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

el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
Again, not sure how the math will ultimately work out if subscriber growth continues to stagnate (or drop as the service gets more expensive).
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It's not any different from theme park attendance. Disney used to post those numbers in their annual reports. It was just useless data. They were too tired of trying to explain why some years attendance was up but revenue would go down.

No different from sub counts now. They can have lower sub counts and still make more money with cheaper content and higher prices.
 
mikejs78

mikejs78

Well-Known Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
Again, not sure how the math will ultimately work out if subscriber growth continues to stagnate (or drop as the service gets more expensive).
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They eventually have to increase sub counts, but not now. Netflix has proven that streaming can be profitable. It's not at the levels of broadcast media (yet), but it's rising and broadcast is falling fast.

I think there are only three companies right now poised to become like Netflix with its profitability - Disney, Warner, and Amazon. All three have significant subscriber revenues and content. I don't think all three will make it, but they are the three that are the most likely. Disney is right to focus on streaming , they just need to have more non-franchise general entertainment. I think the merging of Hulu and Disney+ will be just what is needed.

ESPN is another beast entirely, and I'm not sure that one is solvable.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
Again, not sure how the math will ultimately work out if subscriber growth continues to stagnate (or drop as the service gets more expensive).
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Here's a prediction for you - services will get more expensive and less fluid... and people will continue to pay.

Because we will no longer be in the 'first one's free kid...' phase and people aren't going to flock back to dying cable networks.

The industry isn't going to survive on people paying $8/month -- the costs will eventually get back to consumers and the ads will flow.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
I mean, we’ll see how the profitability math works when they miss subscriber targets in such a big way. We’ll keep checking back on this space! Wonder if Bob Iger will find Byron Allen’s as shrewd a negotiator as Brian Roberts
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The math works out like this: If D+ was charging what Netflix is charging, it would be profitable, too, right now.

The plan was always to raise sub fees in addition to total number of subs. Just like the parks can make more revenue with less guests because those guests that show up spend more.

But D+ doesn't even have to charge as much as Netflix, especially since their cheaper ad-supported tiers makes more money for them thru ads than from those who are premium subscribers.
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
flynnibus said:
You mean like the majority of cable tv has been for 40+ years?
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Cable started out to bring programming to remote areas underserved by broadcast stations. That was worth the $10 or so a month.
Then some big shot got the idea to start adding Hollywood movie content. If you liked watching movies on the small screen, that was worth another $10.
Then they added "special interest" channels. Another $40 a month. Early on, the most you had to put up with was promos for other programs, but it didn't take long to see regular Madison Avenue ads creep into the mix.
But now, it's a mish-mash of 4 minute blocks of the worst advertising ever conceived stitched together by 6 minute segments of content that, in most cases, is barely disguised advertising for all the products cleverly placed in the sets.
Add in 70 years' worth of inflation, greed and price gouging, not to mention "home shopping" and other blatantly content-free channels, and we're at $300/mo with no end to price increases in sight.

It's just not worth it any more. That's why I pay the extra to subscribe to the "without ads" tiers of the services I use.
 
seabreezept813

seabreezept813

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
The math works out like this: If D+ was charging what Netflix is charging, it would be profitable, too, right now.

The plan was always to raise sub fees in addition to total number of subs. Just like the parks can make more revenue with less guests because those guests that show up spend more.

But D+ doesn't even have to charge as much as Netflix, especially since their cheaper ad-supported tiers makes more money for them thru ads than from those who are premium subscribers.
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I looked at the price for D+ this year and am having sticker shock. Because it's about 50 more than I paid last year. We watch it everyday but then I see my cabinet of Disney dvds and am like eh should we still get it.
 
D

DCBaker

Premium Member
Original Poster
Bob Iger reportedly told investors at the presentation yesterday that Disney will "quiet the noise" in culture wars.

"Walt Disney (DIS.N) CEO Bob Iger told investors the company will "quiet the noise" in a culture war that has pitted social conservatives against the global media and entertainment conglomerate, according to an analyst note on Wednesday.

Iger’s brief statement, included in an analyst report from Needham media analyst Laura Martin, was part of an investors’ presentation on Tuesday at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, in which the CEO also announced Disney will double its investment in theme parks and cruise ships over the next decade.

