DIS - The Walt Disney Company

NYSE - NYSE Delayed price. Currency in USD
144.33
-0.79 (-0.54%)
At close: 4:05PM EST
Stock chart is not supported by your current browser
Previous close145.12
Open145.54
Bid144.37 x 1300
Ask144.53 x 1200
Day's range144.01 - 145.64
52-week range107.32 - 153.41
Volume8,148,514
Avg. volume10,208,169
Market cap260.14B
Beta (5Y monthly)1.00
PE ratio (TTM)21.74
EPS (TTM)6.64
Earnings date02 Feb 2020 - 06 Feb 2020
Forward dividend & yield1.76 (1.21%)
Ex-dividend date11 Dec 2019
1y target est157.36
  • Consumers are starting to feel streaming fatigue, analyst says
    Yahoo Finance

    Consumers are starting to feel streaming fatigue, analyst says

    As yet another streaming service enters the heavily saturated space, one Wall Street analyst says consumers might be starting to feel streaming fatigue.

  • Financial Times

    Hollywood under pressure as streaming replaces screening

    When Lulu Wang turned down a streaming platform’s eight-digit bid last year for her Sundance hit The Farewell , agreeing instead to an offer half the size from prestigious independent studio A24, her backers ...

  • Hate TV Ads? Peacock May Change Your Mind
    Bloomberg

    Hate TV Ads? Peacock May Change Your Mind

    (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Comcast Corp.’s soon-to-launch Peacock service shows that advertising is the future of streaming TV. Consumers may be OK with that. On Thursday, the cable giant’s NBCUniversal entertainment division showcased Peacock to investors ahead of the app’s soft launch slated for April 15. Like Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max (and to some extent, the content-lite Apple TV+), Peacock offers a library of movies; older and current network TV shows, such as “The Office” and “This Is Us”; and original programming made exclusively for its streaming audience. But it differs from the other services in one significant way: Peacock’s primary source of revenue will be ads, not subscriptions, allowing viewers the option of streaming for free. Let’s face it, paying for individual streaming-video apps at $7, $13 and $15 a pop isn’t all that cord-cutting was cracked up to be. The streaming-TV subscription model is brand new and broken. One app isn’t enough, yet having multiple subscriptions can get so expensive customers are left to wonder why they even got rid of cable. The streaming wars haven’t been a delight for the entertainment giants and their shareholders, either: These new apps are extremely costly to build and to stock with content, and they’ll cannibalize the larger revenue streams generated by traditional TV networks. Put it this way: TV just seems to work better for everyone when the consumer is the product, able to be sized up by advertisers desperate for a few moments of our time in hopes of activating a shopping reflex.Anecdotally, it’s said that viewers can’t stand ads. But in fact, research has shown that the No. 1 gripe for video subscribers is how much they’re paying. In a survey of about 6,000 North Americans conducted for TiVo Corp. toward the end of last year, about 70% said their reason for cutting the cord was that pay TV was too expensive. A separate survey by Ampere Analysis Ltd. similarly found price to be by far the biggest motivator for consumers switching to ad-supported apps, and 39% said they don't mind seeing ads while they watch. “We continue to believe consumers do not hate ads,” Rich Greenfield, an analyst for LightShed Partners, wrote in a report this week. “They hate heavy ad loads of un-targeted, repetitive ads in contrast to Instagram where the ads feel more like content.” Peacock is promising just five minutes of ads per hour.Media companies developing streaming services shouldn't underestimate the power of “free,” my colleague Sarah Halzack and I wrote last year in a column highlighting the appeal of ad-supported streaming offerings, such as Tubi, The Roku Channel and Pluto TV, which is now owned by ViacomCBS Inc. But compared to the quality of those apps, Peacock doesn’t feel free — it has plenty of premium content, carefully thought-out navigation and features, and with the option to watch some programming live and other stuff on-demand. A fuller content library can be accessed with Peacock Premium for $5 a month, although Comcast subscribers — even those who only have internet service — can get that version at no extra cost. For $10 a month, Peacock can be ad-free. But Comcast is probably hoping everyone will opt for the ads. About 70% of Hulu’s subscribers are on its ad-supported version, Peter Naylor, who heads up advertising sales for Hulu, said at a conference last year. And according to LightShed’s Greenfield, Hulu makes more money from its ad-supported version than from its ad-free subscriptions.For Comcast, it’s about “light advertising and bundling,” Jeff Shell, the newly installed CEO of the NBCUniversal unit, said during Thursday’s presentation. It’s one of the first signs of ”the great re-bundling” that I wrote about in November, as media giants realize they need to do something about the big consumer pain point of streaming: too many subscriptions.Comcast predicts Peacock will have at least 30 million active accounts and $2.5 billion of revenue by 2024, and that Ebitda will break even by then. Walt Disney Co. estimates Disney+ will turn profitable that same year, but it will take at least twice as many subscribers paying about $7 a month to do so. Similarly, AT&T Inc. is forecasting HBO Max won’t start making money until 2025, even though its fee is $15 a month. Meanwhile, Netflix has insisted it won’t adopt ads, despite the company’s $19 billion of content obligations as it burns through billions of dollars of cash each year.Of course, if ads are the name of the game, the industry has work to do to make them less annoying. Hulu, which is controlled by Disney, has been on the forefront of trying new advertising methods that are less interruptive than traditional commercials. It rolled out “pause ads” last year, which promote a brand’s product on screen while a video is paused.Comcast may be the only media giant to fully embrace ads so far for its streaming debut, but others will probably transition to a model more like Peacock’s over time. After all, birds of a feather flock together.To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Why Apple (AAPL) Stock is a Strong Buy Heading into Earnings
    Zacks

