Blog: Disney

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

There is no Pirates of the Caribbean 6: How long is the internet going to work?

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Hanna Kahlert

29 Apr 2025

Cultural trends

Generative AI is improving, and its use is increasing. AI tools have rapidly accelerated , and, as a result, AI is now widely used to generate lesson plans, find recipe measurements, and draft lists of potential client companies.

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Disney’s direct-to-consumer business is now profitable – so what comes next?

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Tim Mulligan

7 May 2024

direct-to-consumer

Today, Disney announced its fiscal second quarter 2024 financial results (calendar Q1 2024). All eyes were on the Entertainment Segment, where its direct-to-consumer (D2C) division matched MIDiA’s call that it would finally post its first ever operating profit four and a half years after the launch of Disney+.

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Disney’s IP bank is its ultimate superpower which it needs to double down on investing in hybrid IRL success

Cover image for Disney’s IP bank is its ultimate superpower which it needs to double down on investing in hybrid IRL success

Tim Mulligan

4 Apr 2024

Disney’s annual shareholder meeting has confirmed that its management team, led by streaming and IP visionary Bob Iger, remains firmly in control of the media major’s destiny by thwarting Nelson Peltz’s push to acquire a board seat.

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The context behind Disney’s investment into Epic Games

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Karol Severin

15 Feb 2024

Disney announced it is investing $1.5 billion into Epic Games. The same announcement talks about a creation of an “ expansive and open games and entertainment universe connected to Fortnite ”. This move makes sense for Disney on several levels and is perhaps one of the most impactful games-related moves for Disney’s overall cultural relevance, engagement, monetisation capabilities, and profitability.

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Why Disney’s Epic Games investment challenges YouTube

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Ben Woods

9 Feb 2024

YouTube’s chief executive, Neil Mohan's, latest open letter was full of confidence . A little over a week since YouTube recorded a 16% jump in advertising revenue to $9.2 billion for Q4 2023 , he outlined four big bets to advance the business this year.

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What the launch of the “Hulu for sports” platform means for Disney and for sports TV

Cover image for What the launch of the “Hulu for sports” platform means for Disney and for sports TV

Tim Mulligan

7 Feb 2024

Hulu for sports

Today, ESPN (a Disney subsidiary), Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery announced : “...an understanding on principal terms to form a new joint venture (JV) to build an innovative new platform to house a compelling streaming sports service.

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How the smartphone ‘Swiss Army knife’ will unlock shoppable TV

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Ben Woods

2 Feb 2024

MIDiA has predicted that streaming TV services will make big strides with shoppable TV in 2024 . Key to that success will be the smartphone. An attempt by the likes of Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Disney to integrate an online shopping browser directly into their SVOD operating systems would be a misstep.

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Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse and the blending of fan and franchise

Cover image for Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse and the blending of fan and franchise

Hanna Kahlert

3 Jan 2024

Long known for its strict intellectual property strategy, Disney is seeing one of its core characters – the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse – enter the public domain, presenting an excellent case study on how fan engagement in entertainment has evolved in today's digital age.

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Can ReelShort succeed with short-form video entertainment where Quibi failed?

Cover image for Can ReelShort succeed with short-form video entertainment where Quibi failed?

Ben Woods

30 Nov 2023

A little over three years ago some of America’s most notable entertainment executives killed off an attempt to revolutionise smartphone entertainment. The ill-fated platform, spearheaded by former Walt Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and backed with a $2 billion war chest, was Quibi.

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Embracing the cultural ascent of games: Zelda, Sony, and games-video symbiosis

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Perry Gresham

10 Nov 2023

Legend of Zelda

Gaming has been mainstream for a while, but in recent years it has started flexing its cross-cultural muscles, intersecting with music, sports, and increasingly with video . The latest example is a new live-action movie, based on The Legend of Zelda games franchise, announced this week as a collaboration between Nintendo and Sony Pictures.

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Why investing in IRL entertainment is so important for Disney’s streaming future

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Tim Mulligan

26 Sep 2023

It appears that investors are losing confidence in Disney as the transition from linear TV to streaming TV moves into its final chapter. Last week, Disney saw its stock price fall after announcing that it was doubling its capital expenditures investmentin its parks, experiences, and products segmentto$60 billion.

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Murdoch versus Iger | Why Fox’s focus on live programming has a key role in streaming TV

Cover image for Murdoch versus Iger | Why Fox’s focus on live programming has a key role in streaming TV

Tim Mulligan

21 Sep 2023

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to step down as chairman of Fox News and Fox Corporation is the culminating act in a 70-year media career spanning print to TV. It comes four years after Murdoch clinched the deal of his career – selling all of 21stCentury Fox except for Fox News and Fox Sports to Disney in 2019.

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Hate-watching: The rise of contextual consumption

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Hanna Kahlert

24 Aug 2022

In the over-saturated entertainment ecosystem , attention is the name of the game. All propositions are competing for the most focused attention, striving for more dynamic engagement , and trying to find and monetise superfans for all that they are worth.

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Minions versus Lightyear: a tale of two contrasting fandoms

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Ashleigh Millar

12 Jul 2022

The new Universal / Illumination film, Minions: The Rise of Gru , has broken records for an Independence Day release to theatres – it grossed $123.1 million over the long weekend, beating the previous record-holder, Transformers: Dark of the Moon , which grossed $115.

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Disney+ at 100 million: The second shockwave of the D2C big bang moment has begun

Cover image for Disney+ at 100 million: The second shockwave of the D2C big bang moment has begun

Tim Mulligan

10 Mar 2021

At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, Disney announced that Disney+ had reached the 100 million subscriber mark in the 16 months since it first launched. For comparison, global subscription video on demand (SVOD) leader Netflix has taken 14 years to reach 203 million subscribers.

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Hulu + Live subscriber losses point to intensifying US video attention battle

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Tim Mulligan

16 Feb 2021

On February 11th, Disney released its results for Q4 2020. The focus was on the continuing growth for the media major’s direct to consumer (D2C) business. Although still loss-leading, the D2C segment has halved its operating income losses from -$1.

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Football looks to build digital engagement through Fortnite collaboration

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Alistair Taylor

22 Jan 2021

Endeavor-owned IMG, acting as Epic Games’ licensing representative, has brokered deals with 23 football clubs to appear in the publisher’s free-to-play battle royale-style game Fortnite. Looking to capitalise on an increasingly valuable market, with diversifying revenue streams a paramount objective, sport is starting to play its way into the world of micropayments and in-app purchases, turning fandom into revenue .

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Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

Cover image for Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

Alistair Taylor

9 Dec 2020

Last week , Discovery announced it will launch discovery+, ‘the definitive non-fiction’ subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD), on January 4th, 2021. Consumers in the US can expect the largest-ever content library for a new streaming service from launch, with more than 55,000 episodes from Discovery’s iconic brands such as the BBC’s Natural History collection, A&E Networks, Group Nine and more.

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DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Cover image for DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

betting company

US-based sports betting company DraftKings’ stock value has grown 11% following a strong third-quarter performance in which its revenues increased 98% year on year (YoY) to reach $132.8 million, up from $67 million in Q3 2019.

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WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

Cover image for WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

Alistair Taylor

12 Nov 2020

World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE’s Q3 2020 results provide a fascinating insight into how a live event-focused entertainment business has successfully navigated a global pandemic. In its financials for the quarter , WWE saw a 19% revenue increase year-on-year (YoY), with Q3 2020 revenue at $221.

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