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    Disney says about 157 million global users are streaming content with ads

    Disney said its streaming platforms have an estimated 157 million global monthly active users on its ad-supported tiers, including 112 million domestically.
    This is the first time the company has given insight into how many of its viewers are watching ad-supported content on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
    Advertising has become a key driver of profitability for streaming services.

    The atmosphere at the Disney Bundle Celebrating National Streaming Day at The Row in Los Angeles on May 19, 2022.
    Presley Ann | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

    Disney said Wednesday it has an estimated 157 million global monthly active users watching ad-supported content across its streaming platforms — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
    That number includes 112 million users domestically and is an average per month over the last six months.

    While traditional TV outlets have a standard way of measuring ratings and viewership, there is still no industry standard methodology for measuring global streaming advertising audience size.
    The company said that its Disney Advertising unit has “set out to define a globally consistent approach and methodology to estimate ad-supported audience numbers.” It’s providing the update and further insight into its ad-supported streaming business during the annual CES tech conference in Las Vegas, a go-to event for the advertising and media industry.
    “Disney sits at the intersection of world class sports and entertainment content, with the most high-value audiences in ad-supported global streaming at scale,” said Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of global advertising, in a news release. “We wanted to be the first to offer our industry greater transparency into the methodology used to estimate our engaged global ad-supported monthly active users.”
    In explaining the methodology, the company said the metric is derived from active accounts across Disney’s three streaming services that have viewed ad-supported shows and movies continuously for more than 10 seconds. “Each active account is then multiplied by the number of estimated users per account … to estimate the total number of users,” it said. The estimated active users are added across the apps without de-duplication, meaning users who subscribe to more than one of the platforms could be counted more than once.

    Growth in ad-supported tiers

    Media companies have become particularly focused on generating profits from their streaming businesses, and advertising has become a key way to do that. While many platforms were initially subscription services without commercials, streaming platforms in recent years have introduced cheaper, ad-supported tiers for consumers.

    Disney CEO Bob Iger has said that the company is trying to steer its customers toward its ad-supported tiers. The company has raised prices on commercial-free options since launching Disney+ with ads in late 2022.
    Disney’s Hulu was one of the first streaming platforms to offer an ad-supported option. More recently, Disney+ introduced an ad-supported tier.
    In November, Disney said it had 122.7 million Disney+ Core subscribers, which excludes Disney+ Hotstar in India and other countries in the region. Hulu had 52 million subscribers, while ESPN+ had 25.6 million paid subscribers.
    The company historically hasn’t reported exactly how many subscribers on each platform pay for the ad-supported option, but executives in the earnings call in November said more than half of new U.S. Disney+ subscribers were choosing the cheaper, ad-supported tier, adding this “bodes well for the future.”
    Disney noted during the call that average revenue per user for domestic Disney+ customers dropped from $7.74 to $7.70, due to a higher mix of customers on its cheaper, ad-supported tier and wholesale offerings. 
    Executives also said in November that they were confident streaming would “be a significant growth area” for the company.
    At the time, the company reported that its combined streaming business, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, posted operating income of $321 million for the September period compared with a loss of $387 million during the same period the year prior.
    Disney will report its fiscal first-quarter earnings on Feb. 5 before the bell. More

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    An American purchase of Greenland could be the deal of the century

    Although America has a history of taking a commercial approach to international relations, purchases are rarely made without controversy. When Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana in 1803, doubling the size of the country, he had to set aside his zest for constitutional constructivism, which would have ruled out such bold federal action. Sixty-four years later, when William Seward, then secretary of state, purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2m ($162m today), the move was dubbed “Seward’s folly”. Today the Alaska deal is seen as a masterstroke and the Louisiana purchase the greatest achievement of one of America’s greatest presidents. In hindsight, both look extraordinarily good value. More

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    Medicare can now cover Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for sleep apnea, Health Department agency says

