DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[wabbott]

Poor Comcast, competition is tough when your used to being a monopoly...

Is there anyone around nowadays who wouldn't (figuratively speaking of course) strangle their cable provider with a length of coaxial cable? Anyone? Anyone?

 

[RivShore]

We have completely cut the cord on Spectrum, moved to Verizon 5G Home and it does all we need it to, at less than half the cost.

 

[wabbott]

https://variety.com/vip/moana-key-to-disney-comeback-year-streaming-2024-1236246307/

December 12, 2024 7:05am PT
‘Moana’ Was Key to Disney’s Comeback Year From the Beginning
by Tyler Aquilina

In this article:

Disney’s box office resurgence, solidified by “Moana 2,” has defined its 2024 comeback, but there’s more to it than that

The original “Moana” has become one of Disney’s most valuable content assets through massive Disney+ engagement

The theatrical-to-streaming pipeline is the studio’s best bet for maximizing value for high-cost productions

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/media-deals-outlook-pwc-2025-1236082802/

Media Deals Outlook: “Pent-Up Demand” to Fuel Big Year in 2025

Expect big M&A moves in the media-telecom sector, a closely-watched forecast from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says.

by Erik Hayden
December 12, 2024 - 2:00am PST

 

[RivShore]

https://variety.com/vip/moana-key-to-disney-comeback-year-streaming-2024-1236246307/

December 12, 2024 7:05am PT
‘Moana’ Was Key to Disney’s Comeback Year From the Beginning
by Tyler Aquilina

In this article:

Disney’s box office resurgence, solidified by “Moana 2,” has defined its 2024 comeback, but there’s more to it than that

The original “Moana” has become one of Disney’s most valuable content assets through massive Disney+ engagement

The theatrical-to-streaming pipeline is the studio’s best bet for maximizing value for high-cost productions

The viewership numbers for the original are staggering. I would assume it will be over 1 Billion views by the end of this year! when you can hit numbers like that and keep it all in house on your own streaming platform, it helps see why they were willing to lose billions getting them going..

“Since Nielsen began measuring streaming, audiences have watched nearly 80 billion minutes of ‘Moana,’ which translates to watching the full movie 775 million times,” the data firm noted in its 2023 year-end report.

 

[HokieRaven5]

The viewership numbers for the original are staggering. I would assume it will be over 1 Billion views by the end of this year! when you can hit numbers like that and keep it all in house on your own streaming platform, it helps see why they were willing to lose billions getting them going..

“Since Nielsen began measuring streaming, audiences have watched nearly 80 billion minutes of ‘Moana,’ which translates to watching the full movie 775 million times,” the data firm noted in its 2023 year-end report.

The strategy at launch was a little aggressive on the content spend in comparison to the revenue they were initially bringing in with how low of an introductory price they had. Fortunately even while losing $Billions in streaming the media side of the company was still able to stay above water and maintain profitability.

It took a few years to get that balance. And now it will be incremental price increases to put it on par with Netflix in terms of ARPU. Advertising will provide some revenue but currently pales in comparison to subscription fees. Think ads bring in somewhere around 15% of the total revenue at the moment.

As far as going forward Disney will absolutely use the streaming analytics to determine which IPs should get theatrical releases vs maybe just having content go direct to D+.

 

[wabbott]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warner-bros-discovery-restructuring-sets-140000420.html

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Restructuring Sets the Table for M&A in 2025 | Analysis
The move could be just the first step for David Zaslav to deal with declining linear TV assets, which remain a drag on the company.

by Alexei Barrionuevo - The Wrap
Fri, December 13, 2024 at 8:00 AM CST

 

[wabbott]

https://www.wsj.com/business/hospit...sking-in-holiday-cheer-b0ca3e17?siteid=yhoof2

Cruise Lines Are Basking in Holiday Cheer

This ‘wave season’ is shaping up to be not only the strongest since the pandemic but also the best ever

By Spencer Jakab
Dec. 16, 2024 - 5:30 am EST

It is the most wonderful time of the year for cruise fans. The industry has plenty to be pleased about too.

