Could Iger decide to pull a Zaslav...

[Elijah Abrams]

...and make cuts, cancellations, and write-offs at Disney, like WarnerDiscovery? Similar things have been happening at other media companies. Take a look at AMC Networks. They cancelled and wrote off Pantheon, despite being renewed for a second season. Netflix is still axing shows, including Inside Job just recently.

 

[Disney Irish]

...and make cuts, cancellations, and write-offs at Disney, like WarnerDiscovery? Similar things have been happening at other media companies. Take a look at AMC Networks. They cancelled and wrote off Pantheon, despite being renewed for a second season. Netflix is still axing shows, including Inside Job just recently.

Disney for all its issues right now is way more healthy financially than WB-Discovery. So while I guess its possible I wouldn't expect much of a "Zaslav" type of slashing at Disney. And for sure wouldn't expect Disney to just shelve a completed project and write it off like WB-Discovery did with Batgirl.

Overall I see it as simple as, there will be some restructuring (already happening), there will be projects that will be cancelled, and there will be projects that will be delayed, and budgets will be tightened. We'll find out next month what Iger says publicly at the next earnings call.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Disney for all its issues right now is way more healthy financially than WB-Discovery. So while I guess its possible I wouldn't expect much of a "Zaslav" type of slashing at Disney. And for sure wouldn't expect Disney to just shelve a completed project and write it off like WB-Discovery did with Batgirl.

Overall I see it as simple as, there will be some restructuring (already happening), there will be projects that will be cancelled, and there will be projects that will be delayed, and budgets will be tightened. We'll find out next month what Iger says publicly at the next earnings call.

To quote @wdwfan4ver in my 2023 Disney predictions thread:

You are very likely being wrong on the amount of Debt the Walt Disney Company has. When people talk about slashing debt, they are talking about the whole debt Disney has, not just from one transaction. As of October 1, 2022, The Walt Disney Company has a debt of 48.4 billion dollars. Here is my proof.

DIS | Total Debt Chart and History 2009-2024 | DiscoverCI

Walt Disney Co's Total Debt is $47.6 Billion for the quarter ended June 29th, 2024. Since 2009, DIS's total debt has increased from...

www.discoverci.com

I know you still have October 2nd to December 30th of 2022 for taking away debt, but taking away 42.9 billion dollars to your claim of 5.5 billion dollars is far fetched.

 

[Disney Irish]

To quote @wdwfan4ver in my 2023 Disney predictions thread:

And? How does this prove that Iger is going start acting like Zaslav and slashing everything under the sun?

Why don’t you wait and see what happens during next months earnings call. That will give us a real good indication on how Iger plans to steer the ship in a better direction.

 

[TsWade2]

I hope not! David Zaslav is the worst CEO ever! He hates animation which is why he cancelled a lot've animated films and animated series.

 

[celluloid]

At least WB has a way to watch almost all of their classics on HBO Max. They also have Hulu with Animaniacs available, Tiny Toons and a reboot of Animaniacs.

I can even watch Freakazoid! on Tubi for free. So I got to give it to WB there for keeping those alive somewhere.

 

[Disney Irish]

At least WB has a way to watch almost all of their classics on HBO Max. They also have Hulu with Animaniacs available, Tiny Toons and a reboot of Animaniacs.

I can even watch Freakazoid! on Tubi for free. So I got to give it to WB there for keeping those alive somewhere.

For now.....

They have been pulling old series off of HBO Max left and right. So its more likely those "classics" which aren't making the company money now will be pulled off as well. For example Animaniacs is only getting one more season on Hulu and then its cancelled (again).

Zaslav has pretty much telegraphed that he plans to turn WB into a shell of its former self and lean into Reality TV like he did at Discovery.

 

[celluloid]

For now.....

They have been pulling old series off of HBO Max left and right. So its more likely those "classics" which aren't making the company money now will be pulled off as well. For example Animaniacs is only getting one more season on Hulu and then its cancelled (again).

Zaslav has pretty much telegraphed that he plans to turn WB into a shell of its former self and lean into Reality TV like he did at Discovery.

