Iger ‘Extremely Confident’ In Disney Streaming Profits This Year

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger is “extremely confident” that the company will meet its goal of showing a profit in its streaming TV businesses in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

“I mentioned streaming, we are on a path to profitability,” Iger said this week at the Morgan Stanley technology, media and telecom conference. “I think the results these last two quarters clearly demonstrate that we’re extremely confident we’re going to get there by the fourth fiscal quarter of this year.” 

Disney reported a loss of $216 million in its combined streaming businesses for the quarter that ended in December, a sharp improvement from the $1.05 billion loss in the same period the year before. Those results include the Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu streaming services.

The world’s largest entertainment company has been investing in streaming businesses as consumers increasingly shift from traditional TV to online viewing. Disney’s fiscal year ends in late September or early October. 

Disney is embroiled in a proxy battle with billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP, which is seeking to appoint Peltz and Jay Rasulo, Disney’s former chief financial officer, to the company’s board at its annual meeting in April. On Monday, Trian published a 133-page manifesto for change titled Restore the Magic at The Walt Disney Company in which the firm advocated for an overhaul of Disney’s business strategy.  

“This campaign is in a way designed to distract us and to take our eye off the ball,” Iger said. “I am working really hard to not let this distract me.”