It just gets worse and worse for Disney.
Disney and Spectrum failed to get a deal done early Sept. to keep Mickey Mouse-owned networks on the latter. Now, more than 14 million residential customers are watching the tube without ESPN and other Disney-owned networks included.
As a result, it left many without opening weekend college football, and on the flip side, it means Disney is losing a crazy $126 million-plus per month just for their ESPN networks not being featured on Spectrum, according to Cord Cutters News. The report is not counting their other channels like Disney Channel and FX, just ESPN — over $126 million.
Disney reportedly gets around $9 per month for ESPN from every cable TV customer. With Disney losing a total of 14,071,000 customers, that opens up a $126 million-plus hole in the four-letter network’s budget. If Disney doesn’t get a deal completed with Spectrum, it could end up being a $1.5 billion annual loss for ESPN from here on out, which is around $4 million per day in lost revenue.
Disney is Losing Over $1.5 Billion Every Year ESPN is Dark on Spectrum https://t.co/PlrXd9u8zS
— CordCuttersNews (@CordCuttersNews) September 5, 2023
Man … Disney and ESPN are definitely on that “when it rains, it pours” tip.
Disney has already been taking hit after hit as an overall company. Just ask my governor Ron DeSantis down here in Florida, he’ll tell you. Oh, and the fact that Mickey & Co. cut 7,000 jobs in an attempt to save $5.5 billion. And the same thing has been going on for their sports giant ESPN, which has been laying off staff, slashing content and making other moves to save on costs — and not to mention Disney is open to selling a portion of ESPN (and other TV networks).
It’s just an utter disaster right now, and it couldn’t be happening to a better company. (RELATED: ‘I Can Exercise My First Amendment Rights’: Sage Steele Leaves ESPN After Settling Lawsuit With Disney)
Let the collapse continue!