    Why Apple (AAPL) Stock is a Strong Buy Heading into Earnings

    With Apple's first quarter fiscal 2020 financial results due out on January 28, it's time for investors to see why AAPL stock appears to be a strong buy...

  • The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Netflix, Disney and Apple
    Zacks

    The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Netflix, Disney and Apple

    The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Netflix, Disney and Apple

  • Netflix (NFLX) to Post Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?
    Zacks

    Netflix (NFLX) to Post Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

    Netflix's (NFLX) fourth-quarter 2019 results are likely to reflect strength in content portfolio despite stiffening competition.

  • China Will Drive Mobile Spending to Record $380 Billion in 2020
    Bloomberg

    China Will Drive Mobile Spending to Record $380 Billion in 2020

    (Bloomberg) -- Mobile app spending and usage hit a record in 2019 and show no signs of tapering off this year as faster cellular connections and more big-name video streaming services come online, industry tracker App Annie says.China should again prove the biggest driver of consumption on everything from video streaming to games operated by social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., propelling spending 23% higher to $380 billion this year, App Annie researchers said. China made up half of all consumer spending in 2019 and was among the fastest-growing markets when it came to time spent on a mobile device. The global average is now 3.7 hours per person per day, according to the researchers.Among the headline grabbers of 2019 was ByteDance Inc.’s video-sharing platforms including TikTok, which racked up 14.5 billion hours of time watched and grew its audience 200% in the fourth quarter. Nine out of every 10 minutes spent in the app have come from China, App Annie said. Google’s YouTube Music racked up even more impressive numbers, growing worldwide active users 870% over the 24 months ending Dec. 19.“Year 2020 will mark the beginning of a mobile-first decade,” said Cindy Deng, managing director for Asia-Pacific at App Annie. “It’s imperative that brands start to adapt their strategy to this growing generation, or risk being left behind.”Tinder, Netflix and Tencent Lead Record-Breaking Year for AppsIn the past year, mobile apps accumulated $120 billion of global consumer spending, with games accounting for 72% of that. Advertising brought in $190 billion, said App Annie, forecasting the number to grow to $240 billion this year.Generation Z -- the cohort born after 1997 for whom mobile has become the first screen -- is fueling the surge. Income from games continued to grow in 2019, when 1,121 mobile titles brought in more than $5 million in earnings, up from 959 two years prior. 139 games went beyond $100 million in revenue for the year, up from 88 in 2017.But non-gaming apps grew even faster, led primarily by subscription-based revenue models and a rabid appetite for entertainment.In the U.S., App Annie found Apple Inc.’s iOS platform commanded 79% of non-gaming app revenue versus Google’s Android claiming 21%, with the majority on both platforms coming from subscriptions to the likes of Tinder and Netflix Inc.The use of mobile finance apps doubled between 2017 and 2019, with users accessing such services 1.1 trillion times in the past year. This has been driven by mobile-first countries like China, India and Brazil, while Indonesia, Japan and Russia are growing fastest when it comes to monthly active users. App Annie analysts said fintech apps designed specifically for mobile screens, such as Monzo or PayPay, were outperforming traditional banks because of their greater ease of use.Entertainment apps also saw a 120% rise in use over the past two years, and in 2019 Netflix was joined by Apple TV+ and Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+ subscription streaming offerings. The competition will intensify as more mobile-centric services emerge: former HP Inc. