News The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors Extends Robert A. Iger’s Contract as CEO Through 2026

[BrianLo]

What happens when D+ continues to lose money.? Just cause Bob says it is going to happen doesn't mean it will.

I'm still shocked so many keep defending Iger. I think people need to read the @pheneix thread. Iger has damaged this company.

It’s not defending Iger, I’m just speaking to the math. I read along that thread and I quite like the poster fondly from the past. I appreciate the take. But very quickly he acknowledges he is not a financial guy.

It’s speaking to the converts, those who largely lack the corporate financial literacy to even understand what we are talking about. I’m not trying to be abrasive either, it’s just really not well taught or understood in the general populace. I do think @Trauma has significant fiancial literacy from the Uber pessimistic crowd though. He freely acknowledges he lacks a crystal ball.

I’m generally of the opinion that negative sentiment and pessimism reaches its nadir long after the turnaround. Similar to the time the populace even acknowledges it’s in a recession, it has largely already shifted into a recovery phase.

I think that’s largely where we are with DIS today. Negative sentiment is building to an all time peak, but it’s reactionary to a pandemic and Chapek hangover. Which by all means is also the captains fault who completely abandoned ship at the time.

D+ simply has the math on its side. It is largely the product of costs in and costs out. Subscriber mix * Subscriber fees - Production costs.

Subscriber fees went up across the board last quarter. Productions costs have significantly declined and will overshoot even their desires thanks to delayed amortization from the strikes. Netflix is posting surprisingly large subscriber gains. Iger has figured out how to manage the India problem by spinning off with Reliance.

So what exactly is the barrier to profitability? The train is barreling down the track to it. It all comes down to bets on sizeable subscriber loses. I’m talking like 30% subscriber loses. No one seems willing to commit to that position and yet that’s really the only barrier I can see.

We’ll have our answer pretty clearly on the 7th. If subscribers flee aggressively I certainly will be relooking at that closely. If they remain flat despite the price increase or optimistically if core subscribers increase even marginally in the face of the price hikes, it’s largely a done deal.

 

[Nubs70]

With the presumption that the image below is correct and this encompasses all the business entities under the control of $DIS, are there not malperforming entities that can sold off?

 

[WoundedDreamer]

Are you aware that ESPN already had a round of layoffs for on-air talent and replaced a lot of the expensive hosts with cheaper ones? So your "Peltz will save the day" scenario involves him duplicating exactly what Iger did 6 months ago. What a refreshing change!

ESPN Layoffs: Zach Lowe Joins The List Of On-Air Talent Who Have Been Let Go

Dozens of ESPN's top on-air presenters have been told that they would no longer be working for the network.

deadline.com

The reason Iger did that was because Peltz strong armed him into doing that. Once Iger guaranteed he would start slashing his favorite divisions, then Peltz backed off. Now he's back for more. There's so much extra fat to cut...

Interesting take. I’m not arguing Lasseter is bad, I’m just arguing he’s not the messiah of Pixar.

Nothing undoes his Toy Story and Cars franchises. Or his creative lead cultural heritage that helped transform WDAS back into the studio that could give us Moana and Frozen. In fact I very purposefully praised him for it. But those aren’t his directorial efforts.

Fortunately you are not playing the box office profit card entirely or we’d have to stop praising Tangled (which like elemental has benefited greatly from its post theatrical cultural relevancy). I’m just not sure the version of Lasseter you pine for exists anymore.

I’m also not sure what The Good Dinosaur (a movie produced under Lasseter’s reign) and the Super Mario movie (a movie from another company) have to do with anything I said. Unless you want me to add Miyamoto to the list of people Lasseter isn’t?

You’ve evaded the sticking point. What’s the media landscape saying about Luck and what’s the media landscape CURRENTLY saying about Elemental. The latter found an audience in the end and the former didn’t.

Elemental was the biggest movie on streaming the last four months of the year when it released. It found an audience in the end.

