I don’t think it would surprise you to know that Walt Disney Co. has many entertainment channels, from ABC broadcast television to Marvel, from Lucasfilm to ESPN. Here is a simple chart from Titlemax.

Disney is a massive media and entertainment empire, and in its revenues are signs of a media epoch commencing — and all marketers need to pay close attention. Besides many national cable channels — ESPN, ABC, FX, History, A&E and Lifetime — Disney owns Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ and ABC.com.

We all know that streaming has seen rapid increases because of the coronavirus and quarantining, and the advertising money has followed. Disney’s direct-to-consumer business grew last quarter to $882 million. That’s a nearly 50% gain. ABC is at $984 million (just a 5% gain). You can see what is happening here. Hulu is expected to do $3 billion in 2021. Hulu alone could surpass the Disney broadcast division in ad sales.

One more digital epoch to watch. According to Disney, the theater business is going to continue to suffer. Disney will continue to release films online and move the releases quickly to streaming service. CEO Bob Chapek has said that “the consumer is more impatient than they’ve ever been.”

Change always comes slowly, but these two shifts in how we enjoy movies and buy advertising are changing rapidly right before our eyes — in our own Living rooms. 

Mark Mathis III is chief creative & strategy officer, partner and cofounder of AMPERAGE Marketing & Fundraising.