Well that is partly because as much as I love that Animaniacs came back, it was a gift that it happened and was just not as good.

Disney Plus has the ability, and has never offered anything like that of their classics. Years in and so much is still missing, even obvious easy ones. So WB won that one in my book with their libraries elsewhere.

Iger is the bigger crook in this case to me.

 

[Disney Irish]

Well that is partly because as much as I love that Animaniacs came back, it was a gift that it happened and was just not as good.

Disney Plus has the ability, and has never offered anything like that of their classics. Years in and so much is still missing, even obvious easy ones. So WB won that one in my book with their libraries elsewhere.

Iger is the bigger crook in this case to me.

It will be a short lived win then. Later this year when the new "Max" service launches to replace HBO Max and Discovery+ don't expect a lot of those "classics" to be there or on any other service.

 

[celluloid]

It will be a short lived win then. Later this year when the new "Max" service launches to replace HBO Max and Discovery+ don't expect a lot of those "classics" to be there or on any other service.

Again, that is a maybe, but at least they offered their almost entire classic library from the get go.

I can't even watch most of the things that were in my Walt Disney Treasures DVDs on Disney Plus, or Make Mine Music.

 

[Disney Irish]

Again, that is a maybe, but at least they offered their almost entire classic library from the get go.

I can't even watch most of the things that were in my Walt Disney Treasures DVDs on Disney Plus, or Make Mine Music.

I agree that D+ should have had more of the Disney Vault released to D+ initially. But I look at this in terms of the long game. If Zaslav is pulling the content off of all services to lock it away then how different is it to D+ currently? So in that respect its a "tie", with D+ leading in terms of more content going into the service. On the longer term, I still expect Iger (or whomever replaces him in the next couple years) to release more of the Disney Vault to D+. And in that respect it'll be a "win" when it happens.

So be happy that for the short period of time that HBO Max was around you got to see some of the "classic" WB stuff.

 

[celluloid]

I agree that D+ should have had more of the Disney Vault released to D+ initially. But I look at this in terms of the long game. If Zaslav is pulling the content off of all services to lock it away then how different is it to D+ currently? So in that respect its a "tie", with D+ leading in terms of more content going into the service. On the longer term, I still expect Iger (or whomever replaces him in the next couple years) to release more of the Disney Vault to D+. And in that respect it'll be a "win" when it happens.

So be happy that for the short period of time that HBO Max was around you got to see some of the "classic" WB stuff.

I focus on what I know has happened for sure.

I don't see the long game deal because I don't have much faith that Iger is going to wake up tomorrow, or in the next months and have Make Mine Music and other classics all of a sudden be something he rushes to put on. It is not like they have been adding classics that frequently or anything.

I can only say what HBOMAX and WB's Animation has done, and that is given me a chance to watch the entire known library and a lot of 90s toons that I enjoyed and in some cases, new content for them.

 

[Disney Irish]

I focus on what I know has happened for sure.

I don't see the long game deal because I don't have much faith that Iger is going to wake up tomorrow, or in the next months and have Make Mine Music and other classics all of a sudden be something he rushes to put on. It is not like they have been adding classics that frequently or anything.

I can only say what HBOMAX and WB's Animation has done, and that is given me a chance to watch the entire known library and a lot of 90s toons that I enjoyed and in some cases, new content for them.

The "Chapek" focus has been to put new content on D+ to build it up, not to shove a bunch of Disney Vault classic stuff that wouldn't get much traction outside of the fandom. Iger was the one who talked about adding the Disney Vault.

As I recall (but can't find an actual statement of it at the moment) it had been said by Iger that by year 5 of D+ all of the Disney Vault (minus stuff like SotS) would be on the service. So that would mean that they still have until 2024 to make that promise. Now that Iger is back in charge I don't see that changing. If by the end of 2024 we still don't have the Disney Vault on D+ I'm sure there will be more than a few questions from both shareholders and on the earnings calls why they haven't unlocked the complete Disney Vault yet. I kind of expect those questions to start happening here soon, maybe even as soon as at next week's earnings call.

