Los Angeles  - Entertainment conglomerate Disney on Tuesday reported a 32-per-cent slide in first-quarter profits as recession woes hit all aspects of its sprawling empire from theme parks to DVD sales and from television advertising to merchandising.

In a conference call with analysts, Disney chief executive Robert Iger said that the economy was "probably the worst in our lifetime." But he also said that the emergence of digital media had profound effects on consumer leisure habits and on Disney's traditional television and movie businesses.

"The abundance of choice is allowing consumers to be more selective," he said. "This clearly has had an impact on broadcast television and may have a long-term potential impact on the DVD business."

"In essence, we don't believe the changes we are seeing in consumer behavior can all be attributed to a weak economy, and we feel it is important for us to address them as more than just cyclical issues," he said.

The company said that first-quarter net profit was 845 million dollars, or 45 cents per share, compared to 1.25 billion dollars, or 63 cents per share, in last year's first quarter. Those figures included one-time gains of 4 cents per share from the sale of Latin American pay TV companies. Revenue fell 8 per cent to 9.6 billion dollars, from 10.45 billion dollars in the same three-month period a year earlier.

Disney's theme parks saw operating income fall 24 per cent to 382 million dollars as revenue fell 4 per cent to 2.67 billion dollars, despite deep discounts.

Studio profit plunged 64 per cent to 187 million dollars on fewer top-selling DVD titles. Revenue of 1.95 billion dollars reflected a 26-per-cent drop from a year ago, when hits like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and High School Musical 2 propelled sales. (dpa)