“Wave Season,” which traditionally runs from around Christmas through the following March, is the top booking period of the year for cruise lines and when the most promotions are available, even for voyages that could be hundreds of days away. Marketing materials from Celebrity Cruises RCL, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group, describe wave season as “Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Presidents Day all rolled into one.”

Well, maybe not this year. Cruise lines have been doing a better job of selling tickets months in advance, which gives them less incentive to offer steep discounts. Instead, the goodies might be drink packages, dining upgrades, onboard Wi-Fi, excursions or a free second guest. Analysts at Truist estimated earlier this month that voyages in 2025 were by then booked some 10% to 15% ahead of historical levels. By contrast, the number of available berths has increased by only around 5%.

When cruises first resumed after shutting down completely because of the Covid-19 pandemic, last-minute deals were plentiful and decks were uncrowded. But by last year, the pendulum had swung in the opposite direction in terms of the number of days ahead that people were paying for cruises, according to Michael Erstad, a senior analyst covering the consumer sector at research firm M Science.

“We’re still seeing that elevated booking window,” he said.

Combined with greater success in preselling onboard extras, that trend has given a hefty financial cushion to cruise lines that are still repairing their balance sheets from the pandemic. For example, Carnival said that customer deposits had reached a record $6.8 billion at the end of the third quarter, which is almost 40% more than what it held in the same period five years ago, shortly before the industry entered its crisis.

Even when these trends seemed obvious and cruise executives were reaching for superlatives to describe last year’s wave season, cruise lines’ shares were oddly cheap. They have since responded, with shares of the big three oceangoing companies, Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings NCLH, up by 54% year-to-date, on average.

Is there more where that came from? It is a question of what is priced in, but there still seems to be upside for Carnival and Norwegian, the two relative laggards. Even after their furious rallies, they fetch modest discounts to their average multiple of forward enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the decade before the pandemic.

Royal Caribbean, which has most deftly navigated the pandemic, now trades at a healthy premium, but even it could enjoy further gains given expectations of an imminent upgrade of its debt to investment grade. In October, despite a hit from a hurricane, the company predicted that its net yield, an industry measure of revenue less commissions and other costs per available cruise day, would be 10.8% to 11.3% higher in 2024 versus last year—a chunky gain. It announced on Wednesday that it is raising its dividend by 38%.

The industry’s pricing power looks strong. At a time of inflation in the cost of vacationing and stretched middle-class household budgets, cruise lines have become more competitive.

In the third quarter of 2019, for example, Truist calculates that Carnival had the lowest major cruise company ticket price per passenger cruise day, at $174. A Caribbean hotel night averaged $150 that quarter. Fast forward five years and Carnival’s cost has risen by just 7.1% to $186 a night while the average Caribbean hotel is 18.6% more expensive at $235.

Some domestic options have become a good deal pricier too. While detailed data isn’t available for the cost of hotels and meals in the area, one measure of Disney DIS -0.43%decrease; red down pointing triangle

World ticket prices, a five-day “Park Hopper,” is up more than 100% in a decade, according to tracker MickeyVisit.

Another factor that is difficult to glean from headline ticket prices is that cruises, which are more likely to be sold through travel agents than other vacations, increasingly are being booked directly with the cruise line itself these days, according to some analysts.

Those foregone commissions can boost profitability considerably. So can the advent of private island destinations—investments that all cruise lines sailing to the Caribbean have pursued. They save cruise lines money on fuel and logistics because they often are a shorter sail from their ports than some traditional destinations, which have become crowded. And onshore spending accrues to the cruise line instead of local merchants.

Of course, the main competition for a cruise is another cruise, and that is where the news is especially good—for now at least.

There has been a flurry of shiny, sometimes enormous ships ordered. Disney, for example, said it would “turbocharge” its experiences unit, with special emphasis on expanding its still fairly small cruise line. But, because of the considerable lag time in ordering and outfitting a new vessel in one of the handful of shipyards that specialize in cruise ships, the next few years will continue to have modest growth in supply. Truist estimates it will be 2% a year between 2026 and 2028.

