Disney will be increasing its overall content spending by $1 billion to $24 billion in fiscal 2026, largely due to growth in the cost of rights for marquee sports like the NBA.
The company disclosed the projection during its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings release. CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston explained the outlook in a letter to investors.
“We remain disciplined in our approach to capital allocation,” the letter said. The $1 billion bump in combined entertainment and sports content spending is coming “as we continue to invest in high-quality sports rights at ESPN, new and existing franchises at our film studio, and television content.”
The 2025-26 NBA season, which began last month, marks the start of 11-year rights deals between the league and new media partners Amazon and NBCUniversal as well as incumbent Disney/ESPN. The renewal will see Disney pay $2.6 billion a year, roughly triple the average annual value of the prior deal. Since the new contract was agreed to last year, it’s hardly a surprise to any investor who has been paying attention.
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During a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday, Iger and Johnston were asked about the benefits of investing such a large sum in the NBA. “Because of the timing of the rights costs, it does create a little bit of bumpiness over the course of the year,” Johnston said of the outlay, saying the main impact will be felt in the latter half of fiscal 2026. “The NBA is obviously a phenomenal property,” he added. As with the NFL, the league draws “scale audience, which is obviously super-attractive to advertisers and therefore is strategically beneficial to us as well.”