Disney is approaching its 99th birthday, and the company is still finding ways to grow.

The media giant saw revenue rise 26% year-over-year, hitting $21.5 billion in the fiscal quarter ending July 2.

• Disney+ jumped to 152.1 million subscribers, vaulting analysts’ expectations of 147 million.
• ESPN+ jumped 53% to 22.8 million subscribers. Hulu rose 8% to hit 46.2 million.
• While linear was relatively flat, rising 3% year-over-year to $7.2 billion, direct-to-consumer media leapt 19% to $5.1 billion.

Disney’s stock rose around 6.5% after the earnings release.

The company also announced a new ad-supported tier for Disney+. 

“We’re continually enamored by the power of sports in terms of viewership, particularly in an advertising-type world,” CEO Bob Chapek told investors. He mentioned Disney is “definitely interested in renewing” its partnership with the NBA.

Chapek hinted that an announcement about a partnership with a sportsbook could be coming soon to integrate betting opportunities with broadcasts.

“Our sports fans that are under 30 absolutely require this type of [sports betting] utility,” said Chapek. 

ESPN’s Future

Chapek noted that the company is considering what “ESPN would look like in a true DTC future,” adding that “we’ve negotiated flexibility into our new rights agreements.”

The company reportedly considered, then decided against spinning off ESPN, as it faces increasing competition from tech giants that can bundle a host of media and other services.

German soccer giant Bayern Munich is looking to expand its reach in the U.S., a market that presents a major opportunity for growth, according to the Financial Times. 

Bayern — the fifth-most valuable soccer club in the world at $4.3 billion — belongs to the Bundesliga, a league looking to compete with its British rival, the Premier League.

The top-flight competition aims to level the playing field by increasing the value of its media rights. 

• ESPN holds U.S. rights to the Bundesliga in a deal worth $250 million over six years.
• In 2021, Bayern made $262 million from international and domestic rights, per Deloitte.
• NBC holds rights to the Premier League in the U.S. in a six-year deal worth $2.7 billion.
• Last year, the Premier League’s Manchester City earned $346 million from its deals. 

Bayern’s viability in the U.S. was showcased this summer with a tour that included a match against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City. Played at Lambeau Field — the Green Bay Packers’ home field since 1957 — the match drew 78,128 fans to watch the action live.

Earlier this month, the club gained more ground after it secured a deal with Adobe to enhance fan experiences — both offline and online — through personalized activations. 

Playing Catch Up

The Premier League, which generates more revenue from international media rights than domestic, saw its 20 clubs generate a combined $6.2 billion in revenue in the 2021-22 season.

The Bundesliga finished third with $3.1 billion in revenue, behind Spain’s La Liga at $3.5 billion.

The PGA Tour is asking its players to consider their potential futures within the professional golf organization amid a contentious relationship with upstart LIV Golf. 

The tour has created a document that details projected earnings for a group of players — some of the world’s best — if they started their careers in 2022.  

• It estimates a 4% year-over-year growth in comprehensive earnings, per Golf Digest.
• The document also factors in investments in the PGA Tour’s three bonus programs: the FedEx Cup, Comcast Business Tour Top 10, and Player Impact Program. 

Using seven categories — including official and unofficial prize money — the projected earnings feature four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy, who would have made $373 million in total compensation from the PGA Tour if his career started in the 2022-23 season.

McIlroy — who began his pro career in 2007 — has earned $65.7 million in career earnings. 

The PGA Tour’s projected earnings haven’t kept some of the world’s top players from defecting from the tour. Earlier this week, 28-year-old Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith reportedly accepted a $100 million offer to join LIV Golf, per The Telegraph. 

Smith will join fan favorites Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka on the Saudi-backed series.

Access Denied

On Tuesday, a U.S. District judge denied a temporary restraining order that would have allowed three LIV competitors to play in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin Thursday: Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones.

Germany reached the 2022 Women’s Euro final in July, but the team still earned far less than their male counterparts. Now, Germany’s chancellor is ramping up his fight for equal pay in women’s sports.

After meeting with officials from Germany’s soccer federation, chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that more talks regarding the issue will be held next month, adding that equal pay would help attract more girls and women to soccer.

After acknowledging that the men’s and women’s markets are different, federation president Bernd Neuendorf said, “We want to do everything to change this in coming years.” 

• For the 16 women’s teams at Euro 2022, UEFA had around $16.5 million available. In 2021, the men’s side had roughly $341.6 million.
• For the women’s Euro, players would have reportedly earned $61,000 for winning the tournament, whereas the men’s players could have earned $407,000.

There is certainly interest in the country. The Women’s Euro final was the highest-attended game in the history of the men’s and women’s tournament and garnered 17.9 million viewers in Germany.

Neuendorf added that he’s prepared to discuss with representatives of both national teams whether the current pay is “in keeping with the times.”

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By the end of 2020, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the U.K. declared equal pay between the men’s and women’s national teams. In May, the USWNT were granted equal pay, and in June, Spain announced their own agreement.