You can reread why I brought up the Good Dinosaur. To call Elemental a huge a success, when only a few years ago a Pixar film that grossed nearly the exact same amount was considered failure, tells us everything we need to know. Disney and Pixar went on a full court press trying to paint Elemental as a victory, when its box office was mediocre to unsuccessful. Unless we're grading Pixar films on a curve now. I suppose them meeting the standard they set over nearly thirty years is too much ask.

And Luck? He was only working at Skydance for 3 years when it came out. Give him time. He had his two finely-tuned animation machines ripped away from him. They're each crumbling now. He's currently going through the grueling process of building a new one. If John Lasseter (and Ed Catmull!) had only founded Pixar, they would be known as some of the greatest creatives Hollywood had ever seen. Add to that the rebirth of Walt Disney Animation, and Lasseter is practically a miracle worker. It's like catching lightening in a bottle twice. If he can build a third great animation studio in Skydance... He will have beat every odd. He might just be able to do it.

As for Pixar? Unless significant actions are taken to correct its missteps, I expect it continue to canker and die. Which is tragic. Pixar was one of the greatest studios of all time. All indications are that it's stumbling and only getting worse. I feel so bad for the Pixar creators who remember what it used to be like. But it's increasingly clear the ship has sailed.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I'm team Peltz all the way! Restore the Magic!

The current Burbank group is running Disney straight into the ground. 90% of Disney's problems today are COMPLETELY self induced. It's ALL a chain of horrible decisions by executives completely out of touch with reality.

Ok…

 

[MisterPenguin]

Nothing undoes his Toy Story and Cars franchises.

Except Cars 2.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The sad fact is, the world FOR EVERYONE including Bob Iger is, “what have you done for me lately”.

That leads to overcorrection. It's like riding a Speedway go-cart with a four year old driving. Bang into the right side? Turn all the way to the left...until you bang into the left side.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

That leads to overcorrection. It's like riding a Speedway go-cart with a four year old driving. Bang into the right side? Turn all the way to the left...until you bang into the left side.

I got news for you…with that stupid rail on the speedway and the horrendous steering on the WDW carts, THIS guy who’s ridden karts all my life overcompensates and hits the rail…

 

[MisterPenguin]

I got news for you…with that stupid rail on the speedway and the horrendous steering on the WDW carts, THIS guy who’s ridden karts all my life overcompensates and hits the rail…

I nominate you for the Disney Board!!

 

[BrianLo]

The reason Iger did that was because Peltz strong armed him into doing that. Once Iger guaranteed he would start slashing his favorite divisions, then Peltz backed off. Now he's back for more. There's so much extra fat to cut...

You can reread why I brought up the Good Dinosaur. To call Elemental a huge a success, when only a few years ago a Pixar film that grossed nearly the exact same amount was considered failure, tells us everything we need to know. Disney and Pixar went on a full court press trying to paint Elemental as a victory, when its box office was mediocre to unsuccessful. Unless we're grading Pixar films on a curve now. I suppose them meeting the standard they set over nearly thirty years is too much ask.

And Luck? He was only working at Skydance for 3 years when it came out. Give him time. He had his two finely-tuned animation machines ripped away from him. They're each crumbling now. He's currently going through the grueling process of building a new one. If John Lasseter (and Ed Catmull!) had only founded Pixar, they would be known as some of the greatest creatives Hollywood had ever seen. Add to that the rebirth of Walt Disney Animation, and Lasseter is practically a miracle worker. It's like catching lightening in a bottle twice. If he can build a third great animation studio in Skydance... He will have beat every odd. He might just be able to do it.

As for Pixar? Unless significant actions are taken to correct its missteps, I expect it continue to canker and die. Which is tragic. Pixar was one of the greatest studios of all time. All indications are that it's stumbling and only getting worse. I feel so bad for the Pixar creators who remember what it used to be like. But it's increasingly clear the ship has sailed.

