Disney extends Iger for another two years

He’s gotta clean more house, more execs to fire.

Well, his plan is to cut billions in costs. Should be an interesting next 24 months.

Coming to Hulu this fall: “Weekend at Bobby’s”. Two Imagineers carry around the corpse of Iger to keep the Board of Directors happy while they race around the clock to build the perfect CEO audio-animatronic.

James, someday soon I hope to share why your comment is so spot on and hilarious.

What I find interesting (and certainly coincidental) is that Michael Eisner's tenure as CEO lasted 21 years (1984 - 2005). Had Mr. Chapek never assumed the role of CEO, Mr. Iger's run (2005 - 2026) will be a stretch of (tah-daaaaaaah) 21 years.

The implications associated with Mr. Iger's contract extension resonate well beyond the walls of Disney's corporate headquarters. There is so much uncertainty in the entertainment industry. For Disney's board to choose a path of foundational stability doesn't come as much of a surprise. Over the past eight months we've witnessed Bob Chapek exiting the building, the battle with Wall Street weasel Nelson Peltz and the departure of Christine McCarthy.

Before the coaster continues to take trips around the track, it seems like Disney wants to punch the e-stop and inspect its corporate support columns for existing or potential wear and tear.

Probably a wise decision.

Schneeder your boy still fixated on the children maimed and killed by drag queens while the Florida auto and homeowner insurance market burns to the ground - which of the statements could be true ?

Robert, a fellow Northwestern grad. I was at the law school downtown, so cold there was nothing to do but get good grades!

Thrilled that Iger is sticking around, he knows how to manage people and make all of Disney's constituents--shareholders, guests, the media--happy. Here's hoping he can get costs under control, wash away Chapek's bad vibes from the parks (bring back fastpass, bring back MMH; etc.), and get Disney back to building goodwill instead of shedding it.

His interview today was so smooth, as always. He's focused on the right things--content, customer satisfaction--and rightfully waves away DeSantis' hateful lies without much worry, like any mature person would with a bully.

Wait for it ... Here it comes ... Brace yourselves ... I agree with thecolonel.

(Suddenly dogs and cats are living together)

In that CNBS video he pretty much just shrugs his shoulders and the concerns (real or pseudo) roll away like water off a duck's back. While we all stomp our feet as outside assessors, the guy keeps calm and carries on.

Iger is as creative an exec as Disney is going to put at the helm. He'll right the ship.

If you haven't, check out in-depth CNBC interview Iger gave where he acknowledges they need to cut down a bit on Marvel content, rein in budgets and that Pixar's last couple of outings were a bit lacking (I mean, like Luca and Elemental but both felt more by the numbers while Lightyear was a mess). So he's admitting past problems which is a good move.

@MikeW - His main comments regarding Pixar had to do with audience expectation for those properties to be offered via streaming quickly, so there was less immediacy/need to see it in the theater. He felt that Onward, Soul, and Turning Red all going straight to Disney+ lowered the expectations for Pixar films, so when theaters started opening back up after the Pandemic, the pattern of watching Pixar on Disney+ remained, and Disney pretty much obliged by quickly pushing those films onto the platform 45 days after their theatrical releases. It also didn't help that Pixar was essentially on a 2 movies-per-year production schedule, which diluted the product.

Ultimately, Disney+ is undermining the entire entertainment side of the company right now, and I think Iger is realizing that. It's a Catch-22, because they need to maintain subscribers for the service in order to generate revenue for productions. However, in order to keep subscribers, they have to promise new content. Content is increasingly costing more and more (and will likely be at a stand-still later tonight when SAG-AFTRA go on strike), and the platform is borrowing from projects that would otherwise be slated for theatrical or broadcast TV to prop itself up. However, doing that then undercuts those other channels and minimizes revenue generated through those platforms. It's a vicious cycle that I don't think anyone knows how to solve just yet.

Netflix obviously has the ultimate solution by purchasing foreign programming at cut-rate prices hoping for the next Squid Game, and buying cast off concepts that the big boys weren't willing to finance like Cobra Kai and Stranger Things - though when those become hits, they get expensive too.

The biggest problem Disney has is they need to not only supply Disney+ with programming, but now they need to feed Hulu too. There just isn't enough content to fill both services and to maintain subscriber satisfaction, so that will be a massive challenge for Iger beyond trying to restore prestige to their top line franchises (Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney Animation).

Not just Disney, Prime, Paramount and Peacock (which was so bad they needed a deal with Xfinity Comcast customers to go on for a while) also suffering with same problems. The pandemic made them think streaming was the future but now seeing the cracks as people are starting to turn back to physical media for shows rather than take the chance it vanishes from one service.

I am miffed at this trend (and not just Disney) of just removing shows altogether. Sure, "Willow" was bad but dropping it totally not a good look and goes for several shows. As you say, Catch-22, they need content but the cost of keeping a failed show on is harder these days.

I think it's going to be an approach of not "quality over quantity" but rather being more careful on budget and not overwhelming viewers with so much as in the past. Disney has been learning too much Star Wars at once not the best approach, make it more spread out for more impact so likewise Marvel is the same.

I've said this a lot lately, but the removing of content from streaming services lately has made me again repeat G'Kar from Babylon 5's line about going back to ones own time because "The future isn't what it used to be".

Its become clear that the entertainment industry is in shambles and no one has any idea what they're doing. Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and Paramount stocks have been getting clobbered as their streaming services bleed money. It will be interesting to see what happens.

To me, what this says is that despite everything they're saying, Disney is still in poor enough financial shape that they can't afford to take any risks by having someone new at the helm. As such, they're sticking with someone who has lots of experience with the company in hopes that there won't be any unexpected surprises during their tenure. Unfortunately, Disney's performance in the first half of 2023 hasn't exactly been great, so if things don't change in the near future they might be wishing they'd taken a gamble rather than passing the point of no return on a slow decline toward dissolution.

A few years back, I read a report that said that at least 40% of the existing retail stores needed to close before the industry would transition into a more stable competitive environment. I'm starting to wonder if the entertainment industry isn't in the same oversaturated situation. I've got cable with dozens of premium channels and apps like Prime, Hulu, Netflix, and Paramount+, and I'm starting to lose interest in all of them because it takes an organized plan just to find the shows that you've been watching let alone find a new series or movie that you want to watch. It just seems that there's too much content and not enough quality content.

Whatever happened with this?

BBC (05/11/23): "The move comes after Disney+ lost four million subscribers in the first three months of the year, and the firm is under pressure to make its streaming business profitable. The home of Mickey Mouse, Star Wars and Marvel movies intends to link Hulu and Disney+ into a 'one-app experience'."