According to The Walt Disney Company’s quarterly results declared on Thursday, Disney Star’s sports segment saw its operating loss balloon 144% to $315 million (Rs 2,583 crore) as of December 2023 from $129 million (Rs 1,057 crore) in the year-ago quarter. This increase was due to higher rights costs from airing of the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The 2023 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup took place in India, with 10 teams playing 48 matches between October 5 and November 19, 2023. Disney Star, which held the ICC TV and digital media rights till 2023, broadcast the matches on its Star network of channels and streamed them for free on its Disney+ Hotstar app to compete with Reliance Industries-backed JioCinema.
In the first quarter of 2024, Star India’s revenue in the sports segment rose 71% to $399 million during October-December 2023 from $233 million in the year-ago quarter, but its operating loss zoomed to $315 million from $129 million during the period.
The press release highlighting the earnings explained that the increase in operating loss at Star was due to the airing of the ICC Cricket World Cup in the current quarter, resulting in higher programming and production costs and advertising revenue growth.
Walt Disney Company’s overall sports revenue rose 4% to $4.8 billion and its overall operating loss in sports in Q1 FY24 declined 37% to $103 million from $164 million in the year-ago fiscal.
In the earnings call, the management stated, “(Disney’s overall) Sports operating income improved versus the prior year due to strength at ESPN, partially offset by lower results at Star India, driven by higher rights costs from airing of the ICC Cricket World Cup.”
The ICC Cricket World Cup was estimated to have brought in Rs 2,000-Rs 2,200 crore in combined ad revenue on TV and digital platforms compared to the Rs 1,350 crore it did four years ago in the 2019 edition. India hosted the tournament exclusively after a gap of 12 years. Australia emerged as the winners of the 2023 edition of the tournament.
(Exchange rate considered: $1 million = Rs 8.2 crore)
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