GOOG - Disney Should Cave To Charter Demands: Analysts Size Up Missed Revenue Without A Deal | Benzinga
An ongoing dispute between media giant The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) could see consumers miss out on being able to watch NFL games and the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Analysts size up what’s at stake and what the two companies should do.
Needham on Disney: The battle between Disney and Charter could benefit other companies, according to Needham analyst Laura Martin.
Martin, who has a Hold rating on Disney and no price target, sees FuboTV Inc (NYSE: FUBO), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU).
Distributors that still have ESPN on the air and other OTT services that benefit from additional viewing hours could benefit from the carriage dispute, the analyst said.
"Based on this year’s Upfront, studios are putting their best new content onto their streaming apps but still charging high per-sub subscription fees to MVPDs owing to long-term contracts. MVPDs are mad,” Martin said.
Martin calls this the final countdown and says that it is Disney that should cave.
"To maximize ad revs, we believe DIS’s content must be on all platforms, including MVPDs. More reach has a larger TAM, and higher economics.”
The analyst said the battle between the two companies could impact the future business model for the ...