Disney creates streaming video unit for digital future

Walt Disney said on March 14 it had created a new unit for its streaming video and international businesses as the company retools its traditional media operation for a world rapidly embracing online video. The move, effective immediately, comes as Disney is in the process of purchasing film, TV and international businesses from Twenty-First Century Fox.

Regulators are reviewing the deal, which has been complicated by Comcast Corp’s offer for one of the assets, Britain’s Sky. Disney also combined its theme parks business with the consumer products unit that licenses characters for toys, apparel and other merchandise. Bob Chapek, who heads the parks division, will lead the combined unit. Media networks and the movie studio will remain separate units, Disney said.

“We are strategically positioning our businesses for the future, creating a more effective, global framework to serve consumers worldwide, increase growth, and maximize shareholder value,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement.

Disney’s largest TV network, ESPN, has been losing subscribers as customers drop pay-television subscriptions in favour of streaming services such as Netflix. The company is responding with its own digital push. It is pulling its first-run movies from Netflix in 2019 to offer them on the Disney-branded service.

If the Fox deal wins approval, Disney also will expand its programming portfolio and international reach, plus own a majority stake in the Hulu streaming service. Disney expects to switch its financial reporting to reflect the new structure by the beginning of fiscal 2019, the company said. Shares of Disney rose 0.5 per cent to $104.33 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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