Recent，188bet announces 2019 Q2 financial report，This is the first financial report released by 188bet since its successful acquisition of 21st Century Fox。

Previous April investor day，188bet has officially announced the specific details of its streaming service 188bet+, which will be launched by the end of the year，Generally favored by investors，Company shares soar to 10-year high。

At such a node in the middle of the year，188bet is on the two most important events this year-Fox integration and streaming media，More information also released。Recent Hulu’s “Boots Drop”，As well as the advancement of the integration of related assets such as Fox Studios，And the beginning of a large-scale investment cycle，Both indicate that 188bet is using its strong execution to promote the realization of its streaming media strategy。

Also，What’s worth paying attention to，In the Chinese market，More expansion plans for the 188bet brand and theme parks。

Financial report data

Overall，Q2 financial report performance is solid，Exceeded Wall Street expectations:

-Revenue is 149.USD 200 million，Exceeded analysts’ average estimate of 143.USD 600 million，3% 188bet-on-188bet growth。

11-day revenue from 21st Century Fox and Hulu acquired earlier 188bet year，Boosted overall revenue that should have been flat。

-Adjusted earnings per share is 1.USD 61，1 above analysts’ consensus estimate.USD 58，But down 13% 188bet-on-188bet。

The main reason is investment in streaming services，And the huge success of last year’s “Black Panther” and “Star Wars: the Last Jedi”。Although "Avengers 4: Endgame" was also a great success，However, the US.3 billion in box office achieved as of the release of the Q2 financial report 188bet only be reflected in the third quarter financial report。

From different 188bet sectors:

1)Park、Experience and Consumer Products 188bet (Parks, experiences, and consumer products) became the biggest highlight of Q2

Strong demand not offset by higher fares，The revenue of 188bet business segment is US.2 billion，5% year-on-year growth；Operating profit growth is more obvious，for US.5 billion，15% year-on-year increase。

According to 188bet CEO Bog Iger’s introduction on the conference call，188bet will begin a large-scale expansion of Tokyo DisneySea on May 21，Add new theme lands and attractions to the park；188bet's largest theme park to date, the "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" theme park, will have grand openings at Disneyland Resort and 188bet World on May 31 and August 29 respectively。As summer approaches，The opening of the "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" theme park will have a huge appeal to consumers，Driving more demand in the coming years。

2) Media networks 188bet losses have eased

The revenue of this business segment was flat year-on-year，Operating profit decreased by 3% year-on-year。where，The cable network, which had been a drag on 188bet's financial results, saw both revenue and profits rise 2%，Although the magnitude is not large, it is worthy of recognition。

3) The film and television entertainment 188bet (Studio entertainment) lost to the same period last year

Affected by movie schedule，Q2 Film and Television Entertainment’s performance is difficult to compare with the success of “Black Panther” and “Star Wars: the Last Jedi” 188bet same period last year，The revenue of the film and television entertainment business (Studioentertainment) segment fell by 15%，To US.1 billion；Operating profit fell 39% to 5.US.4 billion。

However，"Avengers 4: Endgame" will consolidate Q3 results。Also，A look at 188bet’s 2019 movie lineup (now through Christmas)，This business segment will remain 188bet’s strength throughout 2019。

But 188bet’s 2020 movie lineup is relatively weak。"Avatar 2" will be postponed to December 17, 2021；The next "Star Wars" won't be released until December 16, 2022。

4)Direct-to-consumer and international)

The revenue of this business segment increased by 15%，But the operating loss is 3.US.3 billion，Profitability compared with the same period last year (1.US.8 billion) decline，Primarily reflects 188bet’s increased investment in ESPN+ and 188bet+、And the integration of Hulu losses。

The revenue of this business segment currently only accounts for 6% of 188bet’s total revenue。188bet’s large-scale investment cycle has begun，Plans to spend approximately US.5 billion in fiscal 2020 to produce original content for 188bet+、Authorized content，Content spending will reach .5 billion per year in fiscal 2024。Estimated before profitability in 2024，188bet+’s operating losses will peak between 2020 and 2022。At the same time，188bet’s debt load has swelled to billion after acquiring 21st Century Fox。All of these costs will eventually be reflected in the financial statements。

Q&A key points arrangement

Q&Participant A

188bet Chairman and CEO Bob Iger；

Christine McCarthy, 188bet Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(1)DTC

Q: 188bet+ has much more content than Wall Street expected，At least in the first year。So，Do you have to negotiate with third-party publishers to retract content earlier?

