The Walt Disney media company has revealed that its sports broadcaster ESPN suffered a 3.2-per-cent fall in subscribers during the 12 months through to the end of September.
Regulatory filings show that ESPN had a total of 92m subscribers on October 3 this year, down from 95m on September 27 last year.
The drop in subscriptions comes at a troubling time for ESPN, which last month announced plans to cut approximately four per cent of its total workforce.
In August, parent company Walt Disney reduced its television outlook due to a fall in subscribers for ESPN. The broadcaster receives money from the US cable and satellite companies that carry its channels, and is the most expensive of all basic pay-television channels in the country.
However, Disney this month moved to allay fears over ESPN after revealing that its Media Networks division, which houses the broadcaster, posted better-than-expected revenue during the three months through to the end of September.
Bob Iger (pictured), chief executive of Walt Disney, said at the time that the results would allay fears over ESPN and stated that the media company remained “bullish” over the broadcaster.
Disney’s Media Networks arm generated revenue of $1.8bn (€1.7bn) during the third quarter, an increase of 27 per cent on the corresponding period last year.