AT&T’s DirecTV Lost More Subscribers Than Expected, Sending the Stock Down

April 24, 2019

AT&T turned in first-quarter results that were in line with estimates for earnings per share, but that showed the telecom and media giant lost more subscribers to its DirecTV service than expected.

AT&T has reinvented itself over the past year, shelling out $106 billion to acquire Time Warner’s portfolio of media assets. It’s a bet that pairing content with its network assets and diversifying its revenue streams will compensate for continued declines in legacy segments like DirecTV satellite TV or business wireline services.

AT&T executives have warned that cancellations would accelerate this year as promotional periods end for many DirecTV customers. That was certainly the case in the first quarter — a net 544,000 DirecTV satellite customers canceled their service, versus a consensus forecast for a decrease of 322,000.

DirecTV NOW, a streaming live-TV service, also lost 83,000 subscribers, but that was better than analysts’ estimated 111,500 loss. The service now has fewer than 1.5 million total subscribers.

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WarnerMedia is planning a new streaming service for later this year, with both live and on-demand tiers and exclusive and licensed content. All that requires hefty investment in infrastructure and content, and with its debt-paydown plans to boot, AT&T has no shortage of demands on its cash flows this year.

Walt Disney recently made waves with its plans for its own coming streaming offering, Disney+, sending its stock almost 12% higher following the announcement. On AT&T’s earnings call, CEO Stephenson called that launch “instructive.”

“I was impressed by what Disney did,” Stephenson said. “I also thought the market reaction was an indication that people look at what Disney would be able to bring to market in terms of original content, library content, deep, strong brand content, and new and original content and talking about the licensing that they’d be pulling back in.”

He said he is optimistic that the WarnerMedia service will be competitive.

WarnerMedia will host an investor day in September or October to provide additional details about its streaming plans.

Netflix at risk of losing 8.7 million subscribers to Disney+, survey finds

Apr 24, 2019

About 14% of Netflix Inc. subscribers, equal to 8.7 million people, are considering dropping the streaming service in favor of the coming $6.99-a-month offering from Disney Co., at a cost to Netflix of about $117 million in lost revenue a month, a new survey has found.

The study, conducted by research company Streaming Observer and Mindnet Analytics of 602 current Netflix subscribers, comes as consumers gear up for the release of yet another streaming service from Apple Inc. that will offer competition for the existing services from Netflix and Amazon.com Inc., as well as the Disney+ offering.

The survey found 12.3% of those polled saying they may cancel Netflix and subscribe to Disney+ and 2.2% saying they will definitely cancel Netflix. About one in five Netflix users said they are planning to subscribe to both services.

A full 37.5% of those polled said they would try Disney+ when it is released, compared with 40% who said they have no interest. Predictably, parents of young children are most likely to want Disney over Netflix, given the amount of family-friendly films and TV shows on offer, including Pixar movies, Marvel and Star Wars content.

Overall, 23% of parents with children aged 15 and younger said they might cancel Netflix for Disney+, while just 10% of those without children said they may cancel.

“While Netflix has been steadily adding more kids content to its library, it’s hard to imagine it can match what Disney offers on this front, which could be a source of concern for the streaming giant,” said the survey.

Disney is expecting to grow its subscriber base quickly, building it to 60 to 90 million subscribers within five years. Netflix had 60 million U.S. subscribers at end March, and 88.6 million international subscribers, according to a regulatory filing.

The 37.5% of Netflix users who said they would try Disney+ is equal to an audience of 22.5 million people, the survey noted.

Disney has a cost advantage in the millions of customers in its core businesses that are already captive, greatly lowering its customer-acquisition costs for Disney+.

Verizon’s landline business added 52,000 net new home broadband connections during the first quarter of 2019 and lost a net 53,000 Fios video customers. Fios has lost pay-television customers over the last two years as a result of cord-cutting and the growth of streaming services like Netflix Inc.

(Reuters) - Comcast Corp reported first-quarter profit on Thursday that beat Wall Street estimates, boosted by strong additions of high-speed internet customers in a quarter that painted another mixed picture for the biggest U.S. cable provider.

Overall revenue missed analyst estimates and Comcast lost more video and phone customers than expected. Revenue from its NBCUniversal cable networks, filmed entertainment and theme parks also fell short of expectations. Earnings per share did, however, exceeded expectations.

Like others in the cable television industry, Comcast is grappling with rival offerings from Alphabet Inc’s YouTube TV and subscription video services like Netflix Inc.

Earlier this week AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc both reported losing more video customers than analysts expected.

Philadelphia-based Comcast said it lost 121,000 video customers in the quarter, more than the 29,000 it shed last quarter and the 109,000 estimated by analysts, according to research firm FactSet. In response, the company is striving to build new services on top of its broadband network.

