Disney Sets The Stage To Go In On Metaverse, CEO Touts Company's History As 'Early Adopter' Of Technology

Walt Disney Co DIS is planning a foray into metaverse as the buzz around virtual environments intensifies. 

What Happened: Disney CEO Bob Chapek touched on some of the company’s “firsts” at the fourth-quarter earnings call. 

Chapek referred to “Steamboat Willie,” the first cartoon to feature synchronized sound and the company being the first to distribute downloaded content on Apple Inc’s AAPL iPod.

“The Walt Disney Company has a long track record as an early adopter in the use of technology to enhance the entertainment experience,” said Chapek.

On metaverse, the CEO said “our efforts to-date are merely a prologue to a time when we'll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely, allowing for storytelling without boundaries in our own Disney metaverse.”

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Why It Matters: Late last month, social media giant Facebook Inc FB said it was rebranding as “Meta” in a nod to the metaverse. 

Facebook’s move intensified the buzz surrounding the latest digital frontier with companies like Nike Inc NKE and Microsoft Inc MSFT jumping on the bandwagon. 

Last year, Tilak Mandadi, Disney’s former executive vice president of digital, wrote in a Linked In post, “​​connected park experiences that transcend the physical and digital barrier and unlock new layers of storytelling are a very exciting focus of ours.”

Mandadi labeled metaverse experiences “perennial” and said guests' engagement is within and outside the parks driven by technologies like computer vision, natural language understanding, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

On Wednesday, Disney reported Q4 revenue of $18.53 billion, a rise of 26% year-over-year. Disney added 118.1 million Disney+ subscribers, an increase of 73.7 million year-over-year. The average revenue per user for Disney+ declined to $4.12, a fall of 9% year-over-year.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Disney shares fell nearly 4.6% lower at $166.50 in the after-hours session after ending the regular session nearly 0.4% lower at $174.45.

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