Bob Iger Returns/Disney CEO Thread (2022)

[deadbydawn]

It's going to be interesting to see what continues to come out in the coming weeks/months, along with the changes Iger will be making. Within a few hours of this announcement happening on Sunday I had heard some things from reputable people I know and with all these articles coming out now, it sounds like what I heard was pretty spot on. Not sure if this has been posted yet, but here is another peek inside the halls in Burbank right now.

The Disney CEO drama is "f***ing insane" for those who were there

The Disney CEO drama is "f***ing insane" for those who were there

www.avclub.com

 

[Fear2010]

Apparently, the rumors about Apple buying Disney is still going on.

 

[shiekra38]

It's going to be interesting to see what continues to come out in the coming weeks/months, along with the changes Iger will be making. Within a few hours of this announcement happening on Sunday I had heard some things from reputable people I know and with all these articles coming out now, it sounds like what I heard was pretty spot on. Not sure if this has been posted yet, but here is another peek inside the halls in Burbank right now.

The Disney CEO drama is "f***ing insane" for those who were there

The Disney CEO drama is "f***ing insane" for those who were there

www.avclub.com

“Bob Iger messed up succession at Disney for 15 years. When he finally did it, it was a colossal mess-up,” a “Disney veteran” source tells the outlet. “It’s extraordinary that [Iger] is the guy they chose to come back. It speaks to his reputation and the board’s lack of options and ineptitude. How could they have gotten to this place? How could this happen?”

An interesting point for sure

 

[Nick]

Apparently, the rumors about Apple buying Disney is still going on.

The only thing Apple would have interest in is Disney’s Studios and streaming services. They have no interest in running theme parks.

 

[OLSinFLA]

The only thing Apple would have interest in is Disney’s Studios and streaming services. They have no interest in running theme parks.

While probably not, I do remember people saying once Comcast bought NBC/Universal they'd dump the parks. And now look

 

[DK745]

While probably not, I do remember people saying once Comcast bought NBC/Universal they'd dump the parks. And now look

Comcast acquiring NBCUniversal happened around the same time Potter opened at IOA. It’s really hard to screw up the results from that. Im just glad they took that as a sign to invest in the parks.

I’m sure any new potential owner of Disney would do the same.

 

[Nick]

Comcast acquiring NBCUniversal happened around the same time Potter opened at IOA. It’s really hard to screw up the results from that. Im just glad they took that as a sign to invest in the parks.

I’m sure any new potential owner of Disney would do the same.

Wait, do the same how? Buy the company when they just happen to be opening the biggest game changing theme park land of all time?

Disney isn’t building one of those right now and let’s be honest, Comcast stumbled ass backwards into the theme park business because of the success of Potter at around the time of purchase.

 

[DK745]

Wait, do the same how? Buy the company when they just happen to be opening the biggest game changing theme park land of all time?

Disney isn’t building one of those right now and let’s be honest, Comcast stumbled ass backwards into the theme park business because of the success of Potter at around the time of purchase.

True. Not sure what all they have in the pipeline for the future. I’m just assuming they would invest because hey it’s Disney.

 

[shiekra38]

Well that's one way to find your replacement

Still...Apple and Disney merging feels...illegal lol

 

[rageofthegods]

Yeah, I really don't see Apple + Disney or Netflix + Disney happening. DOJ and EU would come down like a sack of bricks. Republicans would push for hearings and Democrats would push antitrust bills. Too much of a risk.

Maybe Disney buys a video game company. It'd definitely be a nice new arm for their consumer products division and could give them an injection of IP but it'd be expensive with today's interest rates and awfully speculative considering the Metaverse stuff that fueled rosy outlooks is looking like smoke and mirrors.

I don't think Iger pursues a big merger considering streaming losses are big and debt from the Fox merger is still a problem. Unlike Chapek, I doubt he'll let Hulu go to market or flip it back onto Comcast, so he'll also have a big check to write sometime in the near future.

 

[tielo]

What Will Iger Do With ESPN and Hulu? (Published 2022)

With Robert Iger back in charge at Disney, his to-do list takes shape: turn around the streaming businesses, and groom a successor.

www.nytimes.com

As far as Hulu goes, i've said for awhile they just need to pony up and buy it off of Comcast so they can integrate it into Disney+.

That is already in place when Disney did the Fox thing. It happens in 2024 and costs Disney a minimum of $27B (depending how well Hulu is doing.