Robert Iger: We made some deals，Get back some 188bet that has been licensed to third parties。We are still exploring ways to get more 188bet back。However, what we announced at the Investor Day included some 188bet copyrights that we have managed to repurchase or negotiate from projects licensed to third parties。Others we are exploring。

Q: KPIs about the future of DTC，What metrics should we track to understand progress？

Christine McCarthy: We committed at the Investor Day，When it comes to strategic and DTC progress，We will be transparent。188bet+ has not been released yet，Nothing to report。But after the service is launched，We will provide user data and other indicators in due course，Now we cannot promise when。Therefore，Our commitment is to transparency，Let everyone know about the progress we have made in this industry。

Q：Recently，There are reports that 188bet and Amazon are competing for the streaming rights to NFL Sunday Ticket，Is this a set of game rights suitable for ESPN+？

Robert Iger: I’m not going to elaborate，But we are very optimistic about the NFL，Also optimistic about the relationship between ESPN and the NFL，We both believe there are opportunities to strengthen our relationship。By the way，Our content schedule is well organized 188bet year。

(2) 188bet integration

Q: Can you introduce the background of the acquisition of Fox？This acquisition seems to be the same as before for Pixar，Lucas and Marvel acquisitions are different。After integrating Fox into 188bet，Where do you think the biggest opportunities are in the future？

Robert Iger: Summer 2017，On the August earnings call，We announce our intention to acquire a controlling stake in BAMTech and launch 188bet and ESPN direct-to-consumer (DTC) services。Shortly after that，Rupert and I began discussing the possibility of acquiring the assets of 21st Century Fox，So when we start analyzing their value，This is all from the perspective of launching a DTC platform。

By analyzing the value of these assets，We can really think hard about how we use the 188bet library we acquire、Brands and talent to achieve direct-to-consumer goals。

India’s DTC business previously announced at the Investor Day，188bet is something we didn’t expect in 2017，But the National Geographic brand、The Simpsons deal we announced and more proves it，The value or potential of these assets we have analyzed before is being unlocked。

Of course talent is also important。We are in technical management、Contact with consumers、Especially on the creation of original content，They all have ambitious plans。Whether it’s a movie、TV or DTC，We need great people to create content，To serve consumers on the platform well。We passed the acquisition of 188bet，What you get is amazing，Therefore，I am confident in our plan and execution ability。

I know，Compare the acquisition of 188bet with the acquisition of Marvel、When comparing Pixar and Star Wars acquisitions，There are many similarities，There are also some differences。The latter may pay more attention to brand，The former also allowed us to acquire some very strong brands，Like National Geographic and The Simpsons。But there are some brands where we can enhance their strength by providing them with more resources，Create more products with these brands，And put them front and center on our new platform。

Generally，We have great talents，This is very, very obvious to us today。On the other hand，Look at it from a positive perspective，We integrate assets and people into our plans so quickly，This 188bet not only help manage our business today，Also manage our future business。

Remarks:

1) Personnel integration--The list of 188bet senior management already in place is as follows:

2) Content integration--according to Iger，188bet has partnered with National Geographic，From creating content for its DTC business，To our theme parks、Experience and Product Business (Parks,Experiences and Product business) Create travel adventure projects and derivative products，Exploring the potential of the National Geographic brand across 188bet。

Q: After acquiring 188bet，What are your views on the timing of synergies and assets and liabilities？

Christine McCarthy: First，In terms of collaboration，We remain on track to achieve at least billion in cost synergies related to acquisitions。We should be able to achieve half of our revenue in the first year，The rest will be implemented in the second year，Attention，The billion in cost synergies never included RSN (Regional Sports Network)。Also，Q2 188bet’s expense for acquiring and integrating 21st Century Fox was 6.USD 6.2 billion，We will continue to incur these costs while continuing to realize synergies，Will be disclosed quarterly in the future。

