I agree Disney is unique and it has always been unique. While I think we can both agree that the current TWDC is not what Walt Disney may have envisioned, while you would rather break it up. I prefer to see TWDC continue to try and inject their essence into these new brands and businesses. I grew up watching Disney Afternoon, Disney Movies, Star Wars and reading Marvel comics they all have equal weight to me. If TWDC bought Hasbro and added GI Joe and Transformers to their IP Army I would have a complete and utter nerdgasm. But while I'm at nerd at heart, my head is focused on business survival and synergy and I think these moves to redefine TWDC have strengthened the company in ways that will pay off for the next 20+ years. (Added Hasbro wouldn't fit the current licensing model and would add unnecessary cost overhead to a pure profit business)
They have strengthened the company's portfolio, and coffers, but also harmed the core BRAND. I don't want to see the company broken up, although I do believe Disney isn't capable of running its P&R unit to the standards it created and others have surpassed in areas.
And let's be serious, Disney wasn't headed to the trash pile of history without Marvel and Lucas. You can easily make the case for why Pixar was a must buy simply because animation is the life blood of this company. Companies can survive and thrive and grow without changing ...Chik-Fil-A doesn't have to open on Sundays or add burgers or pizza to its menu lineup to stay relevant. ... Mercedes Benz doesn't have to add a $17,000 auto to its lineup or start selling boats.
The issue, and it is one on Wall Street, is what happens when Disney isn't really about Disney anymore?
My view is that Eisner resuscitated TWDC and protected it from becoming Hanna Barbera and Iger has built on that to ensure that TWDC has a long term future. That doesn't mean that I believe in everything that each man has done at the helm, but that the broad strokes of what they have done is positive.
When we compare Disney 2015 to Disney 1959 or 1971 or 1982 we don't also look at how media companies are run in 2015. We don't compare Les Moonves salary to Iger's, we don't look at the way employees are treated at Sony Pictures or Dreamworks, we don't compare TWDC stock buy backs to its Fortune 500 peers.
I agree that Disney is different and should be held to a higher standard, but to fail to acknowledge the realities of 2015 seems short sighted and relegates these discussions to fringe vs thoughtful analysis and opinion.
MDE did far more than keep Disney from becoming Hanna Barbera, he created a media powerhouse and grew (again, huge difference from creating versus buying ... I can buy you a 5-star dinner, but I won't! But I can't cook you one. Disney has become meek and doesn't take chances and when it actually creates something valuable ...like Frozen ... It's shocked and doesn't know how to react. Worlds different than Disney under Michael) the company organically in so many natural, yet never tried, ways.
Bob is like the spoiled fanboi who uses Mommy and Daddy's money to visit every theme park on Earth, all while crowing about how special and worldly he is. It's incredibly easy to do what Bob is doing. Doing what Michael did took guts and courage and instincts. It find,t always work and wasn't pretty when it didn't, but jt did work far more often than it didn't.
I do look at how media companies are run in 2015. I work in the business. I have family in the business. I follow it ... Daily. What good would it do to compare Les's salary to Bob's? What would you glean from that? That CEOs are overpaid and overvalued. ...How does comparing the treatment of employees at smaller companies compare to Disney as even a talking point? I guess you could compare how Sony or Dreamworks treat their employees versus just the Walt Disney Studios employees but to what end? I suppose there might be some value in the stock buybacks point, but my contention is still that Disney has always been special and unique.
I'd just add that while we often go off on tangents, myself included, much of this discussion isn't fringe. Many of these points are what gets tossed around from taco trucks in Burbank to lunches on Wall Street among people in the business and people paid very well to observe and advise on it.
