An interesting take on Disney’s recently announced plans for 2019 domination by Forbes contributor Scott Mendolson.  A May release would sound like a return to the comfort zone, but is Star Wars IX being sacrificed at the box office for the greater good of the House of Mouse?

Disney announced its quarterly earnings today.

Disney “beat The Street” with higher than expected EPS (earnings per share) of $1.50 vs. $1.41.  Unfortunately, its overall revenue was slightly lower than expected, coming in at $13.34B vs $13.45B. 

Many observers were concerned about recent issues with ESPN, one of the largest drivers of Disney’s business.  Nevermind all that Star Wars/Marvel/Pixar nonsense, it’s all about sports!  We’ll see how investors feel as they absorb the news and prepare for tomorrow morning’s opening bell.  After-hours trading shows Disney shares dropping almost 2%.

Some background to the announcement can be found in this interesting article, which essentially lays out how Disney’s media networks division (led by ESPN) is responsible for 3 times the revenue generated by its film division (which includes Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar).  So despite an insane run at the box office (particularly the $1B worldwide gross by Beauty and the Beast), ESPN’s high operating costs (case in point: nearly $2B per year for their Monday Night Football package) weigh mightily on Disney’s bottom line.