Disney’s Australian business is now a major player in local entertainment, spanning streaming, film distribution and sports broadcasting. Over the last financial year the company’s Australian revenue climbed sharply as more viewers signed up to its streaming platform and new releases hit cinemas, which reflects how quickly international media groups are embedding themselves in the local market. This growth comes as the wider global group faces more subdued earnings so the strong Australian performance stands out inside a larger, more complex story.
Financial filings show Disney’s Australian revenue jumped from about $743 million to $1.01 billion in the 12 months to the end of September, while profit rose roughly one third to $63 million. Most of that income, around $854 million, came from licensing and a large share was sent to its US parent as royalty payments, which left the local operation with a steady tax bill of about $16 million, unchanged from the previous year. The accounts now also fold in ESPN Australia revenue for the first time and the business spent about $144 million on production related activity in Australia, which underlines its role in local content creation even as cash flows head offshore.
Streaming remains the engine of that growth. Disney+ sits among Australia’s most used streaming services, behind Netflix and Amazon Prime but ahead of Stan by audience reach and ranks second only to Netflix in share of total streaming and broadcast on demand viewing. The company lifted prices during the reporting period, nudging its standard plan from $13.99 to $15.99 a month and its premium tier from $17.99 to $20.99, which appears to have helped underpin revenue without knocking Disney+ out of the top tier of services. Globally, its direct to consumer division, where Disney+ does most of the heavy lifting, generated around $US1.3 billion in profit from about $US25 billion in revenue, which shows how subscription income is reshaping the business even as the wider group continues to miss some market expectations.
The bigger picture is that Disney’s Australian operations resemble a case study in how global media giants can build deep local footprints, invest hundreds of millions in production and still channel most earnings back to their home base. The model appears to support ongoing content investment and subscriber growth but it also raises recurring questions about how much tax multinational platforms contribute in the markets where they earn their revenue. As streaming competition intensifies and regulators keep probing cross border profit shifting, Disney’s Australian results seem to signal both the strength of its local brand and the likelihood of continued scrutiny over how that success translates into local economic returns.
