☀️ DISNEY Hits Can't Overcome Theme-Park Issues
Another top PAR exec departure / DIS Hikes Streaming prices again / Rebel Moon MIA on NETFLIX chart
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY, August 7, 2024.
Where SONY is counting on Forrest & Jenny Tom Hanks & Robin Wright to remind America that there is, indeed, just one country here that we all live in . . . moving the Zemeckis pic Here up two weeks to November 1, the Friday before Election Day.
Hey, I’ve heard of worse ideas.
THEN: Levy & Son (Eugene and Dan) are in talks to host the Emmys this year.
OH: Here are your New York Film Fest selections for the fall.
PLUS: Here are your MTV VMA nominees this year. The show takes place on the Queens border 🙌 at UBS Arena on Tues. Sept 10.
ALAS: The collateral damage of the cable TV bundle melt continues, as longtime trade publications Broadcast & Cable and Multichannel News are shutting down.
Axios is also laying off 50 folks, or about 10% of its staff. This is the first layoff for the company since it began in 2017.
RED VENTURES also sold CNET to ZIFF DAVIS (still around apparently!) for $100M, after paying uh, $500M for it 4 years ago. #MediaMath
BTW: Meet PRORATA AI (no association with the Axios PE newsletter), which has signed data deals with such publishers as FT, The Atlantic, Fortune and music label UMG for its forthcoming AI subscriptions product, with a business model of splitting the revenues with such content partners, based on the AI’s usage of their respective content to provide what it tells/provides for users.
RIP: GOOGLE Chromecast, it’s been real. No more TV streaming dongles for GOOGLE — it’s going full-on streaming device that will not be hidden behind your TV, with the, uh, GOOGLE TV Streamer — obviously a #WakeupApproved name.
Although not a #WakeupApproved price — this thing’s $100, the Chromecast was $30, and basically does the same thing.
ALSO: Gotta love IATSE keeping it on-brand . . . yeah, coulda raised that banner a 🤏☝️ #VanceForHarris2024.
YAH: Today’s larger signal from the economy — AIRBNB reported “slowing demand from U.S. guests” as part of the reason the company missed projections.
ADD IN: DISNEY citing “moderation of consumer demand” at its theme parks in Q2 (moderation = fewer folks coming, and/or spending less when they do), and the list of messages from the American consumer in Q2 continues to grow.
Which of course means — hey, great time to hike those streaming prices again!
FINALLY: DISNEY is hiking streaming prices again 🥳 ($19 a month for HULU anyone? A service with . . . zero streaming sports btw), which is a sentence I wrote about a year ago. And previously 9 months before that.
New prices as of October 17:
DIS+: $10 a month for ads (+$2) and $16 a month ad-free (+$2)
So — essentially the same prices as MAX (which goes $17 for ad-free)
HULU: $10 a month for ads (+$2) and $19 a month ad-free (+$1)
DIS+ & HULU: $11 with ads (+$1), the ad-free combo is still $20.
ESPN+: $12 with ads (+$1)
DISNEY BUNDLE (DIS+/HULU/ESPN+): $17 ad tier (+$2) and $27 ad-free (+$2)
Comp — DISNEY MAX BUNDLE (DIS+/HULU/MAX): $17 ad tier, $30 ad-free
🙋♂️ Any chance I get a discount with my VENU account?
Remember when we just had to decide if we wanted to pay extra for HBO on top of our monthly TV bill? Gen Z readers — it was glorious.
So, just what am I getting for paying more? “Playlists”! A terribly named feature for those rumored, essentially FAST or linear TV-like curated channels being added to the interface of DIS+ and HULU.
Wait — actually, it’s just 2 channels: an ABC NEWS feed (which you can basically already get for free elsewhere), and a preschooler content channel. Where do I sign up?
Other themed channels (‘80s/’90s/‘nostalgia’ kinda thing, a STAR WARS channel, etc) will come starting later in the year . . . but “Playlists” are only for the ad-free folks. 🤬
Something that, uh, kinda defeats the #2 purpose of these channels — increase ad revenue (#1 being increase engagement).
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE:
HULU +LIVE TV: $83 a month (+$6), which comes with HULU and DIS+ ad tiers, or $96 a month for ad-free.
And you say $73 a month YOUTUBE TV is kicking this product’s ass in subscribers 🤔? Huh.
HISTORY LESSON — DISNEY #pricehikes:
Ad-free tier hikes in October 2023
All tiers in December 2022
Thus making for 3 price hikes . . . in less than a 2 year period for DISNEY Streaming.
SO TO SUM UP HERE:
Given that Iger was fond of recalling to folks that he foresaw the collapse of the cable TV business model in the mid 2010s . . . largely due to repeated affiliate #pricehikes by studios . . . which lit the fuse under the cable TV collapse when those costs were passed onto subscribers . . . which is largely driving all of the “fun” we’re all living through now (well, at least those who still have studio jobs) — gotta say, this new repeated #pricehike strategy Bob’s employing is rich. I mean — not Iger rich, but definitely ganache rich.
BTW: That cable TV collapse event was something Iger did nothing to mitigate in the mid-to-late 2010s, despite seeing it.
Actually that’s not true — he then doubled-down on buying more cable TV networks, acquiring several in the FOX deal. The vast majority of which no one wants now . . . seemingly getting no real buyer interest when he floated the broad idea of selling TV networks on CNBC last summer. #SunValley
As for the timing here, well — DISNEY streaming password crackdowns coming next month should help with Iger’s streaming profit promise (although he technically hit it already), but he’s counting on these #pricehikes to really juice the 2025 narrative as he hits his 2-year anniversary of the Iger 2.0 era.
PARTING NOTE: A NETFLIX price hike is also probably not too far off as well.
NOW: Onto all the numbers to know from DISNEY’s Q2 report, plus the comps to previous quarters which actually show Iger’s cost-cutting moves showing results — and not just in streaming — and what’s on the horizon for 2025.
DISNEY Q2 shows the power of hits, and price hikes
First, it really says it all when Theme Parks, which represent 42% of DISNEY’s Q2 profitability alone, is put last in Iger’s “Executive Commentary” letter that was released alongside the results today.
Then again, when that U.S. profitability number is -6% YoY . . . page 7 it is for you, buddy. 😏