Not grading on a curve. Elemental debuted exceptionally poorly. The media called it appropriately. Then it surprised everyone as it legged out all summer long. Had good reviews and audience reception. Then word of mouth built. It did exceptionally well in a couple markets, South Korea In particular.

It then did gangbusters on D+. Lockstep with Mario that had a release window lead. Disney’s best new streaming film of the year and it was significantly disadvantaged with a its late release window.

That’s why it’s called a success. That’s also why good dinosaur isn’t. It faded into oblivion, lost momentum and missed entirely in the post theatrical window.

There’s always this conspiratorial undertone that Disney is lying to us to advance a few movies. Or you know… maybe they actually are popular post theatrically? Disney has no qualms completely burying duds. Lightyear won’t exist soon enough. What’s Strange world? But Turning Red, Luca and Elemental will. And obviously Encanto, which for some reason people I guess have seen enough of, that the box office requirements can be forgiven just that once. They are more popular than a lack of billion dollar box office suggests.

Also I must apologize I did think John directed Luck. So I agree that’s not really on him.

 

[JoeCamel]

That leads to overcorrection. It's like riding a Speedway go-cart with a four year old driving. Bang into the right side? Turn all the way to the left...until you bang into the left side.

I got news for you…with that stupid rail on the speedway and the horrendous steering on the WDW carts, THIS guy who’s ridden karts all my life overcompensates and hits the rail…

The steering is connected to the wheels?

 

[Disstevefan1]

That leads to overcorrection. It's like riding a Speedway go-cart with a four year old driving. Bang into the right side? Turn all the way to the left...until you bang into the left side.

You bring up a good point. Course correcting for mistakes made by the Iger run Disney Company like the overpaying for FOX, the damage done to Lucasfilm and Pixar, hand picking and appointing Chapek, the fight with Florida, and other mistakes, is like trying to change course in a massive slow moving ship, it will take a long time.

I am sure Iger will want to stay on to see TWDC through the storm. His hand picked board really loves him so I am sure there will be no problem with him staying on, besides that, he is having trouble finding a replacement that is as good as himself.

 

[Cliff]

You bring up a good point. Course correcting for mistakes made by the Iger run Disney Company like the overpaying for FOX, the damage done to Lucasfilm and Pixar, hand picking and appointing Chapek, the fight with Florida, and other mistakes, is like trying to change course in a massive slow moving ship, it will take a long time.

I am sure Iger will want to stay on to see TWDC through the storm. His hand picked board really loves him so I am sure there will be no problem with him staying on, besides that, he is having trouble finding a replacement that is as good as himself.

Disney's problems are 100% caused from it's own horrible decision making. The vast majority of it's problems were preditable... and WERE predicted by many people. Yet, Burbank put it's fingers in it's ears and ignored the warnings a pressed forward anyway.

The people in Burbank that caused this mess STILL don't understand WHY they failed. They blame the pandemic, they blame finanicial conditions, they blame politicians and they even have the bawls to BLAME THE FANS!

The people in Burbank that caused this CANNOT be left to fix this! How can you fix a problem when you dont know what caused the problem?

We need NEW leaders in this company. People that KNOW this company and it's fans and people that embrace this company's rich history. (Without complaining how "problematic" it is all the time)

 

[Lilofan]

I got news for you…with that stupid rail on the speedway and the horrendous steering on the WDW carts, THIS guy who’s ridden karts all my life overcompensates and hits the rail…

I remember the death trap theme park park in the 1970s in NJ- Action Park Vernon NJ.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I remember the death trap theme park park in the 1970s in NJ- Action Park Vernon NJ.

A/K/A Class Action Park…Go-Karts were 8hp Hondas…40 mph with no roll bars…best karts at ANY park at that time!!
EMT’s were on property 24/7

 

[Casper Gutman]

Disney's problems are 100% caused from it's own horrible decision making. The vast majority of it's problems were preditable... and WERE predicted by many people. Yet, Burbank put it's fingers in it's ears and ignored the warnings a pressed forward anyway.

