Disney CEO Suggests Sportsbook Partnership During Financial Results Call

The Walt Disney Company reported a 26% increase in revenue for the company’s third fiscal quarter ending on July 2, 2022. However, what made the news was not the sound financial results, but CEO Bob Chapek discretely hinting that Disney is looking to expand its diverse product portfolio with sports betting.

14.4 million New Subscriptions to Disney+

The Walt Disney Company reported revenue of $21.5 billion for the third fiscal quarter ending on July 2, 2022. This marked a 26% increase compared to the $17 billion revenue reported for the same period in 2021. 

In terms of subscribers for the Walt Disney Company’s various streaming platforms, there were increases for all of them but to a different extent. Hulu was the underperformer with just an 8% boost from 42.8 million subscribers in the third quarter ending on July 3, 2021, to 46.2 million in the third quarter ending on July 2, 2022.

Disney+ did considerably better with a 31% increase in subscribers from 116 million to 152.1 million. Disney’s sports channel offering ESPN+ surprised with a 53% increase in subscribers from 14.9 million to 22.8 million.

In connection with the results Chapek noted: “We had an excellent quarter, with our world-class creative and business teams powering outstanding performance at our domestic theme parks, big increases in live-sports viewership, and significant subscriber growth at our streaming services.”

Chapek highlighted that Disney+ gained 14.4 million new subscribers in the three months ending on July 2, 2022. The company succeeded in reaching a total of 221 million subscribers across all of its streaming platforms.

The company’s strong operating results reported for the third fiscal quarter go to show that even though Disney is nearing its 99^th anniversary, it still manages to stay current and ride the wave of unique entertainment with a wide-ranging streaming platform product offering and special in-person experiences at their world-renowned theme parks.

Upcoming Sportsbook Partnership

Disney has a wide-ranging sports portfolio, including major leagues such as NBA, NHL, and IPL, so it is only logical that the company will be complementing this with a sportsbook partnership at some point. During the earnings call regarding the Walt Disney Company’s fiscal third-quarter results, CEO Bob Chapek highlighted the expanding live sports audience.  Disney covered 47% of the watched sports hours by audiences in the age group 18 to 49 and noted expanding viewership among young people and women.

What one can deduct from Chapek’s comments, Disney will soon be integrating sports betting into its broadcast services. Chapek suggested that very soon there could be an exciting announcement from Disney regarding a partnership with a sportsbook. He noted that the sports audience under 30 is definitely missing such a feature in the company’s product portfolio.