Friday, April 12, 2019

Disney Forecasts ESPN+ Subs Reaching 12M By 2024

ESPN+, Walt Disney Co’s sports video streaming service, could attract between 8 million and 12 million paying subscribers by the end of the fiscal 2024 year, the company said on Thursday.

Reuters reports Disney’s forecast for significant growth in paying customers in the next few years was disclosed in a presentation of its streaming video strategy to Wall Street.

Operating losses for ESPN+ are expected to be $650 million annually in both fiscal 2019 and 2020, Disney’s chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, said during an investor day webcast presentation. But the service, which launched one year ago, should reach profitability by 2023, she said.

“I view this positively because I think that they need to illustrate the subscriber growth to validate the investment. They’re putting out some very strong number guides to the market,” said Patrice Cucinello, a director at Fitch Ratings. “They’re going guns blazing at direct consumer.”

As cable and traditional media companies lose subscribers to the likes of Netflix Inc, they are building new streaming video businesses that appeal directly to consumers.

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