News Josh D’Amaro Named Next CEO of The Walt Disney Company

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They can. Just institute 180 days before streaming industry wide.

They’re tanking like 80% of their releases…which is why they have to put it on steam. Someone wants to watch bad marvel movies 6 months from now? I think not

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Maybe. Personally, I lean more towards they have convinced themselves that an external hire wouldn't "understand" Disney well enough to run the company and so they are afraid to go external. Doesn't mean it can't end up in the same place though if they aren't careful.

This is it. And it’s wrong…and it’s 100% intentional to insulate the leadership that has obvious deficiencies for many years.

“You don’t know how hard it is…so nobody can tell me I’m wrong.”

Think about it: doesn’t it scan like a xerox?

No doubt Dis has underperformed the market but I really think the stock price argument doesn't completely hold up the way people typically try to use it. If you are saying it hasn't been great since 2015, yep, that would be accurate. If you are saying that is an indication of how bad Iger is or management in general then I at least partially disagree.

2015 had a pretty key symbolic botch that has only festered since. The whole picture is reflective of a few turning points.

 

[Tha Realest]

Dana won the consolation prize and the "newly created" position was just a kludge to satisfy any complaints about gender playing a role in the decision to pick Josh. The creative position is malarkey, the fair comparison is to KK, and she has just as much "creative" ability as KK and we all saw how Star Wars turned out. But Dana was also in a position to make decisions on a lot of Marvel and other D+ slop that came to air as well....so....yeah.

If anything her being there creates a headache for Josh, because now Alan (person who actually is good at his job) now reports to her (and she was terrible at her job). It's now a question of who leaves for greener pastures...I hear Netflix needs a new studio head soon and has lots of $$$ to throw around.

With regard to Bob, if or when Josh flames out, rest assured Bob is waiting and he'll push everyone aside to come back on a "temporary" basis, including Dana.

I disagree. She has a great track record with the Fox assets (especially the streaming/TV side) and would make a ton of sense as CEO. Josh has comparatively zero/zilch experience in that regard, and having that little experience in that role for what is still considered a media conglomerate wouldn’t have gone over well. If anything, she’s a bit of institutional insurance rather than some sort of DEI type consolation.

 

[monothingie]

I disagree. She has a great track record with the Fox assets (especially the streaming/TV side) and would make a ton of sense as CEO. Josh has comparatively zero/zilch experience in that regard, and having that little experience in that role for what is still considered a media conglomerate wouldn’t have gone over well. If anything, she’s a bit of institutional insurance rather than some sort of DEI type consolation.

What?
Look at the train wreck of D+ and Linear that were her direct reports. Her record at Disney is not great.

 

[HauntedPirate]

They’re tanking like 80% of their releases…which is why they have to put it on steam. Someone wants to watch bad marvel movies 6 months from now? I think not

You misspelled - "We at Disney had yet another outstanding year at the box office, with three billion-dollar movies!!!" (according to Bob)

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I disagree. She has a great track record with the Fox assets (especially the streaming/TV side) and would make a ton of sense as CEO. Josh has comparatively zero/zilch experience in that regard, and having that little experience in that role for what is still considered a media conglomerate wouldn’t have gone over well. If anything, she’s a bit of institutional insurance rather than some sort of DEI type consolation.

You can disagree on the motives…but there really isn’t an argument it’s not a consolation prize.

That kinda thing happens in business all the time. Far more than we probably know too…because usually the loser doesn’t take the second place medal and leaves

 

[DCBaker]

A note from Bob Iger to D23 Members:

 

[monothingie]

And Fixed.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And Fixed.

View attachment 906683

 

[Andrew C]

And Fixed.

View attachment 906683

I was scanning through the whole message trying to find what you changed. Then got to the bottom.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I was scanning through the whole message trying to find what you changed. Then got to the bottom.