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman and film veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi, for instance, offers different video perspectives depending on how a phone is held.Streaming content looks likely to be the big driver for the adoption of 5G networking among mobile users, as App Annie found it growing universally around the globe. On Android phones over the past two years, India streamed nearly 80% more, France and Japan were up more than 50% and the U.S., Canada, and Indonesia all grew by more than 40%. Data consumption on streaming sports was up 80% over the same period, indicating a bandwidth-hungry market that’s far from hitting its consumption ceiling.To contact the reporter on this story: Vlad Savov in Tokyo at vsavov5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • What to Expect from Netflix's (NFLX) Q4 2019 Earnings Results?
    Zacks

    What to Expect from Netflix's (NFLX) Q4 2019 Earnings Results?

    NFLX is the worst performing FAANG stock over the last 12 months, down 2.5%. Here's what to expect from Netflix's Q4 2019 earnings results...

  • France Says Netflix, Disney Must Plow 25% of Local Revenue Into Content
    Bloomberg

    France Says Netflix, Disney Must Plow 25% of Local Revenue Into Content

    (Bloomberg) -- France is finalizing a bill to force video-on-demand services from Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Walt Disney Co. and others to invest at least 25% of their revenue derived in the country to fund local productions.The French legislation falls under a European Union directive requiring such companies to ensure that at least 30% of their catalogs are comprised of European-made content. The French Culture Ministry, which shared a presentation made Tuesday in Paris with Bloomberg, didn’t comment on how France is planning to measure sales of the platforms in France.California-based Netflix has already made several French original series, including “Marseille” and “Osmosis,” and announced plans to open a Paris office in January. The service exceeded 5 million subscribers in France, Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings said last year.Netflix now has 6.7 million subscribers in the country, Hastings said in an interview with French news magazine L’Express. The company plans to invest more than 100 million euros ($111.5 million) in French productions this year, he said.Parliament will debate the bill beginning in March and it would be enacted after a late-summer final vote, including details of the services’ obligations, the ministry said.The rule is part of France’s broader push for what it has dubbed its “cultural sovereignty in the digital era.” It aims at buoying national traditional media players in the face of the growing success of foreign entertainment platforms. France is also going to relax broadcasting and advertising rules that were designed in part to protect French cinema and keep people going to movie theaters.Read More: France Considers Relaxing Its Archaic Broadcasting RulesThe National Center for Cinema and Animated Image, the governmental body overseeing French productions and funding, estimates Netflix and equivalent platforms accrued sales in France of about 500 million euros in 2018, which would make for an investment of about 125 million euros, French newspaper Les Echos reported on Tuesday.In a speech in Paris on Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron said his country “has a model, the French model, that is defending authors and authors’ rights.”It runs counter to the “Anglo-Saxon model,” he said, which is designed to provide “content.”(Updates with CEO comments in fourth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Lucas Shaw and Angelina Rascouet.To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Nick TurnerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Will Netflix's 24 Oscar Nominations Translate to Big Wins?
    Zacks

    Will Netflix's 24 Oscar Nominations Translate to Big Wins?