 

[tielo]

When I look at the whole thing I am worried for Disney long term.
Iger has a short term of 2 years. In that short term he needs to make more profit and reduce debt.
There are 2 things he can do short term:
1. Asking more for their products and delivering less.
2. Asking less for their products and delivering less.

Number 1 is been going on for too long and I expect they are scraping the barrel.
Number 2 will see an uptick in subscriptions and visitors but cheapens the brand even more.

Another option is buying stuff that is successful and slap the Disney brand on it (Star Wars, Marvel, Muppets, Fox) but those investments cost a ton of money and most of them didn't fare well under Disney due to the lack of talent in the company.
In the end I don't see a scenario that would lead to a successful future if there isn't a long term plan. A long term plan doesn't deliver the short term profits they want/need. A short term plan can produce more profit but make the future more problematic.

 

[Mad Dog]

When I look at the whole thing I am worried for Disney long term.
Iger has a short term of 2 years. In that short term he needs to make more profit and reduce debt.
There are 2 things he can do short term:
1. Asking more for their products and delivering less.
2. Asking less for their products and delivering less.

Number 1 is been going on for too long and I expect they are scraping the barrel.
Number 2 will see an uptick in subscriptions and visitors but cheapens the brand even more.

Another option is buying stuff that is successful and slap the Disney brand on it (Star Wars, Marvel, Muppets, Fox) but those investments cost a ton of money and most of them didn't fare well under Disney due to the lack of talent in the company.
In the end I don't see a scenario that would lead to a successful future if there isn't a long term plan. A long term plan doesn't deliver the short term profits they want/need. A short term plan can produce more profit but make the future more problematic.

One big number is to cut down the amount of money being poured into new content for Disney +. That's the black hole. Even Netflix saw the error of this and has cut new content investment drastically....Disney has plenty of film and TV catalogue, underused, that they can use.....One constant in the film and tv industry over the decades is that it's extremely difficult to predict whether a new tv series, or a new movie, will succeed, and be profitable. The success rate , in reality, is miniscule. A pure crapshoot. Chapek was throwing too much money against the wall and hoping it would stick. History shows that doesn't ever work. Cut the black hole new content money, and the balance sheet will get better. Streaming will never be the blessing the optimists thought. People can only watch, or want to watch, so much stuff. Investors are finally seeing the error of the overt optimism, and it's time for Disney to accept the reality too. Disney + will only end up as another contributing division, if handled with common business sense, not the division that the entire company revolves around.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Really intriguing to see if Iger wants to grow the company or (in my opinion) shrink it down a bit. Streaming is a great product but everyone assumed they could pull off a Netflix. Sooner or later you'll be able to bundle various services together ala cable tv.

If Disney grows, I expect them to tackle a video game company, not much else in the movie/tv industry for them to acquire easily. It's the last major entertainment venue before casinos.

If Iger doesn't think he can establish a new CEO or improve the company culture, a merger/sale is possible.

 

[Fear2010]

If Disney grows, I expect them to tackle a video game company, not much else in the movie/tv industry for them to acquire easily. It's the last major entertainment venue before casinos.

If only they didn’t shut down their video game division. I definitely don’t want them to buy any 3rd Party Publishers nor Sony.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

If only they didn’t shut down their video game division. I definitely don’t want them to buy any 3rd Party Publishers nor Sony.

I think it's inevitable that Disney buys a 3rd party for video games. They themselves don't know how to make games, but pulling a Pixar/Marvel is a great strategy for them.

 

[Nick]

That is already in place when Disney did the Fox thing. It happens in 2024 and costs Disney a minimum of $27B (depending how well Hulu is doing.

It has to happen per contract in 2024. However, the two sides can come to an agreement early if the two sides wanted.

 

[Nick]

I think it's inevitable that Disney buys a 3rd party for video games. They themselves don't know how to make games, but pulling a Pixar/Marvel is a great strategy for them.

Disney has been doing a good job of spreading their IPs out among different developers to a pretty good amount of success with games like Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Jedi: Fallen Order, Battlefront 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy have all been varying degrees of great to very enjoyable.

Hell, even the recently released Iron Man VR game is pretty good as playing as Tony Stark/Iron Man translates really well to VR.

The Avengers was mostly a fail, although some of the DLC was really good (which to their credit was all free and there was a lot of) along with the 2015 Battlefront being a big fail.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

 

[Nick]

From what I heard Chapek was supposed to be at Dodgers Stadium that night on stage introducing Elton John on Disney+ before he found out the news.