Disney Headlines for March 6th, 2024
This past week, the CEO of Paramount Global dismissed Disney, while MrBeast addressed an increasingly loud rumor.
What do Paramount and the world’s most recognizable influencer have to do with Disney Headlines? We live in strange times.
The $5 Billion Question
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
I presume you know who MrBeast is. Just in case you don’t, the highly watched influencer dominates social media.
On YouTube alone, MrBeast claims nearly 250 million subscribers.
As a bit of truth in advertising, I checked to see whether I was one of them…and I’m apparently not.
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
However, I have consumed at least 100 hours of MrBeast content over the years.
MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson publishes extremely viral content wherein people compete for lots of cash and sometimes even planes and houses.
PHOTO: Getty Images
I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain all this, but some people didn’t know who Taylor Swift was before she dated Travis Kelce…and vice versa.
In our intersecting world of celebrity, MrBeast has differentiated himself by monetizing philanthropy.
According to Fortune, the MrBeast brand earns $700 million annually, with Forbes indicating that Donaldson himself is worth $500 million.
(Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
That sort of media empire earns attention from outside sources, which explains why the following rumor has arisen.
During a podcast of The Iced Coffee Hour, the two hosts pranked their guests.
Specifically, they stated that MrBeast had sold the entirety of his brand to The Walt Disney Company for $5 billion.
Photo: skillastics.com
This example reinforces the reality of how few people understand corporate finances.
If Disney had spent $5 billion for MrBeast, which isn’t even an unreasonable supposition, the Headlines would be everywhere.
That’s because Disney would need to make corporate filings and report the financial outlay to investors.
Photo( Aguilar/Getty Images)
Despite these realities, the prank/rumor exploded over the weekend, ultimately forcing Donaldson himself to refute the premise.
Disney does not own any part of my channel.
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) March 4, 2024
MrBeast’s comments suggested that this was wild internet rumor-mongering rather than anything based in fact.
So, if you hear that Disney bought the MrBeast brand, it’s untrue. But I wouldn’t hate that deal for Disney.
Disney vs. Paramount and Fubo
(Conceptual graphic designed by The Desk)
A month ago, Disney joined Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery in announcing a new joint venture.
This so-called Sports Hulu entity would work as a skinny bundle akin to YouTube TV or FuboTV.
Not coincidentally, FuboTV Inc. filed an antitrust lawsuit in an attempt to stop the merger.
Photo: Fubo
Meanwhile, Fubo’s CEO, David Gandler, is screaming into the void about the proposal, which he recognizes as an existential threat.
Currently, people subscribe to FuboTV primarily to maintain access to live sports once they’ve cut the cord.
Not coincidentally, Fubo’s stock started the year at $3.15 and has since fallen as low as $1.77. It’s currently bouncing around $1.90.
Photo: Deadline
While that drop may not sound significant, Fubo is only worth 60 percent of what it had been two months ago.
Paramount Global is also in freefall this year, with its stock currently worth only 70 percent of its 2024 start.
This new Sports Hulu deal impacts Paramount as well, as it’s a licensing partner of multiple major sports.
Photo: Recorder.com
Specifically, people just watched Dora the Explorer explain penalties during the Super Bowl.
In a couple of weeks, millions of us will surround ourselves with snacks and watch March Madness games on CBS.
Photo: D23
That’s part of the challenge of modern sports licensing.
Warner Bros. Discovery currently shares March Madness rights with Paramount and NBA rights with Disney’s ABC and ESPN.
Credit: Disney
Meanwhile, the NFL has licensed its coverage to ABC, ESPN, CBS, NBC, Fox, and Amazon.
Despite the CBS access, Disney and the other Sports Hulu partners haven’t asked Paramount to join the joint venture.
Paramount Comments on Sports Hulu
Photo: Deadline
Paramount’s CEO, Bob Bakish, held an earnings call late last week.
When asked about Sports Hulu, Bakish made the following statement.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about this service, things like price, packaging, consumer appetite.
Photo: Disney
“To the consumer point, for the true sports fan, this product only has a subset of sports.
“It’s missing half the NFL, a lot of college, has virtually no soccer or golf, etc.
“It’s hard to believe that’s ideal, especially at the price points that have been speculated.”
Photo: Disney
Everything Bakish states here is correct, and some of it reflects comments MickeyBlog has previously made.
Despite this fact, something else Bakish said is worth noting.
“Marquee sports are locked up until the next decade. We very much like where we are in sports.”
Photo: Getty Images/Ringer illustration
That offer reads to me as, “We’d like to be involved because we’ve got a decade’s worth of valuable sports contracts…”
Other parties may not reach out to Paramount yet because the company is up for sale and in dire financial straits at the moment.
Still, the Sports Hulu service would look a LOT better if it had Paramount’s NFL and March Madness rights.
How Paramount Helps Disney
Paramount+
That’s not the only Paramount story that matters to Disney right now, though.
As we mentioned on Monday, Morgan Stanley raised its stock price target for Disney to $135.
In the comments, Morgan Stanley pointed to optimism in the streaming and theme parks divisions.
Photo: Shutterstock
For all of Paramount’s recent struggles, Paramount Plus just reported 67.5 million subscribers this past quarter.
That’s a growth of 4.1 million in three months. Similarly, that service increased revenue while losing less money.
That refrain should sound familiar because it’s what Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer division has done, too.
Photo: Paramount
Right now, several major streaming services are trending toward becoming a high profit margin business…and ahead of schedule.
At this point, the main criticism against Disney stems from its streaming struggles.
If Disney has that problem whipped, the future is extraordinarily bright.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Speaking of which, Fox’s CEO, Lachlan Murdoch, also spoke about the Sports Hulu service on Monday.
According to Murdoch, Sports Hulu should reach five million subscribers in five years.
Murdoch adds, “What this bundle does is put a majority of sports into one bundle. It’s an easy place for sports fans to come to.”
Photo: Getty Images/Ringer illustration
If true, that’s another revenue stream Disney will add soon. Then again, Disney needs that one to replace Linear Networks declines.
Overall, recent Disney Headlines suggest that your favorite company is trending in the right direction…with or without MrBeast.
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