I thought it was discreet and classy…

So I was expecting much worse

 

[SamusAranX]

I don’t expect Josh to make drastic changes. He can’t and would never lead a price cut. But maybe bringing some lost value back to WDW. That would be signal to me it’s not the same old same old. But I’m not holding my breath

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don’t expect Josh to make drastic changes. He can’t and would never lead a price cut. But maybe bringing some lost back to WDW. That would be signal to me it’s not the same old same old. But I’m not holding my breath

They’re overpriced. Parks can’t carry their studios load…it’s already gone to far

Price cuts? No. But if he can’t reverse that perception through smoke and mirrors somehow? He’s DOA.

The math won’t work

 

[CoastalElite64]

 

[doctornick]

This is why I think D+ would be smart to offer a free (ad based) version, they could keep their paid versions also, YouTube offers a paid (ad free) version that continues to grow, I view the free version like the dealer giving someone a free sample to get them hooked so they buy more. Even if they never pay for the paid version as long as they keep watching the ads will make up for lost revenue.

That was basically the Peacock model when it launched and, suffice to say, it did not go all that well.

Obviously there is a place for ad supported otherwise free streaming (FAST services) but it's a completely different niche than what Netflix, Disney+, etc are trying to fill.

 

[doctornick]

Yoshi is literally a child’s people mover, but I agree it needed to be longer

Mario kart agreed. I just think the problem is not the attraction itself but that you really can’t replicate the frenetic pace of actual Mario kart as a ride

Loved DK. Too short though. So wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes for it.

Surprised you didn’t mention MoM. HP isn’t my cup of tea but it’s very well built

MoM is a fun ride, but I felt like it was basically just Gringotts again with a different skin.

It would be nice if they would some day build a Harry Potter ride that wasn't either a roller coaster or something that is a constant "something goes terribly wrong" jostling you about the whole time. Yes, the Hogwart's Express but that strikes me as more transportation with some nice elements than a full blown ride. I'd love to get a proper dark ride for Potter on the scale of HM/POTC

 

[Kamikaze]

They’re tanking like 80% of their releases…which is why they have to put it on steam. Someone wants to watch bad marvel movies 6 months from now? I think not

The releases are tanking partially because people are waiting for streaming.

 

[JD80]

I don’t expect Josh to make drastic changes. He can’t and would never lead a price cut. But maybe bringing some lost back to WDW. That would be signal to me it’s not the same old same old. But I’m not holding my breath

No one will ever do price cuts at WDW. However there is a lot of room for discount creativity that drives down the cost of tickets (which is mostly the culprit for an expensive Disney vacation). The buy 4 get 2 discount going on for the summer is a great place to start.

What Josh can do at WDW would be to add in more services like the bring items back to the hotel for you and things like that. Increasing the wages of front line CMs who are your every day ambassadors to the brand. Putting a higher emphasis on traditions etc.

We'll see, won't happen over night. I already like the direction of the parks over the last 2 years. Some very subtle and not so subtle changes that I think start with him.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The releases are tanking partially because people are waiting for streaming.

Quite a pickle, huh?

But generally people will still go to movies they want to see in the theaters…it’s not a conspiracy against certain studios

 

[SamusAranX]

No one will ever do price cuts at WDW. However there is a lot of room for discount creativity that drives down the cost of tickets (which is mostly the culprit for an expensive Disney vacation). The buy 4 get 2 discount going on for the summer is a great place to start.

What Josh can do at WDW would be to add in more services like the bring items back to the hotel for you and things like that. Increasing the wages of front line CMs who are your every day ambassadors to the brand. Putting a higher emphasis on traditions etc.

We'll see, won't happen over night. I already like the direction of the parks over the last 2 years. Some very subtle and not so subtle changes that I think start with him.

You read my mind, I had to edit my OP as it was meant to say “bring back lost value”.

It’s a dead horse, but bringing back resort perks or adding new ones; getting creative with perceived or concrete discounts and deals as you mentioned; and so on, would really ease my cynicism.

Will probably be resuming my AP again after a two year hiatus as my family fell into the DVC black hole and will be going to the WDW 5-6 times a year. Will be very curious to get a boots on the ground feel for how things are