Disney CEO Bob Iger explained several of the company’s mistakes made under the previous regime—specifically suggesting big changes are coming for Hulu.
Key Details
- Bob Iger spoke on Thursday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference.
- Iger announced that the company was backtracking on some of the previous CEO’s revenue generation ideas, such as aggressively raising resort prices and charging for parking outside its Disney World and Disney Land parks.
- He is also considering changes for Hulu. He recently admitted “everything is on the table” for Hulu.
- Iger admitted that Hulu might not have a future with Disney going forward.
Why It’s News
Bob Iger has a significant challenge ahead of him as he attempts to turn the Disney Corporation around following a very tough financial year. The company shocked the business world on November 20, when the board of directors ousted CEO Bob Chapek and returned former CEO Bob Iger to the top post, hoping that the man who expanded Disney into a company with a 27% market share of the film industry would turn the company around after major financial losses.
The company has primarily focused on cost-cutting and layoffs in the past few months, announcing sequels to profitable films, and reorganizing the company structure.
However, the transition hasn’t gone smoothly. Activist billionaire Nelson Peltz launched and failed a proxy war in January to attempt to earn a seat on the board of directors, claiming he could turn the company around. As film journalist Scott Mendelson noted in February, the company may be too large and cumbersome to meaningfully turn around in Iger’s new term, saying the acquisition of 20th Century Fox could be the company’s undoing.
Despite losing subscribers on Disney+, Iger is very defensive of his creation. As Forbes notes, he remains bullish on the future of the streaming platform. Still, his overall tone for the platform has changed from maximizing subscriptions and competing against rival companies like Netflix to changing its pricing model and holding subscribers longer.
