Disney sports operating profit drops 17% to $858M

The Walt Disney Company reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 Sports revenue of $4.5 billion, representing an increase of 4%. Segment operating income fell 17% to $858 million. Operating margin for the unit contracted to approximately 19.1% from 24.1% in the prior-year period.

Management attributed the shortfall against internal forecasts partly to early-round NBA playoff sweeps and an ongoing network carriage dispute. Swept playoff series eliminated scheduled games, which prevented the network from generating planned advertising impressions. Disney did not quantify the specific financial impact of either factor.

Sports subscription and affiliate fees grew 8%, supported by approximately four percentage points from an NFL transaction. Advertising revenue rose 5% across the segment.

Programming and production costs climbed 10% to $3.05 billion. The increase reflected contractual price escalations, newly acquired sports rights, and an NBA contract renewal that shifted expense recognition into the fiscal third quarter.