.3 billion, which was more or less stable from one year to the next. The results were better than those anticipated by Wall Street because of the increase in broadcast revenues and the growth of the parks, despite a decline in theatrical revenues.
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