Disney (DIS) - Get Report reports its December quarter earnings at the close of trading on Tuesday, and here's the quick and dirty:

Wall Street analysts are expecting earnings for Disney's fiscal first quarter to total $1.50 a share. Net income is expected to come in at $2.37 billion on revenue of $15.3 billion, according to the average forecast of 33 analysts as surveyed by FactSet.

As for what's really on everyone's mind, that would be CEO Bob Iger's non-retirement plans, ESPN's subscriber totals and theme park attendance (especially in Florida where Comcast (CMCSA) - Get Report Universal has become more competitive).

It appears that Iger may not actually retire next year as the company had been planning, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people close to the company. The big puzzle has always been finding Iger's replacement and identifying that person remains as tricky as it was in 2014 when Disney's board extended his contract to June 2018.

Iger, who turns 66 on Friday, was promoted to CEO in 2005, and hasn't had a chief operating officer, traditionally the position of an heir apparent, since Tom Staggs left the company last spring.

Disney shares have gained 5.1% this year compared to the benchmark S&P 500's advance of 2.4%. In Tuesday trading, Disney shares were down slightly to $109.31.

Disney, of course, remains a giant media conglomerate, and therefore managing its many parts is a difficult task. Unlike its rivals, Disney operates in all facets of the media except one: direct-to-consumer (More on that below).

So, even though the film business is stacked with big-tent franchises and theme parks are poised for another build-out in 2018, Disney's cable-TV networks grab a lot of the public's attention. Disney's Media Networks business, which includes ESPN, ABC and other cable-TV channels, accounts for 44% of the company's earnings, excluding some costs.

Consequently, investor attention is disproportionately focused on ESPN, its largest network. Iger tempered expectations for the current quarter back in November when he said that the four-year decline in ESPN's subscriber base would eventually be offset by the growth of online cable-TV platforms such as AT&T's (T) - Get Report DirecTV Now and Dish Network's (DISH) - Get Report SlingTV.

Nonetheless, skeptics fret that ESPN's high fixed costs -- long-term sports contracts -- will increasingly cut into Disney profits as younger subscribers embrace skinny bundles that don't include the network, resulting in continued subscriber loses. At present, subscriptions to traditional cable-TV services are falling at a pace of 1% to 2% per year.

Whether the new online pay-TV services will offset that decline may be the most pressing question confronting media company executives and their investors. UBS media analyst Doug Mitchelson counters that ESPN remains a hot commodity which traditional and digital pay-TV operators are more than willing to pay for.

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Disney CEO Bob Iger

"Despite concerns, we believe Media Networks should resume sustainable modest growth as ESPN affiliate renewals pick up at the same time that cost growth slows (no major sports renewals next 5 years)," Mitchelson said. "Worth noting, virtual [cable-TV operators] could potentially improve ESPN's affiliate revenue trends in 2017 and beyond if they are successful."

Indeed, obsessing over ESPN's subscriber numbers may be like failing to see the forest for trees.

The real issue bedeviling Iger and Disney is distribution. As Iger also said in November, owning the best content in the world isn't good enough unless Disney owns a means to directly bring that content to subscribers. It's why Time Warner (TWX) is hoping it can close its sale to AT&T.

Iger knows full well that Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) - Get Report , Facebook (FB) - Get Report Twitter (TWTR) - Get Report or Amazon (AMZN) - Get Report etc. could acquire sports rights and other media content to challenge Disney. Yes, Disney owns a one-third stake in BAM Tech, but even that technology is no substitute for a direct digital channel.

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Disney's "success will be determined by the ability to bundle media with more services," Barclays media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar said in a Feb. 6 investor note. "It will be tough, in our opinion, for Disney to build these capabilities [organically]. Consequently, we believe if Mr. Iger does extend his contract for a few more years, he could focus more on gaining a scaled distribution platform."

Until Iger resolves the distribution conundrum, he is sure to be dogged by questions of whether Disney will buy Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report , a potentially huge, paradigm-shifting acquisition that would entail taking on a business that is too far afield.

On theme parks, Disney is getting more competition from Comcast's Universal, which has bolstered its Orlando attractions with Harry Potter and other new attractions. Investors will be watching parks for any signs of slow growth.

As for Disney's film business, the December quarter was all about hits Moana and Rogue One. Looking at the rest of 2017, Iger sought to temper 2017 expectations during that same November conference call, pointing instead to a 2018 movie slate that will include two Star Wars films, two from Pixar and four from Marvel.

Watch: Here's How I'm Playing Disney's Earnings Report Today by Real Money's Stephen Guilfoyle: