Disney-owned ESPN’s profits plunged 20% to $1.48 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2023, an SEC filing shows.

Sales declined 1.3% to $13.2 billion.

The financial report on ESPN, ESPN-related channels, ESPN+ and Star India provided a rare deep dive, as the media conglomerate seeks to find a buyer for what was Disney’s most prized franchise, the New York Post reports.

CEO Bob Iger has admitted that Disney’s cable sports and entertainment units have struggled as viewers increasingly turn to streaming services. ESPN has also been grappling with the rising price of sports rights fees.

This summer, Iger said Disney is looking for a partner to take a stake in ESPN, which has not only been Disney’s standout cable-TV network, but also of the entire cable television industry. Until recently, ESPN commanded some of the highest fees on TV.

Disney has reportedly had talks with Verizon and T-Mobile to distribute ESPN as a streaming service.

One Bloomberg analyst estimated ESPN could be worth up to $22 billion for prospective partners.

Disney is expected to fall tens of millions short of its 2024 goal for Disney+ and Hulu subscribers in the aftermath of big price increases for their streaming services and growing public anger over its woke policies.

In August, Iger announced dramatic increases for Disney+ and Hulu. Disney+ subscribers will see their monthly bill grow by $3 to almost $14 monthly – close to a staggering 27% increase.

Similarly Hulu, Disney's virtual pay TV service, will grow by $3 to $18 a month — representing a 20% hike. On top of this, Disney has been cracking down on password-sharing.

Last week, Disney raised ticket prices as much as 10% for its Disneyland resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida,

Separately, in February, Iger laid out plans for a $5.5 billion cost-cutting spree.

In early 2022, Disney's political demands in Florida that children as young as the third grade be taught sexual matters sparked a national furor among conservatives, with boycotts against the entertainment giants services like Disney+ and Hulu.

Last month stock analysts noted the company's market cap had fallen from $350.09 billion on March 22, 2022, to $154.04 billion — a decline of $196.05 billion — or a 56% drop.

Disney (DIS) stock has been trading in a narrow range at nine-year lows, opening at $85.26 Thursday.