Bob Iger Is Gearing Up To Sell Off Several Disney Assets
Image Source: CNN
If Hollywood was not in enough turmoil, Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, is planning to sell some of the assets the company currently owns. This comes at the same time actors joined writers in one of the biggest strikes in Hollywood recently. From what it looks like, the “entertainment bubble” Disney has created is getting ready to pop. As accusations are made back and forth between Iger and workers, Disney+ is also facing major competition from Netflix after the adoption of its new, ambitious marketing strategy.
The industry has reached a stagnation point this year. 2023 showed that even though superhero movies are great to keep the public busy, that is not enough. Considering major studios like Warner Bros. (which has its own set of problems) and Disney have based a good portion of their recent income and profits around these types of films, the current moment has shown that variety is healthy. Talking about Disney, Bloomberg affectionately calls its owner “Bob the Builder” - concerning how he acts when in charge, building the company up, not tearing it apart. It seems more likely that he is going to be a seller this time around.
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A recent Bloomberg newsletter highlights that Iger is aiming towards selling off part of Disney to have some breathing room:
“Iger put roughly a third of the company up for sale this week, declaring Disney’s linear TV assets noncore. That includes TV networks ABC, FX and Freeform. He also said Disney is looking for a strategic partner for ESPN — though he’s not willing to sell the whole thing (…) It’s not yet clear how serious Iger is about selling entire TV networks. ABC, for example, is key to retaining NBA rights. FX has been a key supplier of programming to Hulu, which Iger plans to keep and fold into Disney+.”
In addition to this, its streaming services, such as Disney+ and Hulu, are no longer giving huge profits like they did before the pandemic. The same article mentions that if Disney profited $24.8 billion in 2019, the closure of 2023’s third quarter was a big problem. The company is going to be $800 million down. Iger is going to have his hands tied this year. This is followed by the news that June was one of the best months in recent history for Netflix. After the prohibition of account sharing, around 3.5 million people created new accounts on the streaming giant.
Image Source: CTV News
Streaming services have completely transformed the industry. While cable television managed to share profits well (sort of), the ascension of streaming as a major tool for Hollywood left actors and writers marginalized by what they have been producing. Of course, we may think that actors live luxurious lifestyles. That may not be the case for most of them. A BBC article mentions the point of view from the actors’ side, showing the case of Orange Is The New Black actress Kimiko Glenn. She took to her Instagram profile the fact that she only got $27.30 from the residuals she deserved from acting. If one side has united behind a noble cause - the one of having a decent paycheck every month, CEOs like Iger work toward pleasing shareholders.
Mark Ruffalo said in the same article that men like him “created an empire of billionaires”, making them “fat cats”. Barking back at these call-outs from SAG-AFTRA, Iger said that
“I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”
Bob Iger has surely chosen a bad moment for a big move like selling part of Disney’s assets. Understandably, he sits in a position of great responsibility within the company, but he also has to consider the people below him. His actions affect everyone that works for Disney, in one way or the other. Moves like this in such volatile times may not be the best idea. Iger now is a chess player with his king threatened; any move has to be carefully considered before being made.
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