Revenue from the high-speed internet business climbed 10 percent to $4.58 billion in the first quarter as the company added 375,000 subscribers on a net basis.

Subscriber additions beat the average analyst estimate of 356,000, according to FactSet, but were down slightly from 379,000 in the same period a year earlier.

Comcast is betting that its redesigned Xfinity X1 cable box, which uses a single menu to find content across live TV, on-demand and streaming services like Netflix, will help retain and attract subscribers.

Revenue at its NBCUniversal business, which includes NBC Entertainment and Universal Pictures, dropped 12.5 percent to $8.31 billion.

NBCUniversal plans to launch an advertising-supported TV streaming service in 2020 that will be free for NBCUniversal’s pay-TV customers as well as Sky customers internationally.

Filmed entertainment revenue rose 7.4 percent to $1.77 billion, boosted by movies including “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” and “Us” while theme park revenue slipped 0.4 percent to $1.28 billion.

Revenue from broadcast television dropped 29.4 percent year-on-year to $2.47 billion. Excluding last year’s Olympics and Super Bowl from the prior-year comparison, however, revenue rose.

Excluding items, the company earned 76 cents per share, beating estimates of 68 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Comcast’s overall revenue rose 18 percent to $26.86 billion, but fell short of Wall Street expectations of $27.20 billion.

Reservations for Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge park snatched up in less than 2 hours

May 02 2019

Disneyland began accepting online reservations on Thursday morning from fans who want to be the first park visitors to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Within two hours, all reservation slots had been filled.

The $1 billion expansion, which is set to open May 31, is expected to draw such large crowds that Disney instituted a free reservation process for the first month of its debut.

At 1 p.m. ET, fans were permitted to sign up for 4-hour windows to visit the new land at Disneyland in California. Before 3 p.m., all reservations were closed.

“At this time, the only way to secure a reservation to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park between May 31 and June 23, 2019 is to stay at a Disneyland Resort hotel,” the park’s website said. “Guests staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel on those dates will receive a designated reservation to access Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during their stay.”

Parkgoers will be able to visit the new land after June 23 without a reservation. However, if crowds get too big, Disney said some experiences in the land will be restricted or unavailable. A second Galaxy’s Edge will open in Orlando, Florida, in August.

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The Walt Disney Studios Announces Film Release Schedule

May 7, 2019

The Walt Disney Studios has unveiled its upcoming slate following the recent acquisition of the Fox film studios, including changes to previously dated films and a number of major additions.

After kicking off with the record-setting success of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame, The Walt Disney Studios’ 2019 summer slate includes Disney’s Aladdin on May 24, Fox’s Dark Phoenix on June 7, Pixar’s Toy Story 4 on June 21, Fox’s Stuber on July 12 and Disney’s The Lion King on July 19. Fox 2000’s The Art of Racing in the Rain moves up to August 9, and Fox Searchlight’s Ready or Not will release on August 23, while three films move to later dates: Ad Astra (September 20, 2019), The New Mutants (April 3, 2020) and Artemis Fowl (May 29, 2020).

The Studios’ 2019 slate rounds out with Fox’s The Woman in the Window on October 4 and Ford V. Ferrari on November 15, Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil on October 18 and Disney Animation’s Frozen 2 on November 22, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 20 and Blue Sky Studios’ Spies in Disguise, moving from September to Christmas. Among early 2020 titles are Fox’s Underwater on January 10, a new Kingsman movie on February 14 and Call of the Wild on February 21, followed by Pixar’s Onward on March 6 and Disney’s Mulan on March 27.

The updated calendar also sets release dates for major franchises Avatar and Star Wars. With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker bringing the original Skywalker Saga to its conclusion, three new as-yet-untitled Star Wars films will release on the pre-Christmas weekend every other year beginning in 2022. Four forthcoming Avatar films, expanding the vibrant world of Pandora, will release on the pre-Christmas weekend every other year beginning in 2021. In the holiday corridor for 2020, Fox’s West Side Story adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, will debut December 18 in the pre-Christmas slot, with Disney’s Cruella opening Wednesday, December 23, for the long holiday weekend.

“We’re excited to put in place a robust and diverse slate that lays the foundation of our long-term strategy, bringing together a breadth of films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox, Fox Searchlight and Blue Sky Studios to create an extraordinary collection of cinematic experiences for audiences around the world,” said Cathleen Taff, president, Theatrical Distribution, Franchise Management, and Business & Audience Insights, The Walt Disney Studios. “With a strong summer already in place, we are eager to carry that momentum forward over the coming years thanks to a creative wellspring of bold and imaginative stories coming from our world-class studios—including several new chapters of two revered franchises, Avatar and Star Wars.”