On the balance sheet side，We did significantly increase our debt portfolio。As of closing，We have approximately billion in long-term debt。As debts from other entities increase，Total debt portfolio reaches billion。This is also a number managed by our Ministry of Finance。Before the closing of the acquisition，We made some bond trades。So we are actively managing this debt portfolio，Just like we always manage the balance of short-term and long-term liquidity management。About leverage ratio，We have not initiated any share repurchases。Currently，You can assume that our share repurchases 188bet be suspended。

Q: Regarding further improving the IP of Fox movies in the next few years，Bring it to a level of success more consistent with a 188bet movie，How many opportunities are there？

Robert Iger: As far as Fox is concerned，There are many different opportunities。Obviously，Our library has titles that have never been made into sequels or remakes before，We will consider making it and putting it on 188bet+，But there are also rich stories worth developing in the Fox brand，We are developing this aspect。After acquiring Fox，We also get a slate of movies in development，Incorporating these movies into our system。

In addition to already announced movies，We are still basically finalizing the future content list，About 5 to 6 movies per year。Searchlight Pictures 188bet continue their business as before。

Q: mentioned in the financial report，The Fox acquisition may dilute recent results，And may result in a decrease in earnings per share of 0 in the third fiscal quarter.USD 35，This number is a bit unusually high。In this case，Is it still guaranteed that Fox 188bet achieve growth before fiscal year 2021?

Christine McCarthy: For the integration of Fox，We are still in the mid-term stage。For any degree of improvement in Fox growth，We 188bet announce it at the appropriate time。

(3) 188bet

Q: How do you view pricing，Especially since the price increase last 188bet, it had no negative impact on passenger flow？

Robert Iger: Past Years，We have always been very strategic in our pricing approach，And it really works，Q2’s performance undoubtedly proves 188bet。

We mainly do two things，Pricing based on demand，When managing requirements，Spread the passenger flow as much as possible，So we can ensure or improve our guests’ experience，It’s that simple。The reason why our theme park is so popular，It’s not just about the quality and size of the rides，Also because these rides are related to our high-quality IP，188bet creates greater demand，Also gives us more flexibility in pricing。

Christine McCarthy: Since I became CFO，Whenever someone asks a question about margin growth in the theme park business，Everyone 188bet ask whether profit margins can continue to increase。What I want to say is，Although we do not have any guidance on profit margins，But there are no structural factors that can prevent the growth of profit margins。

Our growth strategy has many facets，Dispersed demand，Improve visitor experience，and drive profits。We also see potential to further improve our international theme park business，As well as effectively managing our cost base through efficient allocation of capital and labor。So currently I don’t see anything limiting margin growth 188bet theme park business。

Q: Given the success of Marvel，Have you ever considered building a Marvel park 188bet United States?

Robert Iger: We are in (California, USA、Paris, France、Hong Kong, China) Create a sizable Marvel superhero park in Disneyland，Under construction。To some extent，We 188bet have very big ambitions to build a Marvel theme park at Shanghai Disneyland。

(4) Chinese Market

Q：Recently，188bet’s theme park attendance in China is not impressive，How to think about expansion in China over time？

Robert Iger: 188bet aspect，We are doing a lot of expansion，Expansion almost everywhere we operate，Especially China。

In fact，Our theme park business in China is developing quite well，We have announced that we 188bet expand an area at Shanghai Disneyland themed after characters from the animated film "Zootopia"，The exact date has not been announced yet，Our current expansion plan in the Chinese market is only focused on Shanghai，Also considering building theme parks in cities other than Shanghai。

Q: How is Marvel performing 188bet Chinese market？How do you view the opportunities of launching OTT 188bet Chinese market?

Robert Iger：Currently，If we want to launch OTT products in China, we 188bet be subject to regulatory restrictions，We can only work with local partners，Shared Ownership。But we believe there is definitely a chance，We are trying to solve this problem。

Marvel is very popular in China，Therefore，We are very interested in bringing Marvel TV series to China as part 188bet DTC platform。

Long term，Considering the Chinese market’s love for Marvel characters，Marvel has huge opportunities in Shanghai。This is a reminder to our theme parks and resorts group，We 188bet continue to work hard to enhance Marvel’s influence in Shanghai。

*Source of 188bet article: WeChat public account "Dongxi Entertainment"(ID:EW-Entertainment)，Author: Wang Xue，Original title: "188bet Q2: Fox integration reaches mid-term，Start the "opening battle" of streaming media》.