For Disney's fiscal 2025, streaming will generate enough operating income to offset the parallel decline in operating income from linear TV, CFO Hugh Johnston said in an interview.
A combination of pulling back on content spending and steadily increasing Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ subscribers hasn't just turned streaming into a profitable business, it's actually turned streaming into an even better business than traditional TV, according to Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston.
"I think we're well-positioned if decide to stay in linear for longer, and I think we're well-positioned if they decide to move over to the streaming side," Johnston said during Disney's earnings conference call. The traditional pay-TV business has been phenomenal for many reasons, but two stand out: Media companies get paid monthly regardless of whether people actually watch, and churn rates for traditional pay TV were traditionally extremely low — at least, until the invention of streaming. In the last decade,In the new streaming era, it's far easier to cancel a particular service at any given time.