On a volitale day on Wall Street, Disney is set to announce their first quarter earnings. Join us for all the news and analysis.

The results will be released shortly after the closing bell (4pm ET)

 A new series of Star Wars films from the creators of Game of Thrones has just been announced ahead of earnings. More to come.

On the other side of the coin, ABC announced they are cancelling Once Upon a Time. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2018/02/06/abc-cancels-upon-time/

Here is our full story on the Star Wars news: https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2018/02/06/lucasfilm-announces-new-star-wars-film-series-david-benioff-d-b-weiss/

Disney CEO Bob Iger is expected to appear on CNBC in the next few minutes. We'll let you know what he has to say.

Disney stock ended the day up 1.47 (1.4%) The DOW was up 2.34%.

Disney stock beats the street with $1.89 earnings per share compared to expected results of $1.61 per share.

Bob Iger is on CNBC now to discuss Disney's earnings

Revenues miss with $15.35 billion compared to expected $15.45 billion.

Iger notes that international parks like Disneyland Paris, doemestic parks, and Disney Cruise Lines all had a great quarter

Disney results do not include a $1.6 billion benefit assocaiated with US tax reform.

Digital platform gains are helping to overset subscriber loses on traditional platforms, although it is not yet a net positive

Disney spent 32 million dollars more on investing in their domestic theme parks compared to the same quarter last year.

ESPN Plus will be available for $4.99 per month.

Iger notes that the 21st Century Fox acquision means the company won't be making any other large buys in the near future

That's it for Iger on CNBC but he'll be on the call starting soon

Disney stock is up .1.13 (1.06% in Extended Hours trading)

Here is The Star Wars Show on today's news 

While not calling out how much they are spending on developing their Over-The-Top offerings, capital spending at cable networks was up about $45 million in the quarter compared to the prior year.

The Walt Disney Company Q1 earnings call is just about to begin

The hold music for the call isn't as cheery as it typically is...

They seem to be running a little late today but hopefully we'll get going any minute now

At long last, here we go

FYI, you can listen in here: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disneys-q1-fy18-earnings-results-webcast/

The regulatory process for the 21st Century Fox acquisition has begun and Bob Iger has been meeting the leaders of Fox's businesses.

Bob says the deal will allow more content, empower their direct-to-consumer initatives, and will diversify their business internationally.

The relaunched ESPN app will be tailored to individual users. It will deliver scores, podcast, live streams to ESPN networks, and the new ESPN Plus subscription service.

MLB, MLS, and NHL games will be on ESPN+. Also college sports, boxing, 30 for 30 documentatires, and high-quality original content.

The Disney service will launch late 2019. No more details on that offering.

Ticket pre-sales for Black Panther are outpacing every other superhero film ever made.

More offerings based on Disney IP (Disney, Marvel, Star Wars) are coming to Disneyland Paris

Pandora: The World of Avatar led to record attendance at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Ad rates are up at media networks, but viewer losses are impacting results.

At the Studios, theatrical was up with The Last Jedi and Coco, but home video was down.

Disney has spent 17.6 million on share repurchase since January.

Disney expects cable expenses to be up next quarter due to investments in BAMTech and increased rates for the College Football Playoff.

$55 million of the one-time bonuses being offered to most of Disney's employees will be booked next quarter.

The new ESPN app will be totally new. The news and scores will be highly personalized.

The app will also stream ESPN Networks to subscribers of multi-channel providers. It will be available on small screens or big screens through devices like an Apple TV

The entire library of 30 for 30 films will be available for subscribers of ESPN+. It will also have original content made just for the service.

BAMTech is now part of Disney's Media Networks division.

An investor asked why Benioff and Weiss are making films instead of a program for the subscription service. He said that they had an interest in a partiuclar  moment in Star Wars history.

They are developing more than just one Star Wars series for the Disney direct-to-consumer service. They are close but not have signed a deal with the creative talent on one of those series.

The Fox team will make films for theatrical (tentpole and specialty) while also making films for streaming services.

Disney originally expected an additional $100 million loss this year. Now they says they expect the increased loss to be $250 million.

Disney is having conversations with their partners on Shanghai Disneyland regarding further expansion.

Disney had planned on giving specifics about their Disney direct-to-consumer offerings around this time, but due to the 21st Century Fox acquisition they will wait until they are closer to regulatory approval.

Disney will invest in their direct-to-consumer service, but won't have as much volume as Netflix as Disney has strong brands that will give them great content.

Disney has not decided how co-financing will be a part of 21st Century Fox's future. Disney does not participate in this as they have plenty of money and they don't want to share their success. They will honor all previous deals that Fox had.

Star Wars was the number one toy franchise over the holiday season.

That's a wrap on the call. Lots to wrap our heads around regarding Disney's future... but sounds like there will be a lot more Star Wars on the big screen and on streaming for years to come.