Disney Irish
Premium Member
Only if you pay....
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Disney's Streaming Services: Disney+ (and Hulu, ESPN+, Star, & hotstar)
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Only if you pay....
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
As Matthew Broderick said in War Games, "Oh there are ways around that."
Iger’s Big Disney Reorg Aims to Fix Problems He Helped Sow
New VIP+ Analysis: As the reinstated CEO reshapes the Mouse House, it's worth noting the issues he hopes to solve were seeded in his tenure.
variety.com
Disney Expands Deal With Japan’s Kodansha, Set to Reveal New Titles for Asia Pacific Region
The Walt Disney Company has revealed an expansion of its 70-year collaboration with publishing house Kodansha to include licensing of Japanese anime.
variety.com
Disney Irish
Premium Member
First one is behind a paywall....Iger’s Big Disney Reorg Aims to Fix Problems He Helped Sow
New VIP+ Analysis: As the reinstated CEO reshapes the Mouse House, it's worth noting the issues he hopes to solve were seeded in his tenure.
Disney Expands Deal With Japan’s Kodansha, Set to Reveal New Titles for Asia Pacific Region
The Walt Disney Company has revealed an expansion of its 70-year collaboration with publishing house Kodansha to include licensing of Japanese anime.
They're both from the same site, to which I am not logged into with any account. <shrug>
Not even a full day after his surprise return to Disney, Bob Iger made his first move to reshape the House of Mouse and to undo the tenure of his successor-slash-predecessor, Bob Chapek.
In a memo to employees last week, Iger announced that he would re-reorganize the corporate structure Chapek implemented in 2020, which consolidated all content budgeting and release strategy under the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution unit (DMED), headed by Chapek lieutenant Kareem Daniel.
The new restructuring seems designed to reassure Wall Street that Disney’s management of streaming will change. Chapek’s creation of DMED was seen as a move to accelerate and streamline the company’s direct-to-consumer strategy by placing responsibility for all streaming content under a single unit; investors certainly saw it that way.
As a result, DMED also shouldered responsibility for Disney’s massive losses on streaming, which more than doubled year-over-year, from $630 million to nearly $1.5 billion in the most recent quarter.
Now, as the Street shifts away from the “all in on streaming” mentality that dominated the last few years, Iger seems poised to give responsibility back to Disney’s separate content units, which could help convince investors that the Mouse House plans to keep its approach diversified.
The reinstated CEO plans to implement “a new structure that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs,” he wrote in the memo, adding, “This is a time of enormous change and challenges in our industry, and our work will also focus on creating a more efficient and cost-effective structure.”
That last part will be key to Iger’s success in his second go-round at the company. It’s clear that the Disney board is hoping the reinstated CEO can “fix” Disney’s streaming strategy, which has amassed a subscriber base to rival Netflix but racked up huge losses at the same time. With Wall Street having turned on streaming and its sky-high expenses, Iger’s first task will be to bring costs down as quickly as possible.
There’s obviously plenty of reason for the board to have confidence in Iger, who deserves credit for building Disney into the media colossus it is today. But at the same time, the turbulence of Chapek’s tenure and the problems caused by his restructuring have helped cloud the fact that the problems began under Iger.
Chapek’s org structure was unpopular among Disney employees and with Iger himself. Many creative executives reportedly resented having decision-making power taken away from them, and insiders groused that the hierarchy slowed Disney’s content pipeline, complicating the greenlighting process and creating widespread confusion.
Iger’s feelings about the structure were clear from his internal memo, in which he wrote, “It is my intention to restructure things in a way that honors and respects creativity as the heart and soul of who we are,” and announced that Daniel would exit the company.
In hindsight, aspects of Chapek’s strategy were certainly misguided, but it’s worth remembering that Chapek was trying to repair dysfunction caused by another reorganization, implemented by Iger before the launch of Disney+.
Late in his tenure, in 2018, the once-and-future CEO introduced a new corporate structure that created Disney’s first direct-to-consumer division. The reorg reportedly led to power struggles between Kevin Mayer, who headed the DTC unit, and then-Disney TV studio head Peter Rice over who had authority to greenlight shows for Disney’s streaming unit. Chapek’s subsequent restructuring was partly intended to correct those problems, according to multiple reports in the wake of the 2020 reorg.
Furthermore, while Chapek also made mistakes with regard to streaming — no one forced him to revise Iger’s modest subscriber projections for Disney+ to such high levels, which are now looking ever more unrealistic — he was, to a large extent, following a playbook set by Iger.
It was Iger who engineered Disney’s streaming strategy in the first place, and made no secret of the fact that it would lead to billions of dollars in losses. And though the media industry arguably should have foreseen that Netflix’s constant-growth model for streaming was unsustainable and that a market correction would come at some point, Chapek doesn’t deserve sole blame for that industry-wide error.
The fact is, no one has yet figured out how to organize Disney’s streaming operations and position the company for the future. No easy task, to be sure, but the board’s decision to bring back Iger can’t help but look a bit desperate, like an implicit admission that no one really knows how to navigate the current media landscape.
Iger will now get a second crack at it, but the fact that his first attempt helped lead the company here should not be ignored. If the board’s confidence in him is not misplaced, exactly, it at least should be tempered with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Yes they are both from Variety, but the first article is from their VIP+ Subscription paywall section. Not sure why you don't get paywall blocked. Anyways thanks for the copy.
They funny thing is that when their VIP+ has a multi-page report, I can't read it all!