2019

• Tolkien (Fox Searchlight) – May 10
• Aladdin (Dis) – May 24
• Dark Phoenix (Fox) – June 7
• Toy Story 4 (Dis)- June 21
• Stuber (Fox) – July 12
• The Lion King (Dis) – July 19
• The Art of Racing in the Rain (Fox) – Aug 9
• Ready or Not (Fox Searchlight) – Aug. 23
• Ad Astra (Fox) – Sept. 20
• The Woman in the Window (Fox) – Oct. 4
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Dis) – Oct. 18
• Ford v. Ferrari (Fox) – Nov. 15
• Frozen 2 (Dis) – Nov. 22
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Dec. 20
• Spies in Disguise (Fox) – Dec. 25

2020

• Underwater (Fox) – Jan. 10
• Untitled Kingsman Movie (Fox) – Feb. 14
• Call of the Wild (Fox) – Feb. 21
• Onward (Dis) – March 6
• Mulan (Dis) – March 27
• The New Mutants (Fox) – April 3
• Untitled Marvel (Dis)- May 1
• Artemis Fowl (Dis) – May 29
• Untitled Pixar (Dis) – June 19
• Free Guy (Fox) – July 3
• Bob’s Burgers (Fox) – July 17
• Jungle Cruise (Dis) – July 24
• The One and Only Ivan (Dis) – Aug. 14
• Death on the Nile (Fox) – Oct. 9
• Untitled Marvel (Dis) – Nov. 6
• Ron’s Gone Wrong (Dis) – Nov. 6
• Untitled Disney Animation – Nov. 25
• West Side Story (Fox/Amblin) – Dec. 18
• Cruella (Dis) – Dec. 23

2021

• Untitled Disney Marvel – Feb. 12.
• Nimona (Fox) – March 5
• Untitled Disney Live Action -March 12
• Untitled Disney Marvel – May 5
• Untitled Disney Live Action – May 28
• Untitled Pixar – June 18
• Untitled Indiana Jones – July 9
• Untitled Disney Live Action – July 30
• Untitled Disney Live Action – Oct. 8
• Untitled Disney Marvel – Nov. 5
• Untitled Disney Animation – Nov. 24
• Avatar 2 (Fox) – Dec. 17

2022

• Untitled Disney Marvel – Feb. 18
• Untitled Pixar – March 18
• Untitled Disney Marvel – May 6
• Untitled Disney Live Action – May 27
• Untitled Pixar – June 17
• Untitled Disney Live Action – July 8
• Untitled Disney Marvel – July 29
• Untitled Disney Live Action – Oct. 7
• Untitled Disney Live Action – Nov. 4
• Untitled Disney Animation – Nov. 23
• Untitled Star Wars (Dis) – Dec. 16

2023

• Untitled Disney Live Action – Feb. 17
• Avatar 3 (Fox) – Dec. 22

2024

• Untitled Star Wars (Dis)- Dec. 20

2025

• Avatar 4 (Fox) – Dec. 19

2026

• Untitled Star Wars (Dis)- Dec. 18

2027

• Avatar 5 (Fox) – Dec. 17

Disney to Assume Full Operational Control of Hulu in Comcast Deal

May 14, 2019

Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp. have struck a wide-ranging deal that turns operational control of Hulu to Disney and gives Comcast the option to sell Disney its stake in the content-streaming platform.

Under the deal, Comcast can require Disney to purchase the one-third stake its NBCUniversal subsidiary owns in Hulu as early as January 2024, the companies said Tuesday. Disney can require NBCUniversal to sell that stake to Disney at a fair market value, according to a statement.

Disney has guaranteed that Hulu’s equity value at the time of a deal will be at least $27.5 billion.

Disney and Comcast also said they would fund Hulu’s recent purchase of AT&T Inc.’s 9.5% stake in the streaming platform. That deal increased Disney’s interest in Hulu to 66% and Comcast’s stake, through NBCUniversal, to 33%.

Comcast and Disney also agreed to extend Hulu’s license of NBCUniversal content as well as a Hulu Live carriage agreement for NBCUniversal channels until late 2024.

Disney+ surpasses 10 million sign-ups since launch

Nov 13 2019

Key Points
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• Disney+ has already surpassed 10 million sign-ups since launch, Disney announced Wednesday.
• Disney’s new streaming service launched Tuesday with some technical difficulties.
• For comparison, Disney-owned Hulu, claimed more than 28 million subscribers in May and Netflix claimed more than 60 million paid domestic members in its third quarter of 2019 and over 97 million international paid members.