    Medicare drug plans can now cover Eli Lilly’s blockbuster obesity drug Zepbound for obstructive sleep apnea, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services confirmed to CNBC.
    That opens the door for broader coverage of and access to Zepbound, which is not currently covered by Medicare and many other insurance plans for weight loss specifically.
    Medicare Part D plans can cover obesity drugs if they are used for an additional medically accepted purpose approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

    An injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug, is displayed in New York City on Dec. 11, 2023.
    Brendan McDermid | Reuters

    Medicare drug plans can now cover Eli Lilly’s blockbuster obesity drug Zepbound for obstructive sleep apnea, CNBC confirmed on Wednesday. 
    That opens the door for broader access to Zepbound, which is not currently covered by Medicare and many other insurance plans for weight loss. Demand for the injection has soared over the last year despite its roughly $1,000 per month price tag before insurance.

    In a statement to CNBC, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said “current Medicare Part D and Medicaid coverage rules apply” to Zepbound following its landmark approval in December for the most common sleep-related breathing disorder.
    Medicare Part D plans can only cover obesity drugs if they are used for an additional medically accepted purpose approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the CMS spokesperson said, referring to the agency’s guidance. The spokesperson added that Part D plans may consider using prior authorization — a process where a provider must first get approval from an insurer — for those drugs to ensure they are being used for that specific purpose. 
    The FDA on Dec. 20 cleared Zepbound for patients with obesity and moderate-to-severe forms of obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, which refers to breathing interrupted during sleep due to narrowed or blocked airways. That made Zepbound the first drug treatment cleared for the estimated 20 million people with those forms of the disease, according to Eli Lilly.
    Medicare Part D plans are similarly allowed to cover Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy for its other approved use: lowering cardiovascular risks. The diabetes counterparts of Wegovy and Zepbound — Ozempic and Mounjaro, respectively — are covered by Medicare and most insurance plans. 
    Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are studying their weight loss medicines as treatments for fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, sleep apnea and more. To be covered, those drugs would need to return late-stage trial results and then be submitted for FDA approval for those uses.

    Meanwhile, state Medicaid coverage for Zepbound and other obesity medications depends on what condition they are prescribed for and whether their manufacturer has signed a certain Medicaid drug rebate agreement, according to the spokesperson. 
    Under that agreement with the secretary of Health and Human Services, manufacturers agree to provide rebates to states in exchange for Medicaid coverage of their drugs. States share the rebates with the federal government. 
    A state Medicaid program must cover Zepbound if it is prescribed for OSA and Eli Lilly has signed the Medicaid drug rebate agreement, the spokesperson said. 
    But if Zepbound is prescribed for weight loss, state Medicaid programs are not required to cover it. 
    The Biden administration in November proposed a rule that would allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight loss drugs for patients with obesity. The rule would give millions of people access to weekly injectables, but it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over the next decade.
    It is unclear if President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will pursue the rule. More

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    Fed officials are worried about the inflation impacts from Trump’s policies, minutes show

    Federal Reserve officials at their December meeting expressed concern about inflation and the impact that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could have on efforts to reduce it.
    The policymakers said they will move more slowly on interest rate cuts due to the uncertainty, minutes of the meeting showed Wednesday.
    The minutes included at least four mentions about the impact that changes in immigration and trade policy could have on the U.S. economy.

    Federal Reserve officials at their December meeting expressed concern about inflation and the impact that President-elect Donald Trump’s policies could have, indicating that they would be moving more slowly on interest rate cuts because of the uncertainty, minutes released Wednesday showed.Without calling out Trump by name, the meeting summary featured at least four mentions about the effect that changes in immigration and trade policy could have on the U.S. economy.Since Trump’s November election victory, he has signaled plans for aggressive, punitive tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada as well as the other U.S. trading partners. In addition, he intends to pursue more deregulation and mass deportations.However, the extent of what Trump’s actions will be and specifically how they will be directed creates a band of ambiguity about what is ahead, which Federal Open Market Committee members said would require caution.”Almost all participants judged that upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased,” the minutes said. “As reasons for this judgment, participants cited recent stronger-than-expected readings on inflation and the likely effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy.”
    FOMC members voted to lower the central bank’s benchmark borrowing rate to a target range of 4.25%-4.5%.

