- Walt Disney (DIS -3.3%) tumbles more than 3% in early trade after disclosing late Wednesday that ESPN subscribers fell 3.2% Y/Y to 92M as of Oct. 3 - a level last seen a decade ago - from 95M a year earlier.
- Shares of DIS and other media stocks already were thumped over the summer when DIS said its cable business - in which ESPN comprises ~75% of total revenue - would see operating income growth only in the “mid-single digits."
- Wells Fargo’s Marci Ryvicker estimates the subscriber loss has cost $700M in FY 2015 cable affiliate fee revenue and $200M in 2015 cable EBITDA, although she reiterates a Market Perform rating on the shares.