It's time for Disney to sell TV directly to consumers: Analyst
Disney can overcome headwinds in the TV ecosystem by selling its nonsports content directly to consumers, Drexel Hamilton analyst Tony Wible said Wednesday.
Wible spoke one day after Disney reported earnings that rose from the prior year, but fell short of expectations. The House of Mouse's movie business is on a hot streak, but sales in its media networks division — its largest by revenue — were flat from the year-earlier period.
"At the end of the day, what Disney is really good at is making brands and finding new ways to distribute it," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"What they really just need to do is figure out how do they price this stuff?"
At present, Disney earns about $2 per subscription from cable carriage of the Disney Channel and other related networks, Wible said. He estimated the company could sell a stand-alone streaming service, similar to HBO Now, for $10 to $15 per month.
According to Wible, the strength of Disney's content is evident in its string of hit movies and its ABC production studio, which has turned out hit shows for Netflix based on its Marvel Comics properties.
Disney also owns sports network ESPN.