Disney Headlines for September 15th, 2022
Believe it or not, D23 wasn’t the only thing happening in the wide world of Disney this week.
We also had the Primetime Emmys, additional details about Disney’s new subscription service, and some news and jokes about Disney making money.
Also, the video game industry is casually in love with the latest Disney video game.
Disney just claimed a year’s worth of headlines this week! So let’s run through some of the biggest non-D23 ones!
Is 26 Emmys a Lot?
Across television and streaming, Disney shows plenty of television programs. So, the first headline is also something of a numbers game.
I mean, think about all the programs on ABC, FX, Disney+, Hulu, and so forth.
Still, Disney enjoyed an excellent night at the Primetime Emmys as the company earned a whopping 26 awards!
The most notable winner is ABC’s breakout hit sitcom, Abbott Elementary.
Disney earned victories for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
This show is a bit of an oddity on network television in that the show’s star is its creator and head writer.
So, if you don’t know Quinta Brunson’s name yet, you should watch Abbott Elementary to find out what all the fuss is about.
A new series doing this well at the Emmys is relatively rare. Still, most of Disney’s triumphs came from the various streaming services.
In fact, Disney’s most successful program overall was Peter Jackson’s documentary, The Beatles: Get Back.
This examination of the Fab Four won five Emmys, including three for technical achievements. It also won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.
Jackson won as well, thereby proving once and for all that this project was a savvy move for Disney despite the hefty price tag.
The brilliant comedy series, Only Murders in the Building, also won three Primetime Emmys.
Star Wars and Marvel fans will be happy (or angry) to know that the two franchises combined for five victories. Most of them came from Marvel.
Loki won two awards, while What If…? and Moon Knight gained one each. Meanwhile, The Book of Boba Fett claimed an Emmy.
These two franchises claimed their victories in technical awards, which may frustrate their fans.
Are You Ready for Some Football?
Okay, the college football season is well underway, which is terrific news unless you’re a Nebraska or Notre Dame fan.
Anyway, Bob Chapek, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, recently shot down the idea of his company selling its ESPN brand.
An activist investor was pressuring Disney to spin off ESPN or trigger a gambling bidding war over the property.
Chapek was as emphatic as I have ever seen him about anything, and now we know why.
When the CEO stated ESPN was going nowhere, he felt this way because he recognized the Worldwide Leader’s impact on Disney’s bottom line.
A report just suggested that Disney will earn $700 million in advertising revenue for ESPN in 2022…just from college football!
According to this Head Office Sports report, Disney has already sold roughly 90 percent of all college ad inventory for the year…by mid-September!
Also, ESPN has added 36 new sponsors, suggesting that there’s an endless appetite for college football advertising.
You may recall that Disney recently ceded Big 10 broadcasting rights to Fox. This new piece of intel demonstrates why Fox felt like it couldn’t get shut out.
Meanwhile, Disney has reached virtual capacity on how much college football it can broadcast across its ESPN empire.
So, the Big 10 had become an expensive luxury. Disney will become the exclusive home for the SEC from 2024-2034, which means it’s all set for now.
By the way, if you have ever wondered about the importance of football to Disney and other companies, here’s a reminder.
The NFL generated $4.4 billion in advertising sales for the 2021-2022 season. It could feasibly cross $5 billion this year!
Thus, Disney is in no rush to get rid of ESPN, the hub for all football games, news, and entertainment.
Miscellaneous Disney Headlines
The Motley Fool has learned more about the potential new Disney subscriber service MickeyBlog has discussed this month.
Some analysts expected Disney to announce this product during D23, which didn’t happen. As such, it may not happen anytime soon, if ever.
Still, Disney has evaluated other enthusiast programs like Apple One and Amazon Prime.
With both services, fans pay somewhere in the range of $14.95 a month in exchange for various benefits.
With Amazon Prime, the primary ones are free one-day or two-day shipping and Amazon Prime Video.
Apple One includes Apple TV+ (i.e., Ted Lasso), Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and some iCloud storage.
Disney’s competing service would presumably feature items such as exclusive merchandise, discounts, and maybe even streaming bundles.
Executives want Disney’s loyal fanbase to pay a monthly or annual fee the same way that Apple and Amazon customers do.
Let’s say that 10 million fans pay $100 annually for the equivalent of Disney Prime. That’s a billion dollars in new revenue for Disney!
If that number reaches 50 million – and it will — we’re talking about $5 billion in annual revenue. And that’s why this idea will happen at some point.
Speaking of which, The Onion awarded Disney with another Emmy. Trust me and click that link. It’ll give you a laugh.
Finally, the reviews have started trickling in for Disney Dreamlight Valley, the game that explains why I haven’t seen my wife’s face this week.
Many gamers like her are currently obsessing over the early access version of Dreamlight Valley.
The game will use microtransactions, which has worried potential players.
I’m happy to quote this from IGN: “I’m impressed by how mild the microtransaction model is.”
Since reviews are solid, this was probably the only sticking point for would-be buyers.