Disney has suffered a bruising battle that has played out in Florida and at box office, where it faced social media backlash over the casting of Halle Bailey, a Black actress, in the lead role of Ariel in “The Little Mermaid.”

Several countries last year blocked the release of the Pixar Animation Studios film “Lightyear,” which depicts a same-sex couple sharing a brief kiss.

The entertainment company was thrust at the center of the nation’s culture wars in 2022, when it publicly criticized Florida legislation restricting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. Governor Ron DeSantis responded by campaigning against “woke Disney,” and working with the state legislature to strip it of self-governing authority over the parks.

Florida and Disney are locked in a legal battle over the formation of the Central Florida Oversight District board, which assumed oversight of development in the nearly 25,000 acres (100 square kilometers) of property in and around Disney’s theme parks.

It is unclear how much of the $60 billion in new investment in parks will be spent in Florida, where Disney faces increased competition from rivals such as Universal Orlando Resort. Iger previously said the company planned to spend $17 billion in investment at Walt Disney World over the next 10 years.

Iger’s remarks about its content appear to mirror those he made at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in April.

At the time, Iger was responding to an investor, who said Disney had evolved from “a place of magic for children” to an “ideological company serving the LGBTQ” community that promoted a "woke agenda."

“Our primary mission needs to be to entertain ... and to have a positive impact on the world,” Iger said at the time. “I’m very serious about that. It should not be agenda-driven."

In Orlando, Iger also told the investor group that Marvel Entertainment would reduce the pace of its releases, after having made too many films and television series, according to Needham’s report.

Pixar’s young directors will work with existing characters and stories, rather than developing original stories like “Elemental."

“Elemental” initially struggled at the box office, with a weak $30 million opening weekend. It eventually grossed $486.7 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

Disney could not immediately be reached for comment."

www.reuters.com

Disney CEO says company will 'quiet the noise' in culture wars, according to analyst note

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors the company will "quiet the noise" in a culture war that has pitted social conservatives against the global media and entertainment conglomerate, according to an analyst note on Wednesday.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
Can’t wait for the “Disney didn’t start this” types to call out Disney and Iger for this betrayal
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It's not really a betrayal. There was a hit piece on Iger that was released shortly after he left from the Pixar and Studio creatives commenting on how he interfered with their vision on some of the creative decisions going into their films related to social issues. I would expect with him back, a return to this would be in inevitable.

That being said, we don't really know what he meant by this. Does it mean a roll back of existing policies? Cancelling any existing projects? Making a deal with Florida? Who knows.
 
M

MR.Dis

Well-Known Member
el_super said:
It's not really a betrayal. There was a hit piece on Iger that was released shortly after he left from the Pixar and Studio creatives commenting on how he interfered with their vision on some of the creative decisions going into their films related to social issues. I would expect with him back, a return to this would be in inevitable.

That being said, we don't really know what he meant by this. Does it mean a roll back of existing policies? Cancelling any existing projects? Making a deal with Florida? Who knows.
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How about a return to good story telling? For all the things people say about Walt Disney, the one that has always struck me is how universally he was credited as being a great story teller. Movies again will rule the box office IF they get back to their core and that starts with a good story.
 
Dranth

Dranth

Well-Known Member
EPCOT-O.G. said:
Can’t wait for the “Disney didn’t start this” types to call out Disney and Iger for this betrayal
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Come on man, Disney didn't start this. They reacted to something the state did which companies do all the time. The surprising part is the state’s decision to go nuclear. Even if you believe Disney somehow started this, the over reaction by the state is the core issue. Hence the lawsuits. Either way, that will work itself out in time.

So, is it a betrayal? Depends. Some people will feel that way immediately but there are a ton of ways they can handle it and which they choose should determine the response. For example, other studios have shown you can present similar ideas and themes without nearly the push back if done well so maybe that is the goal. On the other hand, maybe they pull a massive 180 and we don't see another person of color or LGBTQ+ person for the next 50 years in a Disney product. I personally think they are going to lean more towards the former approach but the point is, we just don't know yet.
 

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