Bob Iger Rumored Going To Sell Disney To Apple

[RAMROD 117,018]

The Walt Disney Company’s CEO Bob Iger is looking to sell some of the company’s TV and streaming assets, and may even be considering selling the entire company.

Bob Iger built Disney into the world’s most powerful entertainment company by acquiring Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. Now he’s looking to downsize. 

Iger put roughly a third of the company up for sale this week, declaring Disney’s linear TV assets noncore. That includes TV networks ABC, FX and Freeform. He also said Disney is looking for a strategic partner for ESPN — though he’s not willing to sell the whole thing — and the company is already looking to sell or restructure its TV and streaming business in India.

It’s a stunning if inevitable turn of events for an executive who spent so much of his career working in TV, and for a company that relied on cable networks for the majority of its profit. Before the pandemic, Disney’s media networks generated 35%, or $24.8 billion, of company revenue and more than 50%, or $7.5 billion, of its operating income.

Yet the accelerating decline of cable TV has limited Iger’s options. He thought he’d solved this problem with Disney+ and Hulu, his two mass-market streaming services. But his streaming business is expected to register a loss of about $800 million in the company’s just-ended third quarter.

Management chased streaming subscribers at unsustainably low prices to goose the launch of Disney+ in 2019 and is now seeking to raise prices without alienating customers. (Disney+ lost 4 million subscribers last quarter.)

Iger put up a for-sale sign during an interview with CNBC in Sun Valley, Idaho, home to an annual summit of the media and tech elite organized by the investment bank Allen & Co. The conference has long served as an incubator for some of the media industry’s most high-profile deals — and a source of endless photos of executives walking in Patagonia vests.

It’s not yet clear how serious Iger is about selling entire TV networks. ABC, for example, is key to retaining NBA rights. FX has been a key supplier of programming to Hulu, which Iger plans to keep and fold into Disney+.

Yet Iger’s CNBC interview was unmistakably a distress signal. Disney is contractually obligated to buy Comcast Corp.’s one-third stake in Hulu in a deal that would value the business at least at $27.5 billion. It’s also wrestling with a colossal debt pile stemming from its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. 

A sale of the TV business could fetch around $8 billion, according to Wells Fargo analyst Steve Cahall — which would largely offset the cost of acquiring the piece of Hulu it doesn't yet own. Most of the potential suitors for linear TV networks are financial entities, like private equity firms, that would milk them for cash as they decline into obscurity.

The list of interested parties in ESPN is longer, and could include tech giants like Apple, as well as sports companies like Fanatics. The streaming side of the sports giant, ESPN+, remains more of a niche business. But Disney continues to signal it will offer all of ESPN outside of the cable bundle in the near future.

Iger came back to Disney last November a conquering hero eager to rescue the company from the era of Bob Chapek (his successor and predecessor). He said he’d only stick around for two years, a deadline few took seriously given Iger’s inability to relinquish control during his first stint as CEO.

After receiving a two-year contract extension this past week, Iger has three more years to clean up a big mess that also includes a slowdown in the company’s theme-park business, a series of misses for the company’s film division and the strike by Hollywood actors and writers against all of the media companies.

Rumors have long swirled that Iger will end up selling all of Disney to Apple. It’s still hard to imagine Iger selling Disney to anyone. He was always a builder — not a seller. But Bob the builder is doing a lot more cutting this time around.

Iger’s comments should spook his peers. If a diversified company like Disney is bailing on its cable networks, what does that mean for companies like Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery Inc.? They still make almost all of their profit from networks that are shrinking.

Speaking of Apple, there have been rumors since Iger’s return last November that he will sell all of Disney to the tech company. At the time, Iger called these rumors “nothing more than speculation,” but the sale seems to still be a possibility

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-07-16/bob-iger-shifts-from-building-an-empire-to-a-disney-yard-sale

https://wdwnt.com/2023/07/disney-ceo-bob-iger-looking-to-sell-abc-fx-and-freeform/

[River 127,367]

He can't sell the entire company, the shareholders, the board and the disney family won't allow it to happen

But I think selling ABC, FX and Freeform is not such a loss, I mean, he's basically selling Grey's Anatomy ABC news and American Horror Story, Freeform has been flopping for years now and FX didn't have anything interesting for a while.

[Future Lovers 7,539]

This isn’t going to happen. It’s bullshit and is only being talked about to distract people from talking about the strike. Don’t believe a WORD of this. 

Not only has he directly debunked this already, it absolutely goes against everything then company is known for. Disney has fought hard for independence over the years and their financial situation has been far, far worse than it is now and they STILL fought take over. There is no reason for them to sell, and they won’t. 

