And that's the meeting. Thanks for joining us!

Disney would need to consent for Fox to increase its bid for Sky, but Iger says he cannot comment any further. Fox did submit a formal offer for Sky at ‎£14 a share, but Comcast has previously announced £14.75 a share offer.

Iger says the process of selling the regional sports networks (as required by the Justice Department) has begun

Next (last?) question is about Sky and the remaining 61% Fox is bidding against Comcast for

And this question is jargon-rich and I'm not smart enough to understand it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Next question is breaking up so we're going to the next

Looking at the 2019 slate, Iger reads off a list of films that will be unencumbered by existing deals, including Captain Marvel, Dumbo, Frozen 2, Star Wars Episode IX and many more

Iger hints that films like the Force Awakens won't immediately be available on the service but of course the Star Wars series will be

Iger notes that, starting with the 2019 slate, Disney is unencumbered by previous deals. He also declines to offer details on when rights to 2018 and earlier films will revert to Disney

Yet another question about the streaming service. This one is about exisiting rights agreements

He again notes that Disney doesn't need to have the same volume of content as other services as long as they price accordingly

Iger says he doesn't feel the need to rush the streaming service since, whenever they launch, "it will be attractive." He says what's more important is meeting fan expectations, having a quality product, and pricing it to be a strong value.

Up next: a question about how aggressive the company should be in getting into streaming as well as managing the film production cost as 2019 approaches

Iger says ESPN+ will continue to look for rights opportunities and may move some contracts from ESPN to ESPN+ in the future

He also says churn on the platform has been modest

Iger says ESPN+ subscriber rates are exceeding expectations but won't release any details on the numbers.

Next question is about ESPN+ and any lessons they're learning from it.   

Naturally, Iger notes the revenue yield oppurtunities from Toy Story Land and the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge expansions

Next question is about cost synergies as well parks margins

McCarthy says streaming content costs will go on the balance sheet and be amortized when they are released. 

D23 gets a shout out in Iger's remarks about reaching the Disney fans 

Iger says launching the streaming service is the top priority for the company

Next question is also about the streaming service but about the balance sheet as projects begin filming

Iger says that the company may offer a bundle pricing option for those wanting to subscribe to ESPN+, the Disney streaming service, and Hulu.

In regards to the streaming service, Iger says they're going to "walk before we can run" when it comes to content output and they don't have plans to compete with volume of content Netflix has. He adds that the price of the service will reflect that.

Also asks about regulatory approvals in China. Iger says no updates

First question is about Netflix and Disney's streaming service.   

Q&A time

As we knew, Disney will halt their stock buy back program due to the Fox acquision. 

The "headwinds" affecting Consumer Products in Q3 will continue in Q4

The increase at ESPN was due to affiliate revenue growth and the comparison to severance and contract termination costs incurred in the prior-year quarter

Operating at ESPN was up this quarter 

The other film was said to be in early development 

McCarthy notes two film cost impairments this quarter from two unreleased animated films. One of them was created for DisneyToon Studios, which was recently shut down

Infinity War has grossed more than $2 billion globally, making it Marvel's highest grossing film yet. Similarly, Incredibles 2 has brought in more than $1 billion worldwide

Q3 results at Disneyand Paris were comparable to the prior year

Last year's Q3 Park results included two weeks of the Easter holiday while this year included only one. They estimated this amounted to a $47 million or 4% YOY difference

Now over to CFO Christine McCarthy

Also mentioned by Iger (but already known) is that the streaming service will include a new Star Wars series, the return of Star Wars: Clone Wars, a Monsters Inc series, a High School Musical series, a live-action Lady and the Tramp, and more

Iger says the Fox acquision gives Disney more oppurtunity to create original Marvel content for their streaming service. 

While Disney is looking to enter the streaming realm, Iger makes it clear the company is still very invested in the movie theatre experience

Iger alos mentions Fox Searchlight, saying he wants to give the studio what it needs to do what it does best.

He also calls National Geographic another supplier of strong DTC content 

The first property he calls out is FX, saying it's "a critical supplier of quality content" for their streaming platforms

Iger says that, in addition to IP, the company is gaining talent with the Fox deal

Iger notes that more than half of U.S. homes now subscribe to a streaming service of some kind and, on average, subscribe to three SVOD services 

Bob notes Fox's share of Sky, but doesn't mention Fox's attempts to purchase the 61% it doesn't own for which they're battling Comcast

Iger says he's confident that they can leverage the Fox assets to further drive value for Disney shareholders

Iger starts off by talking about the proposed acquision of 21st Century Fox assets

Lowell Singer kicks things off, introducing CEO Bob Iger and CFO Christine McCarthy

OK here we go for real

Another announcement apologizing for the delay but the promise that we will start shortly

Here we go... or not. The operator thanks us for our patience and asks us to standby

The webcast should begin any moment now. Stay tuned!

The report notes: "Corporate and unallocated shared expenses increased $97 million to $196 million in the current quarter primarily due to costs incurred in connection with our agreement to acquire Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., higher compensation costs and the timing of allocations to operating segments."

Consumer Products & Interactive Media revenues decreased 8% to $1.0 billion. They note lower licensing revenues from Spider-Man and Cars products were partially offset by an increase in Avengers products.

"The increase in program sales was driven by higher sales of Designated Survivor, How to Get Away with Murder and Grey’s Anatomy, partially offset by lower sales of Quantico."  Interesting considering Designated Survivor was cancelled after this season.

Shanghai Disney Resort saw lower costs and attendance growth in the quarter, but guest spending was lower. Meanwhile Hong Kong Disneyland Resort saw an increase in operating income due to higher occupied room nights, average ticket prices, and attendance

As we continue to pour over the earnings results, the conference call is set to begin in just over 10 minutes. You can listen in for yourself here: 

Studio revenue was up 20% to $2.9 billion, due in part to the success of Infinity War and Incredibles 2 (compared to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Cars 3 last year). Additionally, the continued popularity of Black Panther into Q3 boosted revenue while Solo... was also released.

The parks also note that marketing costs were lower this quarter compared to last year.

Higher operating income at Parks and Resorts was up thanks to increased guest spending, including increases in average ticket prices, food, beverage and merchandise spending and average daily hotel room rates. However labor and other cost inflations partially offset this income.

Parks and Resorts revenues for the quarter increased 6% to $5.2 billion and segment operating income increased 15% to $1.3 billion.

BAMTech saw an operating loss, partially due to the costs of launching ESPN+ in April

In the earnings, Bob Iger notes, "We’re pleased with our results in the quarter, including a double-digit increase in earnings per share, and excited about the opportunities ahead for continued growth. Having earned the overwhelming support of shareholders, we are more enthusiastic about the 21st Century Fox acquisition than ever, and confident in our ability to fully leverage these assets along with our own incredible brands, franchises and businesses to drive significant value across the entire company."

EPS for the quarter increased 18% to $1.87 from $1.58 in the prior-year quarter

Adjusted earnings and revenue both fell short of Wall Street estimates

$DIS closes at $116.56, up $.62 from the previous close

Welcome! The Walt Disney Company should be releasing their Q3 earnings report just after the closing bell (4 pm ET/1 pm PT) with a conference call to begin 30 minutes later. Stay tuned for more then!