We'll see what happens.....

 

[celluloid]

The "Chapek" focus has been to put new content on D+ to build it up, not to shove a bunch of Disney Vault classic stuff that wouldn't get much traction outside of the fandom. Iger was the one who talked about adding the Disney Vault.

As I recall (but can't find an actual statement of it at the moment) it had been said by Iger that by year 5 of D+ all of the Disney Vault (minus stuff like SotS) would be on the service. So that would mean that they still have until 2024 to make that promise. Now that Iger is back in charge I don't see that changing. If by the end of 2024 we still don't have the Disney Vault on D+ I'm sure there will be more than a few questions from both shareholders and on the earnings calls why they haven't unlocked the complete Disney Vault yet. I kind of expect those questions to start happening here soon, maybe even as soon as at next week's earnings call.

We'll see what happens.....

Neither leader have done it. And it would not take much.

Iger had plenty of say in what would be on Disney Plus before Chapek ever took the seat.

WB toon library is nearly complete on their streaming service Disney's is a shell on theirs.

 

[MisterPenguin]

To quote @wdwfan4ver in my 2023 Disney predictions thread:

I don't know what anyone is trying to say in that exchange, but I'll break it down for you:

Yes, Disney Corp as $40B in debt.

But for the profitability and size of Disney Corp, that is not a big issue. Companies that make more money can handle bigger debt.

That amount of debt for Warner Bro Discovery is crippling because they are much smaller and their profits are much smaller.

Disney doesn't have to start chopping off parts of its own body to keep from bankruptcy. As much as the streamers are not profitable at the moment (they will be in 2024), the rest of the corporation is much more profitable, easily covering the deficits of the streamer and paying of their debt (which the acquired when debt was dirt cheap).

 

[Disney Irish]

Neither leader have done it. And it would not take much.

Iger had plenty of say in what would be on Disney Plus before Chapek ever took the seat.

WB toon library is nearly complete on their streaming service Disney's is a shell on theirs.

Not quite sure you have your timelines correct there my friend.

Pre-Launch Iger and Kevin Mayer were the deciders on what would be going on the service, including pushing the Disney Vault to D+. Both of whom left in 2020, Iger just 3 months after launch and Mayer 6 months after launch. It was Chapek and Kareem Daniel who ran D+ for 2.5+ years until both were fired at the end of 2022.

So all told the "Iger/Mayer" plan was only in place for 3 months after launch. In those first 3 months almost all (if not all) feature films in the Vault were placed on D+. After Iger left all the rest of the Vault content stop being pushed to D+, with a few exceptions like Zorro and a couple other original series, a decision made under the "Chapek/Daniel" plan of primarily new content pushed to D+.

You can blame a lot on Iger (as I know many here do), but its Chapek who stopped the flow of Disney Vault to D+ not Iger.

Now that Iger is back we'll see if he restarts the flow of Disney Vault content to D+.

 

[celluloid]

Not quite sure you have your timelines correct there my friend.

Pre-Launch Iger and Kevin Mayer were the deciders on what would be going on the service, including pushing the Disney Vault to D+. Both of whom left in 2020, Iger just 3 months after launch and Mayer 6 months after launch. It was Chapek and Kareem Daniel who ran D+ for 2.5+ years until both were fired at the end of 2022.

So all told the "Iger/Mayer" plan was only in place for 3 months after launch. In those first 3 months almost all (if not all) feature films in the Vault were placed on D+. After Iger left all the rest of the Vault content stop being pushed to D+, with a few exceptions like Zorro and a couple other original series, a decision made under the "Chapek/Daniel" plan of primarily new content pushed to D+.

You can blame a lot on Iger (as I know many here do), but its Chapek who stopped the flow of Disney Vault to D+ not Iger.

Now that Iger is back we'll see if he restarts the flow of Disney Vault content to D+.

So Disney Plus, in extreme debt, can't put any of the old content on there? They can produce short term crap and random specials but since Iger is back he would have a difficult time uploading Make Mine Music?

