Disney CEO: ABC, Other Channels May Not Be for Sale After All; Are ‘Pretty Significant’ Parts of the Company
Speaking at a company townhall meeting on Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger seemed to downplay the possibility that the company’s linear channels were for sale.
What’s Bob Iger up to these days? The short answer is a lot between his duties as CEO — managing Disney’s multi-arm operation — and taking a lead role in negotiations with SAG-AFTRA. However, his biggest concern at the moment is helping to right the financial ship that is company is currently sailing on, as traditional revenue drivers like broadcast and cable channels continue to lose viewers.
- Speaking at a corporate town hall meeting, Iger said that no final decisions have been made regarding the sale of channels such as ABC, Disney Channel, FX, and others.
- The CEO also said that those channels were “pretty significant” parts of the company still.
- Disney is still preparing to launch a one-app version of Disney+ and Hulu sometime next month.
So Is Disney Selling Linear Channels or Not?
Iger took time from his busy schedule to speak at a town hall meeting for Disney employees on Tuesday. During the meeting, he threw cold water on the idea that a sale of Disney’s linear channels was imminent or even probable, suggesting that the media had perhaps run with the story overeagerly this summer when he said that such channels weren't necessarily core parts of the business.
“I did not think everyone would run with a story that everything is being sold, which is not the case,” Iger told employees at the town hall, saying that Disney’s linear channels are still “pretty significant” parts of the company.
He explained that earlier comments regarding the sale of channels like ABC, Disney Channel, FX, and other networks were part of his tendency to “run things up flagpoles to see how they will fly” and to “think out loud.” It certainly caused some of his peers to think he was sincere, however; Byron Allen, CEO of Allen Media Group, reportedly made a $10 billion bid for some of Disney’s linear assets earlier this fall, but was told that Disney wasn't quite ready to sell yet.
Is Iger Simply Playing Coy?
Iger’s motivations for seemingly backing off his desire to sell the linear channels could be multiple. For one, there’s always the possibility that the CEO wants to drive up the price of those channels by making it seem as if Disney is reluctant to part ways with them.
On the other hand, there are a lot of “ifs” and “maybes” surrounding Disney these days, which is an indication that the company truly is being very cautious and deliberate about its choices. It’s also considering a sale of its Indian streaming operation Disney+ Hotstar, as well as folding some channels it currently owns outright like History and Lifetime into A&E Networks — its joint venture with Hearst Television — which would help it reduce costs for those channels.
Despite this change in public tenor, there has been no pullback whatsoever on the company’s streaming ambitions. At the beginning of November, Disney officially confirmed that it would purchase Comcast’s 33% stake of Hulu, and is moving forward with plans to soft-launch a one-app experience including Disney+ and Hulu in the United States in December.
What it really seems to boil down to is that Iger wants to be sure that whatever decisions are made are the right ones for the long-term health of the company. There’s a lot of pressure on him to do just that, as he was brought back for a second tenure last year when his former disciple Bob Chapek was shown the door by Disney’s board. A sale of at least some linear Disney assets in the next few years is still very likely, but the company won’t make a move until the time is right.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”