    However, they also reduced their outlook for expected cuts in 2025 to two from four in the previous estimate at September’s meeting, assuming quarter-point increments. The Fed cut a full point off the funds rate since September, and current market pricing is indicating just one or two more moves lower this year. Traders are assigning a nearly 100% chance that the FOMC will stand pat at its Jan. 28-29 meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge.
    Minutes indicated that the pace of cuts ahead indeed is likely to be slower.
    “In discussing the outlook for monetary policy, participants indicated that the Committee was at or near the point at which it would be appropriate to slow the pace of policy easing,” the document said.
    Moreover, members agreed that “the policy rate was now significantly closer to its neutral value than when the Committee commenced policy easing in September. In addition, many participants suggested that a variety of factors underlined the need for a careful approach to monetary policy decisions over coming quarters.”Those conditions include inflation readings that remain above the Fed’s 2% annual target, a solid pace of consumer spending, a stable labor market and otherwise strong economic activity in which gross domestic product had been growing at an above-trend clip through 2024.”A substantial majority of participants observed that, at the current juncture, with its policy stance still meaningfully restrictive, the Committee was well positioned to take time to assess the evolving outlook for economic activity and inflation, including the economy’s responses to the Committee’s earlier policy actions,” the minutes said.
    The summary further noted that some members had begun to incorporate policy changes into their forecasts, though how many did so was unclear.Officials stressed that future policy moves will be dependent on how the data unfolds and are not on a set schedule. The Fed’s preferred gauge showed core inflation running at a 2.4% rate in November, and 2.8% when including food and energy prices, compared with the prior year. The Fed targets inflation at 2%.

    In documents handed out at the meeting, most officials indicated that while they see inflation gravitating down to 2%, they don’t forecast that happening until 2027 and expect that near-term risks are to the upside.
    At his news conference following the Dec. 18 rate decision, Chair Jerome Powell likened the situation to “driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down.”That statement reflected that mindset of meeting participants, many of whom “observed that the current high degree of uncertainty made it appropriate for the Committee to take a gradual approach as it moved toward a neutral policy stance,” the minutes said.
    The “dot plot” of individual members’ expectations showed that they anticipate two more rate cuts in 2026 and possibly another one or two after, ultimately taking the long-run fed funds rate down to 3%.

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    Used vehicle prices expected to continue to stabilize in 2025 after pandemic volatility

    Used vehicle prices are expected to continue to stabilize in 2025, after several years of volatile pricing swings that began to normalize last year.
    Auto data and logistics firm Cox Automotive expects wholesale prices on its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index will end this year 1.4% higher than in December 2024.
    This year’s increase would compare with a 0.4% rise in 2024 following drops of 7% and nearly 15% in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

    Used Honda Pilots are displayed on the sales lot at Honda Marin on February 06, 2024 in San Rafael, California.
    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

    Used vehicle prices are expected to continue to stabilize in 2025 after swinging wildly for several years before starting to calm down in 2024.
    Auto data and logistics firm Cox Automotive expects wholesale prices on its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions, will end this year 1.4% higher than in December 2024. Pricing will fluctuate month to month due to selling seasonality and other factors, but it’s not expected to be as drastic as in previous years, according to Cox.

    This year’s increase would compare with a 0.4% rise in 2024 following drops of 7% and nearly 15% in 2023 and 2022, respectively, from inflated prices during the Covid-19 pandemic. Index used vehicle prices during that time increased at historically high rates of 46.6% in 2021 and 14.2% in 2020.
    During that time, availability of new vehicles fell to record lows due to supply chain and parts problems that interrupted vehicle production. The Biden administration noted the rise in used vehicle pricing was a key contribution to inflation during that time.
    The overall stability in pricing is a win for potential car buyers. However, used vehicle prices are still higher than they were before the pandemic. Retail prices for consumers traditionally follow changes in wholesale prices, but they have not fallen as quickly as wholesale prices in recent years.
    “We are ending some of the moves from the pandemic,” Jeremy Robb, Cox Automotive senior director of economic and industry insights, said during a call Wednesday. “We’re bound to see some volatility in our forecast.”
    The average index move at the end of each year is an increase of 2.3%, according to Cox data going back to 1997. That excludes the outlier years of 2021 and 2022.