Even if the economy softens next year, cruise lines shares should remain buoyant.

Write to Spencer Jakab at Spencer.Jakab@wsj.com

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...awsuit-disney-fox-warner-streamer-1236087723/

Judge Rules Against Disney-Fox-Warner Sports Streamer As FuboTV’s Lawsuit Advances

The lawsuit targets allegedly anticompetitive bundling requirements that FuboTV claims lead to increased costs for consumers, who are forced to pay for content they don’t watch.

by Winston Cho
December 16, 2024 - 9:57am PST

A federal judge has denied a bid to dismiss a lawsuit from media giants aiming to pool together their sports licensing rights to form a new streaming service, which was challenged by rival sports streamer Fubo.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett on Monday ruled against The Walt Disney Co., Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery. The case will proceed to discovery, with a trial set to start next year in October.

The decision, issued without a written order after oral arguments last week, comes after the court in August temporarily blocked a fall launch of the streaming bundle, which would’ve featured 15 channels of popular live sports. Subscribers would’ve been able to access a number of live, linear channels, including ESPN, Fox, ABC, TNT and TBS, as well as ESPN+. Between the three networks, they have rights to the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, plus college sports and pro tennis. They collectively control over half the country’s TV rights to professional and college sports.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disney-bests-youtube-11-1-130000174.html

Disney Bests YouTube With 11.1% Share of Total TV Viewing in November
by Lucas Manfredi - The Wrap
Tue, December 17, 2024 at 7:00 AM CST

 

[hertamaniac]

https://www.wsj.com/business/hospit...sking-in-holiday-cheer-b0ca3e17?siteid=yhoof2

Cruise Lines Are Basking in Holiday Cheer

This ‘wave season’ is shaping up to be not only the strongest since the pandemic but also the best ever

By Spencer Jakab
Dec. 16, 2024 - 5:30 am EST

It is the most wonderful time of the year for cruise fans. The industry has plenty to be pleased about too.

“Wave Season,” which traditionally runs from around Christmas through the following March, is the top booking period of the year for cruise lines and when the most promotions are available, even for voyages that could be hundreds of days away. Marketing materials from Celebrity Cruises RCL, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group, describe wave season as “Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Presidents Day all rolled into one.”

Well, maybe not this year. Cruise lines have been doing a better job of selling tickets months in advance, which gives them less incentive to offer steep discounts. Instead, the goodies might be drink packages, dining upgrades, onboard Wi-Fi, excursions or a free second guest. Analysts at Truist estimated earlier this month that voyages in 2025 were by then booked some 10% to 15% ahead of historical levels. By contrast, the number of available berths has increased by only around 5%.

When cruises first resumed after shutting down completely because of the Covid-19 pandemic, last-minute deals were plentiful and decks were uncrowded. But by last year, the pendulum had swung in the opposite direction in terms of the number of days ahead that people were paying for cruises, according to Michael Erstad, a senior analyst covering the consumer sector at research firm M Science.

“We’re still seeing that elevated booking window,” he said.

Combined with greater success in preselling onboard extras, that trend has given a hefty financial cushion to cruise lines that are still repairing their balance sheets from the pandemic. For example, Carnival said that customer deposits had reached a record $6.8 billion at the end of the third quarter, which is almost 40% more than what it held in the same period five years ago, shortly before the industry entered its crisis.

Even when these trends seemed obvious and cruise executives were reaching for superlatives to describe last year’s wave season, cruise lines’ shares were oddly cheap. They have since responded, with shares of the big three oceangoing companies, Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings NCLH, up by 54% year-to-date, on average.

Is there more where that came from? It is a question of what is priced in, but there still seems to be upside for Carnival and Norwegian, the two relative laggards. Even after their furious rallies, they fetch modest discounts to their average multiple of forward enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the decade before the pandemic.

