I do wonder how Iger will fix an issue he created, in my opinion.
- Everyone was happy to cash the rights checks from Netflix
- Iger decides Disney should make that money directly
- All other media is like "Hey, we should do that too because we'll all make Netflix money"
- The pandemic artificially boosts all their streaming efforts
- Meanwhile, media companies let their linear TV channels die on the vine with endless marathons and reruns and hardly any new content, which leads to.....
- People cancel cable because why do I need Freeform to watch Hocus Pocus or TNT to play the Marvel movies when it's right there on D+ with no commercials and better quality, for example
- The bottom drops out on the linear TV business without nearly enough revenue coming in from streaming to replace it
- Now the only things remaining on linear that actually get eyeballs are some of the most expensive (sports) because the leagues drove up the prices into the stratosphere and people will absolutely balk at paying $30 for ESPN as a standalone service
- Now they end up simulcasting a bunch of the things on cable on broadcast (like Monday Night Football) because how the heck are we going to get enough eyeballs on this stuff to justify our ad rates and not look like we're losing viewers on one outlet
- Oh, and you still need to make new content regularly to justify someone subbing or staying a sub, but you built your service on pillars that aren't exactly cheap to pull off
- Also Wall Street now actually cares about you making money on this stuff, not your land grab stats
I don't envy Iger or any media CEO because not one of them knows the answer yet. Raising prices on your streaming product just puts people right back where they were with cable - and even worse for the companies, but not for the consumer, it's never been easier to dump a service when you don't need it in a few clicks.