    Netflix's (NFLX) receives 24 nominations at Oscars. A win at the Oscar will bodes well for its top line and aid talent acquisition as competition intensifies in the streaming space.

  • Disney (DIS) Benefits From Strong Demand for Disney+ Service
    Zacks

    Disney (DIS) Benefits From Strong Demand for Disney+ Service

    Disney's (DIS) streaming service Disney+ benefits from strong content portfolio, which is set to boost subscriber growth and give it a competitive edge in the video streaming space.

  • ITV Named as Top M&A Target in Europe for Fourth Year in Row
    Bloomberg

    ITV Named as Top M&A Target in Europe for Fourth Year in Row

    (Bloomberg) -- The absence of a long-speculated bid for ITV Plc hasn’t deterred merger and acquisition desks from naming the U.K. broadcaster as Europe’s most likely takeover target for a fourth year in a row.ITV appeared on the M&A watch lists of 6 out of 20 event-driven traders, analysts, brokers and fund managers surveyed by Bloomberg News. That follows a year in which the shares hit a multi-year low, before rallying to post a first annual gain in four.The continued presence of John Malone’s Liberty Global Inc. as the company’s second-largest shareholder has kept takeover hopes alive, while increased clarity on Brexit after the outcome of Britain’s general election also provided a boost for the shares. At the same time, the battle for content that will win eyeballs has been heating up. ITV launched U.K. streaming service BritBox with the British Broadcasting Corp. last year in a bid to compete with the likes of Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service, Disney+, is also reported to be launching in the U.K. this March. Despite the recent rally, ITV’s shares have been in the doldrums since 2016, with advertising sales under pressure from Brexit uncertainty as well as an industry shift in spending to digital companies such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall, who has led the company since January 2018, has sought to cut costs while launching BritBox to reduce reliance on ad sales. Analysts have criticized the platform as being “too little, too late” in the streaming wars.Recent acquisitions of Sky Ltd. and Entertainment One Ltd. by U.S. companies have also stoked speculation that ITV could be a target for an overseas firm, while back in 2017 a press report mentioned U.S. tech giants such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple Inc. as potential suitors. Among upcoming catalysts, investors will be watching ITV’s full-year results due at the beginning of March.Luxury brand Moncler Spa and Dutch molecular-testing firm Qiagen NV also featured highly on trader watch lists. The former’s shares surged to a record last month on reports that rival Kering SA could be interested in a potential deal for the Italian ski-wear maker. Qiagen said in December it intended to pursue a stand-alone strategy, a month after announcing it received several indications of interest.According to Louis Capital’s Ben Kelly, the pace of consolidation in Europe is likely to gain momentum this year. Companies aren’t expected to worry about leveraging up their balance sheets for M&A given the low interest-rate environment, while private equity still has a lot of money to put to work and activists are more present than before, he said.“Increased political certainty in the U.K. and Europe and continued share-price strength could see companies looking to use their own paper to do deals, and bolstering that with cash where necessary,” Kelly said.Despite last year’s geopolitical tensions, almost $3 trillion of global mergers and acquisitions were done in 2019, a 1.5% dip from 2018 but still the fifth-best year ever. Goldman Sachs remained the top-ranked deal-maker in 2019, advising on 281 transactions worth $1 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Survey participants named 75 companies as potential targets, including: Asos Plc and Smith & Nephew Plc in the U.K., Accor SA and Aeroports de Paris in France, and Norwegian Finans Holding ASA in Norway.Several stocks included in last year’s predictions have since either been acquired or held merger talks. These include: Osram Licht AG, Scout24 AG, Inmarsat Plc, Entertainment One Ltd., Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG.Click here for the complete survey results.(Adds detail on share price performance, additional context on ITV.)\--With assistance from Kit Rees.To contact the reporter on this story: William Canny in Amsterdam at wcanny3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Paul Jarvis, Beth MellorFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Tech Daily Roundup: Apple Protection & More
    Zacks

    Tech Daily Roundup: Apple Protection & More

    Here's a bite of the recent news and views on technology companies.

