A high-quality Disney program is different from a high-quality HBO program, though. If Bluey and Rapunzel's Tangled Adventures keep people resubscribing, then those are the quality shows. Do critics watch them? No. Will your kid start screaming and crying if they can't watch them because you cancelled Disney+? Yes. Can you sell merchandise off the IP? Oh yes!
Andor is a good example--critically acclaimed show, lots of the older fans loved it compared with the other Star Wars content Disney's been putting out, the kind of thing that you could put on AMC or HBO. However, you can't monetize it and you could probably get the same people subscribing for the cost of the Bad Batch. So for Disney, that's junk.
You missing out the importance of "The Brand," which Iger is very good at protecting.
Iger may not have the love of children and families everywhere in his heart that he wants them all to have a magical experience with Disney parks and content, but he knows the importance of monetizing "The Brand."
The Brand is what makes people feel good about Disney.
Having a magical experience of the parks or content reinforces the consumer's loyalty to The Brand. That leads to more cash the consumer hands over to the owner of The Brand.
Iger's most damning statements about Chapek's reign was that he was hurting The Brand with all the nickle-and-diming. If people sour on The Brand, they keep their wallets shut.
So... Andor... Andor has hugely rehabilitated a significant amount of consumers who have soured on the Star Wars / LucasFilm brand. There are dozens and dozens of YouTube videos from people who have been constantly complaining about Disney's Star Wars who are now falling over themselves trying to explain in great detail how Andor is the best Star Wars since A New Hope.
That helps The Brand. These are people who will now keep their D+ subscription in anticipation of the second season of Andor. They may even go back to buying some Star Wars merch. Sure, Grogu mesmerized a family audience, but Andor has captured the cynical adults and purveyors of excellent drama (political drama at that).
One thing to remember about people who mention Bluey as the kind of show that keeps D+ subs going: About 60% of homes with a D+ subscription have no children.
That's why Iger keeps talking about content that targets an adult audience. Which is what Andor does.