    A regular month-to-month move in the index during the year is only 0.2%, Cox said.
    Cox reports the average listing price of a used vehicle was $25,565 to start December, up slightly from $25,493 the prior month but now down 3% from a year earlier.
    Used vehicle sales year over year are expected to increase by 1% to 37.8 million in 2025, according to Cox Automotive. That forecast includes 20.1 million in used vehicle retail sales, a 1.2% increase. More

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    NHL plans to host two outdoor games in Florida in 2026

    The National Hockey League announced it will hold two outdoor games in Florida next year.
    Hockey has seen real growth in the state over the last three decades.
    The events are expected to attract about 100,000 fans.

    Sean Pavone | Istock | Getty Images

    Outdoor hockey in Florida? The National Hockey League says it is up for the challenge.
    The NHL announced Wednesday that it will host its first outdoor games in the Sunshine State.

    The league will feature two matchups next year, one as part of the Winter Classic, followed by a Stadium Series game.
    The first game will feature the Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers at LoanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, on Jan. 2, 2026.
    And one month later, the NHL will do it all over again in Tampa, as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

    The NHL will play two outdoor hockey games in Florida in 2026

    But why host a winter sport outdoors in a warm-weather state?
    “Stanley Cups, strings of sellouts and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey throughout the state have demonstrated that Florida is a hockey hotbed,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.”Never let it be said that our League isn’t willing to accept a challenge,” he added.

    In order to pull this feat off, the league said that to keep the ice from melting it will use the LoanDepot Park roof in Miami until the game starts. The roof will then open for the game, held outdoors and under stadium lights.
    Tampa will be a bigger challenge because Raymond James Stadium does not have a roof. So the NHL said it will build a roof structure over the ice and strip it ahead of the game.
    The league expects an amount of prep and lead time similar to other outdoor events it has held. The NHL said it will take about two weeks to set up the stadiums.

    Photo of the billboard Tampa Sports erected back in 2018 to lure an outdoor game.

    The matchups will cost more than a traditional Winter Classic or Stadium Series game, Steve Mayer, president of NHL content and events, told CNBC.
    “It’s a lot more to build a structure that we’ve never had to build before,” he said. “I will say we are getting incredible contributions from the state of Florida sports commission that understands the value of a big event.”
    The league said it expects about 100,000 people to attend both events combined.
    Pro hockey in Florida has been a bright spot for the league. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers have won four collective Stanley Cups since they joined the NHL more than 30 years ago. The Panthers are the league’s reigning champions.
    That success is translating off the ice.
    The Lightning are now valued at $1.8 billion and the Panthers at $1.35 billion, according to CNBC’s Official NHL Valuations.
    The success of hockey in Florida is also creating a new generation of young fans.
    Ice hockey registrations in Florida are up 212% since 1999, with more than 21,000 registered players in the state last season, according to the NHL. Girls’ hockey participation alone in Florida is also on the uptick, up about 16% year over year and 56% over the past eight years, the league said.
    Mayer attributes the growth in Florida hockey to several factors: Snow birds in Florida have latched on to the game, and local communities have embraced the Panthers and Lightning.
    The NHL acknowledges that trying to hold outdoor games in Florida is risky but says the payoff is worth it.
    “We understand there’s some risk involved, but there’s risk in every one of these games that we do, no matter where we go,” said Mayer. “We just feel like Florida has embraced hockey and the growth of the game, it just felt like the perfect time.” More

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    Delta to link its loyalty program to Uber, ending partnership with Lyft

    Delta Air Lines’ SkyMiles members will be able to earn miles for Uber rides starting this spring.
    With the new deal, the airline is ending an eight-year partnership with Lyft.
    Delta’s credit card partner American Express also offers Uber credits with some of its cards.