  • The Oscars aren't afraid of being popular anymore
    Yahoo Finance

    The Oscars aren't afraid of being popular anymore

    “Joker” is leading the pack among 2020 Oscar nominees. Fresh off two Golden Globes wins, the controversial film is up for 11 Academy Awards. It’s also the first R-rated film to surpass $1 billion at the global box office. 

  • Oscar or Earnings: What Will Drive Netflix ETFs Ahead?
    Zacks

    Oscar or Earnings: What Will Drive Netflix ETFs Ahead?

    Netflix has grabbed record Oscar nominations and but earnings weakness may be in the cards. Should you play Netflix-heavy ETFs?

  • Netflix dominates 2020 Oscar nods, but jury's still out on whether it matters
    Yahoo Finance

    Netflix dominates 2020 Oscar nods, but jury's still out on whether it matters

    Netflix dominated the 2020 Oscar nominations — snagging 24 total nods. But will it make any difference if the platform falls short on awards night?

  • Nintendo Plans Life-Sized Video Game at Universal Studios Japan
    Bloomberg

    Nintendo Plans Life-Sized Video Game at Universal Studios Japan

    (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. fans can soon experience a life-sized video game via a new attraction at Universal Studios Japan.Super Nintendo World is slated to open this summer in Osaka, featuring a Power Up Band wearable that lets visitors collect coins and battle bosses while exploring a physical environment. Users track their progress via a smartphone app, according to the theme park operator owned by NBCUniversal LLC.“Super Nintendo World will provide an experience you cannot have anywhere else,” USJ Chief Executive Officer J. L. Bonnier said at a briefing in Osaka on Tuesday. He wouldn’t divulge further details about rides or other digital offerings, or when they will be available.Little is known about the attraction, which amounts to a mini theme park developed with Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Universal Studios hinted it will follow classic Nintendo game themes, revolving around a mission to recover a golden mushroom stolen by Bowser Jr., a perennial Mario antagonist. The attraction will also house familiar game locations including the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario Kart, Peach’s Castle and Bowser’s Fortress. Super Nintendo World will also make it to the operator’s parks in Hollywood, Orlando and Singapore, though no dates are available.Nintendo’s late President, Satoru Iwata, first announced plans for a theme park in May 2015 as part of a broader opening-up of the company’s iconic characters for use beyond its own devices. At the time, the move prompted speculation that the Kyoto-based game maker may follow Walt Disney Co.’s strategy when it comes to maximizing the value of their intellectual properties. Since then, Nintendo has launched a number of smartphone games, including a free-to-play version of the Mario Kart franchise, but making hit titles exclusive to its own hardware is still the core business.To contact the reporters on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net;Yuki Furukawa in Tokyo at yfurukawa13@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Walt Disney (DIS) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
    Zacks

    Walt Disney (DIS) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

    Walt Disney (DIS) closed the most recent trading day at $143.76, moving -0.59% from the previous trading session.

  • Woodward, Hexcel, Ford, Walmart, Dunkin' Brands, Comcast: Companies to Watch
    Yahoo Finance

    Woodward, Hexcel, Ford, Walmart, Dunkin' Brands, Comcast: Companies to Watch

    Woodward, Hexcel, Ford, Walmart, Dunkin' Brands and Comcast are the Companies to Watch

  • AT&T-Owned CNN to Resolve TVS Dispute With $76M Settlement
    Zacks

    AT&T-Owned CNN to Resolve TVS Dispute With $76M Settlement

    With the amicable settlement of the litigation process, AT&T (T) is likely to focus more on the upcoming launch of the HBO Max streaming service this Spring.