Royal Caribbean, which has most deftly navigated the pandemic, now trades at a healthy premium, but even it could enjoy further gains given expectations of an imminent upgrade of its debt to investment grade. In October, despite a hit from a hurricane, the company predicted that its net yield, an industry measure of revenue less commissions and other costs per available cruise day, would be 10.8% to 11.3% higher in 2024 versus last year—a chunky gain. It announced on Wednesday that it is raising its dividend by 38%.

The industry’s pricing power looks strong. At a time of inflation in the cost of vacationing and stretched middle-class household budgets, cruise lines have become more competitive.

In the third quarter of 2019, for example, Truist calculates that Carnival had the lowest major cruise company ticket price per passenger cruise day, at $174. A Caribbean hotel night averaged $150 that quarter. Fast forward five years and Carnival’s cost has risen by just 7.1% to $186 a night while the average Caribbean hotel is 18.6% more expensive at $235.

Some domestic options have become a good deal pricier too. While detailed data isn’t available for the cost of hotels and meals in the area, one measure of Disney DIS -0.43%decrease; red down pointing triangle

World ticket prices, a five-day “Park Hopper,” is up more than 100% in a decade, according to tracker MickeyVisit.

Another factor that is difficult to glean from headline ticket prices is that cruises, which are more likely to be sold through travel agents than other vacations, increasingly are being booked directly with the cruise line itself these days, according to some analysts.

Those foregone commissions can boost profitability considerably. So can the advent of private island destinations—investments that all cruise lines sailing to the Caribbean have pursued. They save cruise lines money on fuel and logistics because they often are a shorter sail from their ports than some traditional destinations, which have become crowded. And onshore spending accrues to the cruise line instead of local merchants.

Of course, the main competition for a cruise is another cruise, and that is where the news is especially good—for now at least.

There has been a flurry of shiny, sometimes enormous ships ordered. Disney, for example, said it would “turbocharge” its experiences unit, with special emphasis on expanding its still fairly small cruise line. But, because of the considerable lag time in ordering and outfitting a new vessel in one of the handful of shipyards that specialize in cruise ships, the next few years will continue to have modest growth in supply. Truist estimates it will be 2% a year between 2026 and 2028.

Even if the economy softens next year, cruise lines shares should remain buoyant.

Write to Spencer Jakab at Spencer.Jakab@wsj.com

We are in the boat <no pun intended> from this article of booking months in advance while garnering steep discounts on dining/drinks/spa packages. But our cruise coming up next month also is the latest that I have seen stateroom upgrade bidding (sent out yesterday) which could mean there is headroom in the occupancy for those classifications.

Carnival releases earnings later this week so I'll be keeping a keen eye on their reporting. I already tapped out my shares earlier this year when I made my limit; same with NCL.

 

[wabbott]

We are in the boat <no pun intended> from this article of booking months in advance while garnering steep discounts on dining/drinks/spa packages. But our cruise coming up next month also is the latest that I have seen stateroom upgrade bidding (sent out yesterday) which could mean there is headroom in the occupancy for those classifications.

Carnival releases earnings later this week so I'll be keeping a keen eye on their reporting. I already tapped out my shares earlier this year when I made my limit; same with NCL.

Be sure and post those earnings results here. I don't normally follow cruise line financial announcements, so I'll probably forget to do that. They definitely are related to Disney's cruise numbers.

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2024/12/box-office-disney-2024-1236209611/

Disney Becomes Only Studio To Hit $2 Billion At Domestic Box Office In 2024

By Anthony D'Alessandro - Editorial Director/Box Office Editor @AwardsTony
December 18, 2024 - 8:45am PST

 

[clarker99]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disney-bests-youtube-11-1-130000174.html

Disney Bests YouTube With 11.1% Share of Total TV Viewing in November
by Lucas Manfredi - The Wrap
Tue, December 17, 2024 at 7:00 AM CST

https://deadline.com/2024/12/box-office-disney-2024-1236209611/

Disney Becomes Only Studio To Hit $2 Billion At Domestic Box Office In 2024

By Anthony D'Alessandro - Editorial Director/Box Office Editor @AwardsTony
December 18, 2024 - 8:45am PST

This seems good.