Walt Disney Co. (DIS) fell in extended trading after announcing decreased income at cable networks including ESPN, the company’s most profitable venture.

Disney dropped as much as 3.3 percent to $64.95 after the release of its fourth-quarter results yesterday. The stock declined 2.7 percent to $67.15 at the close in New York against a 35 percent gain this year, compared with a 19 percent advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU).

The division that usually produces 40 percent of Disney’s profits has been hampered by higher programming costs for football and baseball. Cable earnings, mostly ESPN and the Disney Channels, slumped 7 percent yesterday.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said yesterday that they “remain confident in ESPN’s value and continued reign as the leader in sports.”

Net income of the quarter rose 12 percent to $1.39 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared to last year, including growth at the theme parks, consumer products and film studio.

Profit exceeded the 76-cent average estimated by analysts. The firm’s revenue grew 7.3 percent to $11.6 billion in the period ended 28th September, beating the $11.4 billion average of projections.

Such gains, however, were overshadowed by the rare profit fall in cable, with ESPN facing new competition for Fox Sports 1. In addition to higher programming costs, Disney quoted $172 million less in deferred affiliate revenue after recording the payments earlier in the year.