Bob Iger Comments on The Walt Disney Company's Q2 Earnings Results
On May 10, Bob Iger (CEO of The Walt Disney Company) commented on the Q2 Earning Results that were released yesterday. Here's the message sent to Cast Members and Employees of The Walt Disney Company:
"I just finished up our Q2 earnings call, detailing the progress we’ve made over the past quarter, as well as some of our company’s recent accomplishments.
We continue to deliver for consumers, from movies to television, to sports, news, and our theme parks. Just a few recent highlights we should all feel proud of: Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 topped the global box office in its opening weekend with $289 million; the first round of the NBA playoffs was the most-watched ever across Disney networks, and we’ve been averaging 5 million viewers per game through the first 22 games, up 15% versus the comparable point in last year’s playoffs; and ABC continued its run as the #1 entertainment broadcast network for the 4th consecutive season.
The performance of our international parks this past quarter was particularly impressive, and we have several international expansions underway that will allow our parks to continue to build capacity and drive longer-term growth. And at our domestic parks, we continue to deliver exceptional experiences for our guests with exciting new attractions, including the reimagined Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland and TRON Lightcycle / Run at Walt Disney World.
As you know, since my return to the company nearly six months ago, we’ve embarked on a significant transformation to strategically realign Disney. Our new organizational structure has returned authority and accountability to our creative leaders and is allowing for a more efficient, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations. And our company-wide cost-cutting initiatives, while difficult, are putting us on the path of sustained growth and success.
We’re delivering progress on a number of fronts, including a reduction in streaming operating losses this quarter. I am very optimistic about our direct-to-consumer (DTC) business longer term. As I think about our path forward in streaming, it’s clear we have a number of opportunities to further position our DTC business for success.
For example, on today’s call I was pleased to announce that we will soon begin offering a one-app experience domestically that incorporates our Hulu content via Disney+. And while we will continue to offer Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ as stand-alone options, this is a logical progression of our DTC offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers, while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience.
We will begin to roll out this one-app offering by the end of the calendar year, and we look forward to sharing more details in the future.
Despite the near-term macro headwinds of the overall marketplace today, the future advertising potential of this combined platform is incredibly exciting. The truth is, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what we can do with advertising on Disney+, and I’m incredibly bullish on our longer-term advertising positioning.
Across all of our businesses, none of these accomplishments would be possible without you – our employees and Cast Members. We have much to be proud of today, and even more to look forward to over the months ahead. Thank you for all that you do to ensure we continue to deliver the very best to people all over the world.
Bob"
PHOTO: © Walt Disney World Resort. All Rights Reserved.
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