So total they are a $51B enterprise. Well, Phill and Duck Dynasty are a $400M enterprise. That is just under one percent. If people don’t think one percent at that level matters, they don’t know squat about finance.
Duck Commander, which isn’t part of A&E, is the big supplier of that $400 million fortune. Disney is having a record year at the box office with its movies. The theme parks have broken all attendance records. ESPN is breaking records. Everything they touch turns to gold and DD wouldn’t even be a blip on their radar screen if it went away. They have too many other ways of making money. A&E as an entity would be hurt by the loss of the show but Disney would just shrug it off and move on. Even the huge hit they took on The Lone Ranger, over $100 million dollars, didn’t stop them from having a record year. Thinking one tv show, even if it’s the biggest show on cable, will dent Disney’s bottom line is wishful thinking.
Disney made over $400 million (just domestic) on Iron Man 3 this year. Plus another $268 million on Monsters University, $234 million on Oz, $200 million (and counting) on Thor, $191 million (and counting) on Frozen. DD is a drop in the bucket.