Disney will pay $1 billion in two installments to complete the deal; one now and one in January 2017.
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As previously anticipated in the press, the Walt Disney Company made a $1 billion investment in BAMTech, the streaming video company spun out of MLB Advanced Media, giving it a 33 percent ownership. BAMTech is a leading direct-to-consumer streaming service provider.
Disney said BAMTech, which has almost 7.5 million paid subscribers, will provide a platform to stream content from the entertainment giant’s broadcast units, including its sports network ESPN. It gave no further details. Disney, like other media conglomerates, has long relied on steadily climbing cable subscriber fees as an engine.
Disney announced that it will launch an ESPN streaming service before the end of this year – but the network’s marquee live events will not be available through this platform. Walt Disney Co makes up approx 1.71% of Karpas Strategies’s portfolio.Forte Capital Adv reduced its stake in DIS by selling 110 shares or 0.97% in the most recent quarter.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.62 per share. The entertainment giant reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.01.
Revenue was up by 9% ending the quarter at $14.27 billion. The new service is said to complement existing ESPN channels.
The drop in attendance was offset by guests spending more on tickets to visit the parks and vacations on Disney’s cruise lines, and higher occupancy at Disney hotels. Parks profit climbed 8% to $994 million.
While Disney is enjoying a string of successes at the box office, analysts were remaining focused on the cable television division of Disney. Its ability to keep profit intact by cutting programming costs in the near term is limited. The firm is a spin-off from Major League baseball’s media company. The company lists HBO Now, the National Hockey League (NHL), MLB, the PGA TOUR, WWE Network and Ice Network (the digital platform for professional figure skating) among its roster of clients. The goal is even faster video growth. “We are looking at a marketplace that is so dynamic”. “Things have been going fine, but to not move on this now, we lose the opportunity to get really, really big”.
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Disney’s shares fell to $94.92 in extended trade on Tuesday, down from a close of $96.67. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 51,411 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $5,402,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period.
