The group’s television and radio broadcasting division saw a 29-per-cent drop in profits to $655 million, with large decreases reported by the Disney cable channels and sports network ESPN, due to falling advertising revenue and the increase in rights fees paid for NFL football.
Free-to-air network ABC reported a 60-per-cent decline in operating income, a result of the fall in advertising revenue and a bad debt charge linked to the recent bankruptcy of the Tribune Company media group.