PIRATES, ESPN Help DISNEY Profits Double

(From Sports Business Daily)

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY'S fiscal Q4 profit "more than doubled year-over-year" largely on the strength of its summer release of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST according to PAUL BOND of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

The movie helped DISNEY's studio entertainment division "dominate in terms of revenue growth, followed by media networks, consumer products and parks and resorts."

DISNEY beat WALL STREET estimates earnings of
$782 million in Q4, compared with $379 million a year ago, and $8.8 billion in revenue, up 14%.

THE MEDIA NETWORKS UNIT saw revenue increase 10%
to $3.7 billion and an 18% rise in operating income to
$883 million.

Cable, "driven by ESPN, turned in a 16% revenue rise,
while broadcasting clocked in with a 1% gain."

DISNEY executives "guided for continued double-digit growth for ESPN and touted the company’s opportunities in digital media, video games and even music."

DISNEY President and CEO ROBERT IGER appeared on BLOOMBERG NEWS and said of the impact of programming costs on the company's profit margin, "The total program cost for entertainment has gone up a bit, but that's because we're programming more entertainment hours due to the move of MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL from ABC to ESPN and the reduction in the number of news magazine shows. So, if you look at the total cost of entertainment programming, it's gone up slightly -- but it's actually gone down on an average per hour basis. So, I'm not at all concerned about that in terms of its impact on the bottom line at the ABC television network."

In L.A., JOSEPH MENN reports the licensing of merchandise for DISNEY's CARS has brought in more than $1 billion to retailers.

DISNEY shares fell $0.58 to $33.00 Thursday in extended trading, as executives "wouldn't forecast another year of double-digit profit growth."