Disney Star Sports reports Rs 5200 crore revenue for 9 months
The unit also reported losses of Rs 3600 crore
Walt Disney’s India business Disney Star has reported a revenue of Rs 5,299 crore in nine months. However, Disney Star has reported an operating loss of Rs 3,693 crore from its sports business in India for the period ending July 1, 2023.
According to a report filed by the company on October 18, during the nine-month period, Disney Star had various sporting events on its network, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April-May, the ICC T20 World Cup in October-November 2022, and a slew of India's home international matches.
The overall revenue of the company from sports segment, including Star India and ESPN, was posted at Rs 1,09,815 crore, out of which, Walt Disney reported an advertising revenue of Rs 26,588 crore and revenue from subscription fees stood at Rs 9475 crore.
Globally, ESPN, owned 80% by Walt Disney, earned a revenue of Rs 1,04,523 crore during this period and an operating profit of Rs 15,715 crore.
Revenue in the entertainment sector during this period was posted at Rs 2,58,000 crore, out of which, linear networks stood at Rs 75,481 crore, direct-to-consumer stood at Rs 1,23,541 crore and revenue from content sales/licensing was posted at Rs 59,799 crore. Operating income from the entertainment segment was Rs 10,050 crore.
Walt Disney has announced that it will break out its sports programming revenue from the fourth quarter onwards. The company has said it will report its financial results in two segments: entertainment and sports. The move comes after a restructuring of the company announced earlier this year, the media firm said on Wednesday.
“As a result of the reorganization, effective with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the financial results of the media and entertainment businesses will be reported in two segments, Entertainment and Sports, thereby providing increased transparency by giving incremental detail on our linear networks and sports businesses,” Walt Disney said in its report.
Sports will include ESPN and ESPN, Star-branded sports channels in India, and fee earned from licensing sports content. On the other hand, the entertainment segment will include its linear networks, streaming services, and revenue earned from licensing films and television content.