  • Buy Netflix (NFLX) Stock with Earnings in Sight on Possible 2020 Comeback?
    Zacks

    Buy Netflix (NFLX) Stock with Earnings in Sight on Possible 2020 Comeback?

    Netflix is the worst performing FAANG stock over the last 12 months and it's not close. Shares of the streaming TV giant are down roughly 2%, while the S&P 500 surged 25%. So is now the time to buy Netflix stock ahead of Q4 earnings?

  • ESPN's Fowler and Herbstreit talk pros and cons of expanding College Football Playoff to 8 teams
    Yahoo Finance

    ESPN's Fowler and Herbstreit talk pros and cons of expanding College Football Playoff to 8 teams

    The College Football Playoff is a money-making machine, regardless how many teams — four or eight — go to the finals.

  • Comcast & ViacomCBS Ink New Carriage Pact for CBS Stations
    Zacks

    Comcast & ViacomCBS Ink New Carriage Pact for CBS Stations

    Comcast (CMCSA) recently struck a carriage agreement with ViacomCBS for 23 CBS-owned TV stations in 15 major U.S. markets.

  • Bloomberg

    India Education Startup Raising Funds at $8 Billion Valuation

    (Bloomberg) -- Byju’s is raising about $300 million in a funding round led by New York-based Tiger Global Management, securing new capital at a valuation of $8 billion for the online education startup’s global expansion.Tiger has invested about $150 million in Byju-parent Think and Learn Pvt, according to people familiar with the deal. Existing investors will likely contribute about the same amount though that is in flux, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter. Separately, Tiger is also looking to buy shares from other stockholders and could eventually invest a further $100 million depending on availability, one of the people said.The new funding round confers on Byju’s the title of India’s most valuable startup after Ant Financial-backed fintech firm Paytm and the budget hotel rooms startup OYO. Byju’s, last valued at about $5.7 billion, overtakes online retailer Snapdeal and is the only one of the top three that hasn’t taken funding from SoftBank Group Corp or its Vision Fund. Paytm rose to the fore after Walmart Inc. acquired Flipkart Online Services Pvt. -- also SoftBank-backed -- in a $16 billion deal in 2018.“Byju’s has emerged as the leader in the Indian education-tech sector,” Scott Shleifer, a partner at Tiger Global, said in a statement that didn’t specify financial details. “They are pioneering technology shaping the future of learning for millions of school students in India.”Tiger Global didn’t respond to an email seeking details of the funding and valuation. A Byju’s spokeswoman declined comment.Read more: 37-Year-Old Former School Teacher Is India’s Newest BillionaireByju’s was founded by Byju Raveendran in 2011, a former teacher and son of educators, who conceived a smartphone app to help students learn and master concepts from math and science using short videos. In a country that places a premium on education, Byju’s launched its app just as smartphones were becoming ubiquitous. The app caters to students from kindergarten through 12th grade and now plans to go global and launch in English-speaking countries around the world, including the U.S., Canada and the U.K.It also plans to go deeper in its home country, where it’s working on launching learning modules in Indian languages to make it more accessible. Byju’s, also backed by Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg through the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Tencent Holdings Ltd., Naspers Ventures and Sequoia Capital India, has over 42 million registered users and 3 million paid subscribers from both rural areas and India’s cities. On average, students spend between 64 minutes to 71 minutes per day on the app. Annual renewal rates were up as high as 85% in the past year, the startup said in Friday’s statement.Byju’s said it expects to double revenues to 30 billion rupees ($422 million) in the year ending March 2020, after tripling revenue to 14.8 billion rupees in fiscal 2019 and turning profitable on a full-year basis.“While these are early days on how technology can enable better learning, there is tremendous potential in this segment to create a highly scalable and sustainable model that can equip and prepare the current generation for the unseen jobs of tomorrow,” Raveendran said in the statement. The founder, who owns about 21% of the startup in addition to his family’s holding, became a billionaire last year.The 37-year-old entrepreneur has said he wants to do for education what Mickey Mouse did for entertainment. Last year, the app started using Disney staples from The Lion King’s Simba to Frozen’s Anna to teach math and English to students from grades one through three. The same characters star in animated videos, games, stories and interactive quizzes.To contact the reporter on this story: Saritha Rai in Bangalore at srai33@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Verizon, Breaker of the Cable Bundle? Not Really
    Bloomberg

