Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Exactly.The media will fill in the blanks.
Exactly.The media will fill in the blanks.
They already have. Today show had a 5 min segment on the lawsuit and a good 2 minutes were about Lake Nona cancellation... they drew a direct correlation to the legal fight and made thir opinion this was a direct result very clear.Blaming DeSantis is the easiest narrative.
Disney and DeSantis are feuding. Disney cancels plans to move jobs to Florida. It’s a simple narrative that doesn’t require much background to write a story about.
It’s also the sexiest narrative.
This is Disney showing its expertise in working the media with their vague "changing business conditions" statement. This is the right play. They need to undercut DeSantis’ popularity. Suggesting DeSantis is to blame without explicitly stating it weakens DeSantis without being over-the-top. The media will fill in the blanks.
Disney continues to play this coolly while DeSantis plays this clumsily.
He also just asked literally a week ago “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not?" And now jobs are being cancelled in Florida and an investment is being lost. I know one doesn’t have to do with the other, but it’s the narrative that can be sold.Iger's choice:
1. Announce the reversal of the Lake Nona project on a late Friday afternoon to get the least amount of negative press.2. Wait until one is being attacked by a local government and announce the reversal of a project and let people draw their own conclusions.
If the parental rights bill had never existed and DeSantis quit as governor two years ago. Does anybody STILL believe that Disney's Lake Nona buidout would be moving forward today? Anybody?They already have. Today show had a 5 min segment on the lawsuit and a good 2 minutes were about Lake Nona cancellation... they drew a direct correlation to the legal fight and made thir opinion this was a direct result very clear.
CNN had a similar clip. I would be shocked it MSNBC didn`t have something - all indirectly suggesting DeSantis is to blame.
Thanks for doing this! It's incredibly helpful.Today's new filings in CFTOD v Disney. Just 3 motions from Disney attorneys to appear Pro Hac Vice. No new filings in Disney v DeSantis.
Iger implied in November 2022 that he was considering canceling it, so you're not too far off track.I 100% believe that Lake Nona was already going to be cancelled. Perhaps the feud was what pushed the decision over the edge,
I think this is all true. The cost cutting aspect really seems short sighted if that was the driver. I guess for next few years cash flow but the project was around $1B with $600M of tax credits so total cash out the door net of tax savings is $400M which is a drop in the bucket for DIS. On net income the $1B is mostly capitalized and except for the land gets depreciated over 30+ years so roughly $32M a year in depreciation expense. Again, a drop in the bucket.The Feud might have been the breaking point.
However, for a CEO who emphasizes the importance of creatives, forcing 2000 to move to FL was a bad look.
Perhaps more importantly, the company is looking to cut costs immediately. Sinking a billion into this did not make sense at this time.
All three played a factor. Which one was the most important depends on how you want to spin this.
Eggggzactly!Iger implied in November 2022 that he was considering canceling it, so you're not too far off track.
Heck no! Disney has huge economic problems right now is is undergoing massive cost cutting measurs today. Disney does not have the money
too costly
aved them big money
UNpopular facility. Staff in California have....for a long time....been very vocal about NOT wanting to move to Florida.
not to wade into this, but given the trajectory of things I’m not so sure I’d rely on those tax credits being delivered as promised
That would have been harder to pull off than the RCID changes, but it could have been a factor too. Those jobs were never going to FL without the tax credits so if they doubted they were going to get them because of conflict with DeSantis that could have been a major factor too.not to wade into this, but given the trajectory of things I’m not so sure I’d rely on those tax credits being delivered as promised
I do. From a business financial perspective, it makes sense. Moving offices is never a popular thing for any company, but that doesn't mean it's not still in their best interest. California is expensive and has traditionally become more and more difficult to do business there, which is why many businesses and people have moved out from there.If the parental rights bill had never existed and DeSantis quit as governor two years ago. Does anybody STILL believe that Disney's Lake Nona buidout would be moving forward today? Anybody?
Heck no! Disney has huge economic problems right now is is undergoing massive cost cutting measurs today. Disney does not have the money to spend on this UNpopular facility. Staff in California have....for a long time....been very vocal about NOT wanting to move to Florida.
Lake Nona was a very UNpopular Bob Chapek era idea that again....nobody liked in Califormia. Even people in Lake Nona didnt want this. Bob Iger took this opertunity to kill an UNpopular and EXPENSIVE project...and blame it on DeSantis.
Nice one Bob.....sneaky but very clever!
You hit the nail on the head. Iger is rolling back all sorts of costs anywhere he can. Besides, if you are laying off 5K+ white collar employees, no sane person would encourage building MORE office space! Disney is in major capital preservation mode.If the parental rights bill had never existed and DeSantis quit as governor two years ago. Does anybody STILL believe that Disney's Lake Nona buidout would be moving forward today? Anybody?
Heck no! Disney has huge economic problems right now is is undergoing massive cost cutting measurs today. Disney does not have the money to spend on this UNpopular facility. Staff in California have....for a long time....been very vocal about NOT wanting to move to Florida.
Lake Nona was a very UNpopular Bob Chapek era idea that again....nobody liked in Califormia. Even people in Lake Nona didnt want this. Bob Iger took this opportunity to kill an UNpopular and EXPENSIVE project...and blame it on DeSantis.
Nice one Bob.....sneaky but very clever!
The only statement of fact in the entire post is the first sentence. Once we get past that it delves into pure conjecture that is not based in the real world.I would argue that moving staff to Florida and building the Lake Nona campus would be extremely expensive. What does Disney get in return from spending that money and UPSETTING it's staff? I suspect that same money will be better spent on it's multiple efforts on defending multiple lawsuits against them from the state of Florida and investors and staff. I suspect that Lake Nona money WILL be needed to buy Comcast's portion of Hulu too. How many BILLIONS will that ALONE cost Disney???
Lastly,...I'd rather that Disney use that Lake Nona money to keep the California staff IN California where they belong and maybe use it to fill in the gigantic construction crater that has PLAGUED Epcot for what?....4-5 years? Disney didn't have the money to even do THAT in a timely manner?? They allowed Epcot to suffer that for YEARS on end.
I'd rather that Disney use that IMAGINARY Lake Nona money to hire Universal project managers to spruce up Epcot for them. Universal will build an entire gigantic theme park in about the same time that it took Disney to build a Moana walk through garden attraction. Seriously? The parks are suffering and Disney doesn't seem to have the money to get them up to speed....but they have money for Lake Nona?
Lake Nona?....yeah, they don't need Disney there. Lake Nona is already one of the fastest growing "upscale" areas in central Florida and Disney leaving it will NOT change that growth speed very much. Many locals don't want Disney there anyway!
But yeah, I blame multiple Disney lawsuits, stock price decline, large staff layoffs, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel studio decline and D+ subscriber decline all on Ron DeSantis folks. This is NOT Disney's fault,...it's the governors fault. Yep,....so easy!
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