Bob Iger named Disney CEO in shocking development

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In a move that shocked Hollywood, Bob Iger, one of the most notable CEOs in the history of the Walt Disney company, is returning to once again run the media empire.

Bob Chapek, who replaced Iger in 2020 as CEO, is stepping down immediately.

“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, said in a statement on Sunday night. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”

The announcement, while surprising to the media industry, comes at a time of great evolution for Disney. The company is coming off a lackluster earnings report that showed growth for its streaming endeavors. However, that came at a great cost. Disney’s streaming business lost $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. That report sent Disney’s stock tumbling after a year of sluggish to bad performance.

Chapek guided the company through the pandemic, one of its most tumultuous periods in its nearly 100-year history, but ultimately Disney decided that its future was in better hands with Iger.

Away from the pandemic, Chapek had a short but bumpy tenure as the head of Disney. Chapek, who served as chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products before taking over for Iger, found himself dealing with issues regarding pay with Scarlett Johansson, one of the company’s biggest stars, as well as Disney’s battles with Florida, and its own employees, regarding the state’s controversial bill restricting certain LGBTQ topics in the classroom.

Disney’s stock has also taken a hit lately. It’s currently down roughly 40% this year.

As for Iger, he has an almost mythical status as the leader of Disney (DIS). He spent 15 years as CEO and was instrumental in acquiring major brands like Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, the home to Star Wars. Iger also closed the $71 billion deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox and kicked off the streaming revolution at Disney (DIS) with the creation of Disney (DIS)+ in November 2019.

Iger stayed on at Disney as executive chairman directing the company’s creative endeavors. He officially left the company after nearly 50 years at the end of last year.

Disney said Sunday that Iger has agreed to serve as CEO for two years with “a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the Board in developing a successor to lead the Company at the completion of his term.”

The move is also surprising since Chapek just renewed his contract. The company’s board of directors unanimously voted to extend Chapek’s contract as CEO for another three years, the company said in June. Chapek’s new contract began in July and was set to run until 2025.

Also, it appeared that Iger was set in retirement with his legacy as one of Disney’s most notable and successful CEOs. Now, he’s back.

“I am extremely optimistic for the future of this great company and thrilled to be asked by the Board to return as its CEO,” Iger said in a statement Sunday. “Disney and its incomparable brands and franchises hold a special place in the hearts of so many people around the globe—most especially in the hearts of our employees, whose dedication to this company and its mission is an inspiration.”

Iger added that he is “deeply honored to be asked to again lead this remarkable team, with a clear mission focused on creative excellence to inspire generations through unrivaled, bold storytelling.”

 

[TheBallPit]

The parks stay at or near-capacity on an almost yearly basis now because of their rather shrewd and pretty obvious pricing strategy of having a sliding gate scale. IOW, at non-peak times, they'll "lower" the price compared to peak dates, which keeps the throngs returning to their favorite watering hole. There are times during the day when the park isn't shoulder-to-shoulder, so it is possible to ride something like Space Mountain or Big Thunder in under twenty or so minutes, but they're rather fleeting, probably because people have temporarily left to take a break at their hotels or somesuch. Some attractions, though, like Resistance, Pandora, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are practically always in the 70+ range.

A bona-fide new attraction would mean developing a significant jut-out from a park's perimeter for spaces like the queue and show building. This is difficult since all the gates are heavily encircled by support structures and below-ground systems, not to mention raw untamed marshland. It's far easier to steamroll a current ride and build a new one over the old since all the utilities and walkways already exist and would only need tweaking. I think they got lucky with Tron as the land was easy to reshape, plus it's going to be in EXTREMELY close proximity to Space Mountain, so it's possible a lot of the underlying infrastructure didn't need much enhancement. That's just conjecture on my part, but it makes armchair quarterbacking sense.

Universal hasn't siphoned-off people who would otherwise like to've gone to Disney to any appreciable degree. What bodies have been lost have just been replaced by other groups. OTOH, it could be argued that Universal, by expanding the state's overall theme park footprint, has actually driven even more people to Disney and that they're "competitors" in name only. I think this might happen with Epic Universe and Disney will raise prices that much more once they see how the guest traffic situation settles.

Regarding those priced-out, this is where Disney has an enormous edge over someplace like Six Flags or Dollywood, as they have a ginormous presence far beyond the resorts via their media empire. Not only that, except for the unique Marvel issue that's in place east of the Mississippi (that WILL be overcome at some point), they own all of their IPs, lock, stock, and barrel unlike Cedar Fair and even Universal themselves. Even the poorest kid knows and adores Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest through simple cultural osmosis, made that much easier now through Disney+. And if you want to buy your child an inexpensive Disney bauble, Amazon has thousands of listings along with your local Dollar Tree (I shop at DT and they're loaded with Disney stuff).

In short, Disney doesn't need the average paycheck-to-paycheck family to visit the gates, as they have everyone else.

There simply isn't getting away from Disney. They have the parks, the films, TV-oriented fare, the streaming service, physical trinkets, and hugely diversified company portfolio along with their decades-old public image that they can richly leverage for perhaps forever. Their brand will likely never fade enough for it to become a genuine problem. It would take a titanic gaffe for their star to die and they know this, which is why they were so emboldened to resist the Florida parental rights bill.

I know I sound like a Disney proselytizer, but I just want people to understand what they're up against when rebuffing The Rat. Tearing down or just lightly scratching those walls would be a monumental undertaking that not even Universal is engaged in. Epic Universe is not about taking market share away from Disney and giving them a black eye; Universal simply wants to make a little extra cash for themselves. And if they do wind-up achieving the impossible and robbing Disney of an alarming amount of guests, hey, I'll HAPPILY say I was completely wrong about the subject and dance a Song of the South-style jig.

 

[TheBallPit]

Disney Food Blog recently posted a half-hour remarkably fair comparison video of Disney World versus Universal Orlando and it gives viewers a glimpse as to just how compact Universal is when compared to The Rat. This is why I keep stressing that Universal is simply not a threat to Disney, as the former is akin to visiting to a souped-up country fair whereas Disney is a bona-fide resort "world" that provides guests with an almost endless array of things to do provided the money is right. The video also goes into some nice detail regarding aspects like the food (obviously), hotel and ride offerings, seasonal events, Lightning Lane versus Express, and other operating sectors.

I did want to correct a possible error on my part. Universal also engages in what's called "surge" pricing during peak days. However, this wasn't always the case and I'll bet serious money was implemented after Disney did theirs. I believe this only applies to gate entry, as each resort's parking fees seem to remain static throughout the year (when they're not going up, of course).

In short, Universal is great if you want a 2+1 park experience that is easy to navigate, doesn't require a computer degree, and only consumes three or four vacation days. If you want to experience all of what Disney has on offer, though, prepare to lay siege to the resort for at least a month and make damn sure you've got five digits worth of credit card space...hell, maybe six.