    Verizon, Breaker of the Cable Bundle? Not Really

    (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The good news is, some day soon “triple play” will mean something only to baseball fans. These days, though, cable-TV customers probably still know it better as the industry’s torture device.Triple-play bundles refer to long-term contracts with a company such as Comcast Corp. or Charter Communications Inc. that provide internet, television and landline-phone service for one “discounted” rate. These packages force you to have an old-school home-phone number, seemingly just for telemarketers to utilize, and dozens of TV channels you’ll never watch but will nevertheless subsidize. Meanwhile, all you really want is a fast internet connection to binge on Netflix and gain access to a handful of your favorite network shows. But rejoice — there’s a movement afoot that may send triple-play bundles the way of the rotary telephone. Verizon Communications Inc. announced on Thursday that its Fios division is ending these aggressive you’ll-take-it-all-and-you’ll-like-it bundles, allowing subscribers to better customize their plans with what it’s calling Fios Mix & Match. Users can choose among three different internet-speed options that range from $40 to $80 a month and several TV packages that run anywhere from $50 to $90 a month. No annual contracts, it says, and no surprise fees — well, sort of! After all, this wouldn’t be the cable and phone industry if there weren’t some doozies contained in the fine print: Some of the options do have an additional fee for a set-top box or router. A home phone line is a separate $20, to which you can kindly say, “no thank you.”Verizon won’t be the last to give in and smash the bundle, at least for now. They’ve been in decline as an increasing number of customers switch to broadband-only service. There may be more than 50 million broadband-only U.S. homes by 2023, which would make up about half of all pay-TV households, according to research by Geetha Ranganathan and Amine Bensaid, analysts for Bloomberg Intelligence. To stem the drop in revenue, the cable giants have been pushing video add-ons, the analysts said. Charter, which acquired Time Warner Cable in 2016 to strengthen its business against cord-cutting, began offering a $15-a-month skinny video bundle called TV Essentials last year. Here’s how the trend has played out at Charter:Lest you, dear cable customer, believe that this is a sign the industry is finally listening, remember that we’re still nowhere near a true a la carte service. Verizon’s new Your Fios TV package for $50 a month allows subscribers to pick five channels, while Verizon arranges the other 120 channels. How many customers wish they could just take the five and call it a day? Moreover, streaming-video apps won’t necessarily lead to lower monthly bills either: Verizon’s mid-rate internet option (with router), plus Disney+, Netflix and HBO Max would cost a combined $110 a month (although Verizon is currently offering internet users a year of Disney+ free, and Verizon wireless customers can get other savings). My point is, the ideal video-app configuration may not be any cheaper than going for a triple play.That’s why bundles will live on, even if the traditional triple play won’t. If anything, bundles will likely be back en vogue later this year. In November, I called for The Great Rebundling, predicting that the cable giants — which have been benefiting from a surge in broadband signups — will next look to leverage their content distribution relationships by offering bundles for streaming apps and internet service at one rate. Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. may seize similar content-bundling opportunities, which would at least help solve the consumer frustration of paying for apps individually in various places.This is why, even as millions of customers have permanently abandoned cable-TV, sending media networks into a tizzy, the cable companies haven’t even broken a sweat. Shares of Comcast rose 32% in 2019, and analysts see them climbing 13% in 2020. Charter’s gain last year of 70% made it the leading media stock in the S&P 500 Index. Triple play will be reincarnated with a new cute name, and prices will eventually go up, and everyone will complain, and the cable industry will be as good as new.To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.