Captain Barbossa
Well-Known Member
Asking here because I can’t find a clear answer anywhere else. So my annual subscription was supposed to automatically renew on November 19th, but I forgot to update my account with my new card earlier this year. Now my account is on hold until I update it with the new card info. Regardless of if my account was updated by the 19th or if I update it today, would I have been/will I be only charged the $79.99 since it would be before the December 8th price increase to $109.99 for no adds?
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Yes, as mine just renewed at that price. Any renewal before the price increase is renewed at the previous price, unless otherwise noted.
Captain Barbossa
Well-Known Member
That’s what I assumed but wanted to be certain. Thanks.
Indian Princess Musical In Works At Disney; ‘Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha To Direct & Produce
EXCLUSIVE: We understand that Disney has commissioned an original musical feature from Bend It Like Beckham filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges, inspired by a dynamic princess from Ind…
deadline.com
"Despite earlier comments that Comcast may be interested in retaining full control of Hulu, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said he believes the company will sell its stake to Disney.
Comcast has a 33 percent stake in the streaming service, while Disney owns the rest and has the option to buy out Comcast starting in January 2024. Speaking at UBS’s Global TMT Conference in New York Monday, Shell said he believes that’s likely the timeline and course of action, while also talking up the price of the stake.
“We think it’s worth a lot of money because it’s sold on a full-control basis, as if you were auctioning it off. And I think there’s no indication that anything else is going to happen than Disney writing us a big check for the asset in ‘24,” Shell said.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts had said in September that “Comcast would be interested” if Hulu were put up for sale, in a move some also saw as a means of raising the “fair market value” Disney would be required to pay to buy them out.
This also comes after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek indicated he would like to buy out Comcast’s stake “earlier,” rather than later, but only if Comcast offered “reasonable terms.” Now, with Bob Iger taking back the reins, there’s been speculation that he may also want to sell Disney’s stake in order to raise much needed cash for the company. But Hulu — with 47.2 million paid subscribers — remains an important part of Disney’s streaming bundle and Iger recently suggested that most of the company’s core assets would remain.
“Nothing is forever, but I am very, very comfortable with each of the assets that we have,” the Disney exec told employees in a recent town hall."
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Comcast has a 33 percent stake in the streaming service, while Disney owns the rest and has the option to buy out Comcast starting in January 2024. Speaking at UBS’s Global TMT Conference in New York Monday, Shell said he believes that’s likely the timeline and course of action, while also talking up the price of the stake.
“We think it’s worth a lot of money because it’s sold on a full-control basis, as if you were auctioning it off. And I think there’s no indication that anything else is going to happen than Disney writing us a big check for the asset in ‘24,” Shell said.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts had said in September that “Comcast would be interested” if Hulu were put up for sale, in a move some also saw as a means of raising the “fair market value” Disney would be required to pay to buy them out.
This also comes after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek indicated he would like to buy out Comcast’s stake “earlier,” rather than later, but only if Comcast offered “reasonable terms.” Now, with Bob Iger taking back the reins, there’s been speculation that he may also want to sell Disney’s stake in order to raise much needed cash for the company. But Hulu — with 47.2 million paid subscribers — remains an important part of Disney’s streaming bundle and Iger recently suggested that most of the company’s core assets would remain.
“Nothing is forever, but I am very, very comfortable with each of the assets that we have,” the Disney exec told employees in a recent town hall."
Hulu’s Likely Outcome Is Disney Writing Comcast a “Big Check,” NBCUniversal CEO Says
“We think it’s worth a lot of money because it’s sold on a full-control basis, as if you were auctioning it off," said Jeff Shell of Comcast's Hulu stake at an investor event.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Nearly 1 In 4 Disney+ Subscribers In U.S. Will Trade Down To Cheaper, Ad-Supported Tier When It Launches This Week, Kantar Research Finds
When Disney launches the ad-supported tier of Disney+ later this week, about one-quarter of current U.S. subscribers are expected to opt for the lower-cost version with ads, according to new resear…
deadline.com
‘Chivalry’ Producer Richard Johns Launches Argo Films With John Travolta Disney+ Short ‘The Shepherd’
British producer Richard Johns has launched a new label, Argo Films. Johns is best known for the 2000 Academy Award-nominated indie horror flick Shadow of a Vampire and several other film…
deadline.com
Disney Irish
Premium Member
The terms of Disney buying the rest of Hulu was set in 2019 before Iger left, him returning has nothing to do with it. Its part of the merger agreement set when Disney bought 21st Century and got owning control of Hulu.
There was just speculation that Disney might accelerate that purchase prior to the 2024 date set in the merger agreement. Again nothing to do with Iger returning.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Nearly 1 In 4 Disney+ Subscribers In U.S. Will Trade Down To Cheaper, Ad-Supported Tier When It Launches This Week, Kantar Research Finds
When Disney launches the ad-supported tier of Disney+ later this week, about one-quarter of current U.S. subscribers are expected to opt for the lower-cost version with ads, according to new resear…
The beauty for Disney of course is it doesn’t really matter how many choose either - revenues increase substantially for either set up. If people stick with ad free, they pay more per month. If they switch to ad version, Disney gets the ad revenue to supplement the lower subscription fee. Sure, some folks have signed up for annual plans at a discount to the lower rate but that at least means those people are locked in (and paid up front).
Actually I’d be curious as to the annual subs vs month to month for D+. Anyway ever see a breakdown?
An activist investor wanted Disney to buy out Comcast sooner than later, so, not a dumb idea.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
What is an activist investor?
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Google is your friend....
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Activist Investor: Definition, Role, Biggest Player
An activist investor acquires a significant minority stake in a public company to influence its management.
Elijah Abrams
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
He might have changed his mind on getting the whole Hulu with what’s going on, in terms of financial, at Disney.