The people in Burbank that caused this mess STILL don't understand WHY they failed. They blame the pandemic, they blame finanicial conditions, they blame politicians and they even have the bawls to BLAME THE FANS!

The people in Burbank that caused this CANNOT be left to fix this! How can you fix a problem when you dont know what caused the problem?

We need NEW leaders in this company. People that KNOW this company and it's fans and people that embrace this company's rich history. (Without complaining how "problematic" it is all the time)

Disney's management has made mistakes, particularly in regards to the parks. However, the once-in-a-century pandemic that threw the entire entertainment industry into chaos and changed theater-going in ways we still don't understand, the streaming revolution which altered entertainment consumption more profoundly then anything since suburbanization and the advent of television in the post-war period, the baseless but concerted political assault on Disney which was amplified by many of the most powerful people and media outlets in the country (and was enthusiastically endorsed by a subsection of fans) all played a role in the instability that has plagued Disney. We haven't seen anything like the social, economic, cultural, and political changes that have destabilized the entertainment industry since the late 40s (and, very arguably, since the advent of cinema). To pretend otherwise is ahistorical and reflects a desire to push an agenda rather then engage in a useful conversation about Disney's past, present, and future.

 

[Nubs70]

Exactly. Tim Cook doesn't know how to make a 3nm chip, but he hires talented people who can. With any other company, this is inherently understood.

Somehow with Disney, it is expected that the CEO and board members be able to animate, develop streaming tech, and maintain the rides at EPCOT.

But Bob positions himself as being able to animate, develop streaming tech, but not as a professional mechanic

 

[Nubs70]

Exactly. Tim Cook doesn't know how to make a 3nm chip, but he hires talented people who can. With any other company, this is inherently understood.

Somehow with Disney, it is expected that the CEO and board members be able to animate, develop streaming tech, and maintain the rides at EPCOT.

But Bob positions himself as being able to animate, develop streaming tech, but not as a professional mechanic

 

[Brian]

But Bob positions himself as being able to animate, develop streaming tech, but not as a professional mechanic

Even though he is decidedly unqualified to do any of that. To be fair, a vanishingly small number of CEOs of mid to large sized companies could do the work of their front line workers, and have not done it before, or for quite a long time. It's exactly the point that they hire people who hire people (and so on) who do know how to do that work for them and get paid a salary to do so.

To require that a CEO have done the job of every one of their front line workers before is bonkers.

 

[_caleb]

But Bob positions himself as being able to animate, develop streaming tech, but not as a professional mechanic

When/where has Iger done this?

 

[Cliff]

Disney has made hundreds of strategic and tactical mistakes since the Fox purchase. All these screw-up's are not even the most serious problem that Burbank has!

The problem Burbank has is their "attitude". It's their TOXIC arrogance and hubris that is in Disney's Boardroom!! Burbank is literally rotten right now. For years,...they have had the "Titanic" mentality that goes like this:

"We are so big and strong and powerful that not even God can sink this ship...and that is why we don't fear icebergs...."

It is THIS toxic ARROGANCE that has driven Disney straight into icefields with no fear. Every iceberg they hit,..they LAUGH at. "Sir,...we struck another berg and are taking on more water!" and Burbank's reply is always: "Haha,...so what?.. we are "Disney" and we are bulletproof and we'll never sink...full steam ahead!!!"

Burbank is toxic and going further,...they have NO respect for this company's lineage and history. Their ONLY concern today is pushing modern day political messaging and tearing down and replacing it's past as fast as possible.

Burbank needs to be replaced with people that LOVE this company and it's past and are NOT trying to use Disney as an iconic media platform for "personal" political addenda's.

BTW?...do you know "why" Disney has no Iger successor in the pipeline?? Because IGER has made DARN SURE that nobody will ever get close enough to him to challenge him. Iger stacked the Board with HIS people. Yes,..there is no second in line today behind Iger....and that is 100%....BY DESIGN!