Before you believe a nonsense rumor like this I beg you to look into the history of the company and their resistance to someone else controlling them. They’re currently in the midst of a court battle to maintain their complete independence in Florida. Why would they sell off their company now? 

Also ask yourself why Apple would be interested in getting involved in the theme park and cruise line industry? They wouldn’t. 

At the absolute most they would license their streaming rights to Apple TV and phase out Disney+ but even that is a massive stretch. 

Disney has behaved the same way when it comes to this thing for decades and that won’t change. Iger is an acquisitioner, not a seller. 

Not to even get into the fact that he can’t do that on his own even if he wanted to. 

[Ziggy 14,018]

I feel like the “selling the company” part is more like an overblown nonpotentiality to try garnering sympathy in the strike battle they way overplayed their hand in. Bob looooves playing media tricks. The *reality* is what @River said, the Disney family could probably never have it.

I’m honestly floored by anyone being surprised at the state of the company’s assets, though, which is accurate mostly. Bob Iger is a numbers dude in a creative dude’s dilemma. All he knows how to do is grow and acquire  but what it really does imo is metastasize the company. You can’t create artificial grow to forever. Eventually, you need to actually have innovative product. They’ve neutered Pixar’s originality for merch ability, the Disney movies are a lot of half crap remakes and decent but not amazing animated movies with fairly bland animation. The issue is, among industry problems, during Iger’s tenure, disney has milked every single thing it has bought for all they can get. Marvel is damn near a husk, Star Wars is getting there and only hasn’t yet bc it was half dead when they got it and needed to be brought back to life first lmao and the Disney IP is for sure milked. The entertainment industry needs waaaaay better than these dudes bc none of them really know how to sustainably grow anything. They grow **** in very aggressive, masculine ways that, like most things, tends to go belly up after too long

[AsleepOnTheCeiling 6,940]

I think some of Freeform's comedies would do well with Netflix. Overall if he finished consolidating Disney+ and Hulu and focused on shows rather than movies they'd probably do better. There's just too much going on in streaming atm, eventually competitors will pull out and he could cushion the films segment with theater releases after they come to home media. 

[Eido 3,681]

22 minutes ago, River said:

He can't sell the entire company, the shareholders, the board and the disney family won't allow it to happen

But I think selling ABC, FX and Freeform is not such a loss, I mean, he's basically selling Grey's Anatomy ABC news and American Horror Story, Freeform has been flopping for years now and FX didn't have anything interesting for a while.

The new Brit Marling show will start on August 

Apparently it's their biggest 

[Roughhouse Dandy 13,607]

And when will it be considered a monopoly? Because I can't imagine a bigger company at this point. 

[bionic 50,111]

it smells of a monopoly babes

[SHALLOW 16,469]

55 minutes ago, River said:

He can't sell the entire company, the shareholders, the board and the disney family won't allow it to happen

But I think selling ABC, FX and Freeform is not such a loss, I mean, he's basically selling Grey's Anatomy ABC news and American Horror Story, Freeform has been flopping for years now and FX didn't have anything interesting for a while.

Do you think there's any chance AHS could get better under Apple? It used to be my favourite show 

[SHALLOW 16,469]

8 minutes ago, bionic said:

it smells of a monopoly babes

Yeah, i honestly don't think it'll be allowed. Look at all the fuss they made with Microsoft acquiring Activision. Idk if that's comparable to that in legal terms tho

[Reginald 13,841]

[bionic 50,111]

11 minutes ago, SHALLOW said:

Yeah, i honestly don't think it'll be allowed. Look at all the fuss they made with Microsoft acquiring Activision. Idk if that's comparable to that in legal terms tho

tbf microsoft seems to be pressing on anyway despite the EU raising concerns and i think the UK literally saying dont do this

[Mister G 10,512]

1 hour ago, River said:

He can't sell the entire company, the shareholders, the board and the disney family won't allow it to happen

But I think selling ABC, FX and Freeform is not such a loss, I mean, he's basically selling Grey's Anatomy ABC news and American Horror Story, Freeform has been flopping for years now and FX didn't have anything interesting for a while.

Uhh they have The Bear and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia how dare you LOL.

[Not The Real Gaga 7,582]

These rumors are circling around for YEARS

[River 127,367]

6 minutes ago, Mister G said:

Uhh they have The Bear and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia how dare you LOL.

IASIP barely has 300k weekly views and really lost it's charm 10 seasons ago imo, I used to watch it but like any long lasting series, I just lose interest.

The Bear is produced by FXP but it's a Hulu show so I didn't shade it lol and it's really good