Walt Disney Co at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : <_ALACRA_META_ABSTRACT>So maybe just to start us off before we get into some of the questions around the business, probably helpful for the audience to talk a little bit about how Disney Entertainment is organized, sort of how you and Alan kind of manage the vast portfolio of Disney's assets?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Yeah. that's a helpful explanation. So this audience is certainly very focused on P&L and driving value from the content that Disney creates. I think everybody understands Disney's opportunities to monetize or multiples around the business. But it'd be great if you could start by talking about how content drives value for the entire organization. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 04, 2025 / 11:20PM, DIS.N - Walt Disney Co at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Yeah. Let's talk about streaming, that's probably everyone's primary focus, particularly when you look at the businesses that you're running. There's a lot going on in the industry. There's a lot of focus on scale. I think it's interesting when you look at the Nielsen data, and you aggregate Disney's assets, it's actually got typically the biggest audience of any of the media and tech companies. At the same time, streaming is growing, TV is under pressure, ESPNs pivoting. How do you bring that scale with all those sort of different growth trajectories together and take advantage of that and really differentiate Disney streaming product to the consumer, while at the same time, delivering the margins that we're all super focused on?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : The market is certainly focused on your ability to grow Disney+. You and I were chatting about some of those and the award-winning shows. Shgun is one of my personal favorites amazing show. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 04, 2025 / 11:20PM, DIS.N - Walt Disney Co at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Yeah. And season two is on its way, right?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay. We'll have to wait I guess what I'm trying to get a sense of is just how content drives particularly in net adds, but just drives things that really matter to the business. So engagement, pricing power, churn, -- can you talk a little bit about the role of your broad content offering and driving Disney+ growth, which I think certainly the market wants to see reaccelerate?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Right You mentioned before kind of local content internationally. Is that an area of focus for Disney from an investment point of view?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Got it. So probably the next big event, at least that we're all focused on this year for streaming at Disney is ESPN making the big step out of the bundle into another bundle to some extent. But what does it mean for the business and the opportunity ahead for the Walt Disney Company that has ESPN flagship move and come to market later this year?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Have you seen consumers really embrace the ESPN access on Disney+, particularly as you've been adding more content over the last few months?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Got it. Let's also talk about an area that's really kind of core to the legacy of Walt Disney, which is kids and family programming. It's a very competitive space. Certainly, my kids and I find binging on YouTube more than I would like them to, but an area that Disney has such a long history of Disney, REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 04, 2025 / 11:20PM, DIS.N - Walt Disney Co at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference I mean, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., how would you sort of size up the competitive position today for Walt Disney and the Kids and Family pick television? And is this sort of a focus and priority for you and the team to invest behind?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : I was going to guess that.

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : I was going to get that right as well.

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : I think recently, you guys launched live -- kind of live channels player that's targeted towards the kids and family?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : That's the baby sitter, the two the branding rolling -- it's a smart baby center.

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : So we saw about YouTube. I mean I think about the competitors to -- the Walt Disney Company today are different than they were 10, 20 years ago. Technology is super important to success for your company. consumers' expectations of streaming have gone up, obviously. How would you describe Disney's strategy to sort of navigate what is an incredibly disruptive period? And specifically, Dana, do you need to become a great technology and product company to succeed. Everyone knows well this is a great content

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : So as technology and the work that is doing? Is that sort of a near-term priority for you guys? Are you guys focused on that in 2025?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : And I know you've been working on password sharing or addressing password sharing. Is technology playing a big role in that right now?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : A big part of the streaming growth story for the industry and Walt Disney is advertising. It's a big focus. You guys have been in that business, obviously, for a very long time. But I guess my simple question is really, is advertising a growth business for Walt Disney? And if it is, what allows you guys to differentiate what you're bringing to marketers versus what else is out there in the market, which is very, very competitive?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : And I know we've got -- you've got the upfront coming up. Are you guys focused on innovation and bringing more of the streaming product to advertisers, along with the rest of the portfolio this year in the upfront? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 04, 2025 / 11:20PM, DIS.N - Walt Disney Co at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : I would imagine that sports is playing a bigger and bigger role in terms of driving budget. Has ESPN integrated into your overall corporate offering?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Got it. Dana, I want to maybe just step back here in the last couple of questions that we have. You've been at -- you said almost seven years, maybe a little over seven years at the Walt Disney Company, when you reflect on your experience, are there particular things that stand out to you? And sort of what gets you most excited about the future?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Last question I had for you. There's a lot of focus, obviously, on leadership at Walt Disney going forward. It's been a -- the last four years, it's been a volatile period for the industry and for the company leadership changes, reorgs, the pandemic, labor strikes in Hollywood, a lot of potential distractions. I'm not trying to depress you anything.

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Yeah, exactly. But look, I think shareholders want to hear about management's focus and the ability for the company to stay focused and avoid these distractions. And really, I want to hear your message to shareholders around kind of strategic alignment among senior management and the operating businesses as you guys look to the future. Can you comment on that?

Question: Ben Swinburne - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Great. Well, that's a great place to end, Dana. Thank you so much for being here.