Disney’s revenues climbed 26% in its last quarter of the fiscal year, though analysts expected more growth in its streaming networks.

The company brought in $18.5 billion in the three months ending Oct. 3, buoyed by a 99% increase in its Parks, Experiences and Products segment to $5.5 billion. 

Disney’s media and entertainment division drew $13.1 billion, representing 9% year-over-year growth.

• Disney+ subscribers grew 60% year-over-year to reach 118.1 million.
• ESPN+ subscribers were up 66% year-over-year to 17.1 million.
• Hulu subscribers climbed 20% year-over-year to 43.8 million.

Still, Disney’s streaming networks lost $600 million in total, an increase from $400 million in the same period last year, largely due to high production costs.

Disney has looked into combining ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ into a single offering, but is partly limited by ESPN’s rights deals. 

It also explored spinning off ESPN, in part so the sports media company could make a more fulsome embrace of sports betting without conflicting with the rest of the brand’s family-friendly stance.

ESPN was reportedly seeking to license its name to a sports book in a deal worth at least $3 billion, as of September.

Disney’s stock dipped as much as 5% in after hours trading, before partially recovering.

Though Apple was largely seen as the winner in the first round of its legal battle against Epic Games, it had one significant setback that will take effect next month.

The tech giant will have to allow third-party developers to direct customers to external sites and stores, after an Oakland judge denied Apple’s request for a stay on that order on Tuesday.

Apps and games that induce customers to spend outside of Apple’s tech ecosystem will avoid the company’s 30% developer fee (15% for companies with under $1 million in annual revenue), which was a central point of contention in the trial.

• Apple has a dominant position in the mobile gaming platform market, bringing in $8.5 billion in operating profit in fiscal 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. 
• The company earned $13.5 billion from gaming in 2020, twice what it made from all other App Store revenue.
• Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers estimated the mobile gaming marketplace at $100 billion in her Sept. 10 ruling in the Apple-Epic trial.

Both Apple and Epic are appealing the ruling, which favored Apple on nine of 10 counts. Apple doesn’t have to allow other game stores on its platform, reduce its developer fee, or reinstate Epic hit “Fortnite.”

Sports-focused streaming service FuboTV announced its $190 million acquisition of French TV streaming company Molotov SAS on Tuesday, the same day it reported $156.7 million in third-quarter revenue.

Molotov will boost FuboTV’s global expansion with operations in France, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Cameroon, as well as a presence in Morocco and plans to launch in the Democratic Republic of Congo. FuboTV emphasized Molotov’s ability to easily localize for additional markets and languages.

Molotov, which operates a “freemium” business model, and Mango, its advertising video-on-demand platform, have roughly 4 million monthly active users combined in France. FuboTV announced it passed the 1 million subscriber mark in its earnings report on Tuesday.

FuboTV will add sports content to the French service, which currently offers live and on-demand TV series, movies, documentaries, and children’s content.

• FuboTV acquired Vigtory in March, the platform’s first investment in sports gambling.
• In September, the service struck a distribution deal with Root Sports, the home broadcaster of Gonzaga basketball, the Seattle Mariners and Kraken, and regional broadcasts of the Portland Trail Blazers.
• In April, FuboTV acquired exclusive streaming rights to the 2022 World Cup qualifying matches of the South America Football Confederation.

At least 85% of the deal is expected to be in equity, with the remaining amount in cash. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022.

A Czech Republic investment group led by billionaire Daniel Křetínský has purchased a 27% ownership stake in the Premier League’s West Ham United F.C. after the club rejected two bids from private equity firm PAI Capital in the last year.

Reports of Křetínský’s interest in purchasing a $206.8 million stake in the club surfaced last month. Specific financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, but the investment is said to value the team between $827 million and $965 million.

Forbes gave the team a $508 million valuation in April.

The funds will “initially enable the reduction of its long-term debt” and be used for other areas of focus.

• Current chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold will see their shares reduced as part of the deal — they purchased an 86% majority stake in 2010 for $118.6 million.
• Sullivan’s stake will fall from 51.5% to 38.8%, and Gold’s from 35.1% to 25.1%. 
• According to some reports, Křetínský will eventually buy out Sullivan and Gold, though The Guardian said sources have played down those suggestions.

Křetínský, who co-owns Sparta Prague, and his colleague Pavel Horský, will be appointed to the board as part of the transaction. Křetínský is reportedly worth $4 billion.