 

[Disney Irish]

So Disney Plus, in extreme debt, can't put any of the old content on there? They can produce short term crap and random specials but since Iger is back he would have a difficult time uploading Make Mine Music?

Not sure you read my post right there my friend.

First, I'm not sure where you get the idea that Disney+ is in "extreme" debt. In the last quarter it lost $1.46B due to new content costs. That is not "extreme" debt by any stretch of the imagination. And its debt that is planned to be quickly brought down and turned to profit here during the next year.

Second, no there is no difficulty in putting old content up there. As outside of maybe some licensing issues with music and existing contracts the company can put up any old content they want at any time. It was a business decision made by Chapek/Daniel that in order to drive sub growth was to add new content not old content. Again a decision made by Bob Chapek and Kareem Daniel, not Bob Iger.

Because lets face it, the old content including Make Mine Music is not driving the needle in terms of adding new subs. And clearly its not affecting existing subs enough that they un-sub in huge numbers because the old content is missing. So really other than fans like us there isn't a huge demand for old content. That is just the reality of it.

Iger's stance back in 2019 was to add a combination of old and new content to D+. We'll see if that remains the same or not over the next few months.

 

[celluloid]

Not sure you read my post right there my friend.

First, I'm not sure where you get the idea that Disney+ is in "extreme" debt. In the last quarter it lost $1.46B due to new content costs. That is not "extreme" debt by any stretch of the imagination. And its debt that is planned to be quickly brought down and turned to profit here in the next year.

Second, no there is no difficulty in putting old content up there. As outside of maybe some licensing issues with music and existing contracts the company can put up any old content they want at any time. It was a business decision made by Chapek/Daniel that in order to drive sub growth was to add new content not old content. Again a decision made by Bob Chapek and Kareem Daniel, not Bob Iger.

Because lets face it, the old content including Make Mine Music is not driving the needle in terms of adding new subs. And clearly its not affecting existing subs enough that they un-sub in huge numbers because the old content is missing. So really other than fans like us there isn't a huge demand for old content. That is just the reality of it.

Iger's stance back in 2019 was to add a combination of old and new content to D+. We'll see if that remains the same or not over the next few months.

Hey, I don't think you are hearing me out friend.

Make Mine Music, was specifically pointed out because it is THE ONLY Disney Animated Feature Cannon that is not on the streaming service, that was initially decided by Iger.
You keep acting like I am just not understanding. I understand, and it's true.

You say they are not putting out the vault library like pieces because the plan changed, and now that Iger is back that should probably change. So Iger is not at fault for not putting those on.
But it is not an extreme debt, but they can't be bothered to put those pieces on because they won't move the needle, yet Bob Iger wants to strategically put them out.

I don't think you are realizing how what you are typing reads.

 

[Disney Irish]

Hey, I don't think you are hearing me out friend.

Make Mine Music, was specifically pointed out because it is THE ONLY Disney Animated Feature Cannon that is not on the streaming service, that was initially decided by Iger.
You keep acting like I am just not understanding. I understand, and it's true.

You say they are not putting out the vault library like pieces because the plan changed, and now that Iger is back that should probably change. So Iger is not at fault for not putting those on.
But it is not an extreme debt, but they can't be bothered to put those pieces on because they won't move the needle, yet Bob Iger wants to strategically put them out.

I don't think you are realizing how what you are typing reads.

What I'm saying is that Iger set the strategy at launch, it included releasing the Disney Vault to the service. He was in charge of the strategy from November 2019 to February 2020 in which saw many titles released from the Disney Vault. Chapek took over in February 2020 and CHANGED the strategy, period. He did not continue the same strategy that Iger set at launch, including no longer releasing titles from the Disney Vault.. So from February 2020 to November 2022 the blame is on Chapek not Iger.

Iger 100% can put Make Mine Music or whatever other old content on the service now that he is back in charge. Will he do it? I don't know. But given his stance on the subject back at launch I tend to believe that its very possible his original strategy of putting old content on D+ will continue. We'll just have to see what happens.