Disney saw significant operating losses in the first quarter of 2019, thanks to spending in its direct-to-consumer (DTC) business.
The House of Mouse lost $393 million in the first quarter, almost doubling the loss of $188 million in the year-ago quarter. Execs said the results are a result of ramping up investment in the ESPN+ sports-streaming service and launch costs for the upcoming Disney+ service – expected in November.Total Q1 revenues rose 3% to $14.92 billion, with most of that -- $5.52 billion -- generated by Disney's media networks unit. Revenue at Disney's DTC/international unit was up 15%, to $955 million.
Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger on the earnings call also confirmed discussions with Comcast about the cableco divesting its 30% stake in Hulu – but declined to say if any plans to do so are on the table. He did say that if it happens, "there probably would be some ongoing relationship" to maintain Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal’s content library on the service.
AT&T/WarnerMedia already is selling its 9.5% stake in Hulu, for $1.43 billion.