    Travelers wait for an Uber ride-share vehicle at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2023.
    Mario Tama | Getty Images

    Delta Air Lines will link its lucrative SkyMiles loyalty program to Uber this spring, the companies announced Tuesday, as the airline ends its eight-year partnership with smaller ride-hailing rival Lyft.
    Once customer accounts are linked, Delta SkyMiles members can earn one mile per dollar spent on UberX airport rides, two miles for every dollar spent on “premium rides” such as Uber Comfort and Uber Black, and three miles per dollar on Uber Reserve trips, Uber said Tuesday. For Uber Eats food-delivery service, members will earn one mile for every dollar on orders over $40 from restaurants and grocery stores.

    “With a record number of travelers taking to the skies, we’re focused on helping to make your airport travel journey as efficient, affordable, and effortless as possible,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a news release.
    Delta and other airlines have expanded their partnerships for earning and using frequent flyer miles, part of loyalty programs that have generated billions of dollars for carriers. Other Delta partners include Starbucks, Hertz and Ticketmaster.
    Customers who have linked their Lyft accounts to Delta can earn miles through April 7, a Delta spokesperson said.
    “Customers with linked accounts will receive direct communication from Delta and Lyft in the coming days about the transition,” the spokesperson said. “We are appreciative of the partnership we’ve had with Lyft benefiting loyal customers who have collectively earned billions of miles.”

    Travelers wait for rideshare vehicles at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
    David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    The carrier did not comment on why it is switching ride-hailing partners, though Delta’s credit card partner American Express offers some cardholders credits to use with Uber for rides and food delivery.

    Delta, which reports quarterly earnings on Friday, estimated at an investor day in November that it would receive about $7 billion in 2024 from the AmEx partnership, and it set a long-term target of $10 billion a year.

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    Lyft had 24.4 million active riders as of the end of the third quarter, and customers booked more than 216 million rides on the platform in the three months ended Sept. 30, a record and up 16% from a year earlier.
    Uber, meanwhile, had 161 million monthly active users on both its ride-hailing and food delivery platforms at the end of September, and its customers posted more than 2.8 billion rides, which includes delivery, freight, ride-shares and private rides, in the third quarter, up 17% from the year-earlier period.
    Uber last year rolled out a shuttle service to New York’s LaGuardia Airport from Manhattan.
    Delta and Uber announced the new partnership at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, where Delta also said it would launch an artificial intelligence-powered “assistant” in its app and make upgrades to its in-flight entertainment systems. More

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    Frontier plans new flights from JFK to big American Airlines hubs Miami, LA and Dallas

    Frontier Airlines’ new service will go to cities that are big American Airlines hubs.
    Frontier said basic New York-Miami fares would start at $19 each way.
    Miami flights begin in March, Dallas service rolls out in April, and Los Angeles starts in May.

    Frontier Airlines
    Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    Discount carrier Frontier Airlines is beefing up service in New York, planning new nonstop routes to major American Airlines hubs with fares starting under $20.
    The airline plans to launch service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Miami International Airport on March 30.

    A roundtrip flight leaving on April 1 and returning a week later was showing as $38 on Frontier’s website for a basic ticket, which doesn’t include a seat assignment or carry-on bag and is nonrefundable. The same trip on those dates on American, which includes a carry-on bag and a nonalcoholic beverage and snack, was going for $142.

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    Frontier has a base in Miami, but the airport is dominated by American.
    Frontier is also launching flights between New York’s Kennedy Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth four times a week, starting April 22.
    On May 1, it plans to start daily nonstops between JFK and Los Angeles International Airport.
    Frontier has less than a 1% market share of the capacity out of the three main airports serving the New York City area, according to analytics firm Cirium.

    It launched JFK service last June and with this spring’s adds, it will have eight flights out of the airport.
    Frontier has been upbeat about its expansion and said it plans to get back to generating double-digit profit margins around mid-2025. The ultra-low-cost carrier’s shares are up 17% since the start of the year, and it raised its outlook for the fourth quarter from as little as breakeven to a 4% pretax margin.

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