Walt Disney Co.

The decrease is attributed to lower political advertising revenues at its O&Os and higher marketing costs, partially offset by lower programming and production costs due to the absence of the Oprah Winfrey Show at the owned stations.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger received nearly $31.4 million in total compensation last year, an 11.9% increase from 2010, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 10-year agreement provides Xfinity TV customers broad access to sports, news and entertainment content across multiple screens in and out of the home. Also included are retransmission consent rights for the seven ABC O&Os.

Disney President-CEO Bob Iger has been named to Apple’s board of directors, the company announced on Tuesday.  The move strengthens the ties between the tech giant and the studio.

The increase is driven by lower programming and production costs and higher network advertising revenues.

The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday said it had completed a deal to introduce a nationally broadcast version of the Disney Channel in Russia, one of the world’s last big untapped entertainment markets. Disney, which has aggressively tried to crack Russia for years with only modest success, said it would acquire 49% of Seven TV, a broadcast channel that reaches about 40 million households, or more than 75% of Russia’s measured TV audience.

Walt Disney’s  Bob Iger will step down as CEO in 2015 after nearly a decade at the helm. Under his new contract, the 60-year-old Iger will add the chairman title next year then give up both titles in March 2015 and serve a final year as executive chairman.

Broadcasting revenue fell to $1.43 billion as ad revenue on its ABC network grew, but local ad sales at TV stations fell because of lower political spending. Disney’s results beat Wall Street expectations, but the surprise boost to Disney’s fiscal third quarter came mostly because of the early booking of revenue at ESPN, which will result in an offsetting negative in its fiscal fourth quarter.

Hulu.com, the online video site considering a sale, reached a tentative agreement for renewed rights to TV shows from its part-owner, Walt Disney Co., according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The agreement with Disney, which operates ABC, is similar to Hulu’s new arrangement with another co- owner, Fox parent News Corp., said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Despite Hulu’s success as a streamer of premium content, insiders and analysts aren’t surprised that Disney, News Corp. and NBCUniversal are at least considering selling their stakes in the asset.

In an attempt to sweeten its Olympic bid next month, ESPN is tossing around the idea of supplementing its TV rights offer with a marketing deal from its parent company. A deal being considered would make Disney a member of The Olympic Partner (TOP) program, the International Olympic Committee’s marquee sponsorship group, and grant the entertainment company licensing and intellectual property rights.

Operating income at Disney’s media networks, including ESPN and ABC, rose 17% to $1.5 billion; revenues rose 12% to $4.3 billion. At the cable networks, operating income rose 15% to $1.357 billion as revenues rose 17% to $2.8 billion. At its broadcasting operations, operating income rose 36% to $167 million as revenues rose 4% to $1.5 billion.

Walt Disney Co. filed a copyright suit against satellite television operator Dish Network Corp. for distributing popular movies including Disney’s Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland on a free tier for Dish subscribers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. said Thursday that it has acquired children’s social network Togetherville for an undisclosed sum. The deal is part of Disney’s strategy of […]

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert A. Iger commanded a 35% jump in salary and bonuses in 2010, rewarding what the board of directors’ compensation committee called his “exceptional performance” in the face of a slow-recovering U.S. economy.

Walt Disney Co. has expressed some concerns about the conditions the FCC wants to put on Comcast Corp.’s proposed deal to take control of NBC Universal regarding how Comcast operates with the growing online video marketplace.

Chief Executive Bob Iger refused to discuss Google TV during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday — “we’ve not announced a deal with them at this point and I’m not going to say anything more specific about them.” But he did talk at length about how Disney evaluates new services that bypass cable, satellite and telecommunications services to deliver video in the home.

The company is investigating unusually heavy trading about half an hour before a press release on its fourth-quarter earnings was scheduled to go out.

The Walt Disney Co. reported its fourth quarter and full-fiscal year earnings on Thursday, with a dip in earnings per share. Operating income at its networks — which include ESPN and ABC — slid more than 18% during the quarter.

While many of his peers hoarded cash during the downturn, Robert Iger, chief executive of Walt Disney Co., doubled down, investing in entertainment businesses, theme parks, new technology and other infrastructure and counting on the weak economy to keep a lid on construction costs.