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.”

 

[mlanguishi]

Chapek is just the fall guy for Iger's bad choices. Eisner of all people did a better job.

Eisner saved Disney and led to their late 80s/90s recovery. What's going on now is kind of the opposite, they're just riding on assets that are depleting with bad reputations

 

[RisingPhoenix]

Chapek is just the fall guy for Iger's bad choices. Eisner of all people did a better job.

The thing is Eisner had a pretty good start, he made smart pushes early on and was rather popular. Early on I think he learned that he was never going to be the Walt of his day and let the work speak for itself. Eisner is a TV exec thru and thru but he had more decent moments in him than Iger or Chapek have ever had (big purchases don't really say much about your leadership skills)



Where it really went wrong was whenever Eisner got too attached to a project. Disneyland Paris was his real big project and I don't think he ever quite got over the way the French responded to the whole thing. Then when it went so south they had to literally spin it off as it's own company and wash their hands of it + they wasted stupid money on projects that never happened for years too. Parks and Animation both have shared history in being the golden gooses that get choked when the company needs to make cuts.



He also liked being in charge too much to recognise when it was being actually harmful to the company. At Eisners worst he put people in charge of the parks who were all about cutting cost and delivering lousy experiences with nothing to build off from. Of course they are back here again a few decades later and Iger actually put the cost-cutting moron in charge


Chapek did an interview a few months back where his claim that adding fees to the line skip system and upping ticket prices was so they stopped catering to the "Superfans" who brought their annual passes so they could instagram with the latest Minnie ears and dole whip variation so that "one family in Denver, Colorado" could have a once in a lifetime trip. Genie+ is such a hassle to use that I'm not sure how the family ever figured into this current vision and the prices turn most people off these days.

 

[mlanguishi]

The thing is Eisner had a pretty good start, he made smart pushes early on and was rather popular. Early on I think he learned that he was never going to be the Walt of his day and let the work speak for itself. Eisner is a TV exec thru and thru but he had more decent moments in him than Iger or Chapek have ever had (big purchases don't really say much about your leadership skills)

Eisner's Euo-Disney-land was a huge failure. He did good on the movies though.

I think the parks are suffering now, but are getting still decent revenue while the movies are in bad shape. The IP stuff at Epcot going on is really a killer.

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

Eisner saved Disney and led to their late 80s/90s recovery. What's going on now is kind of the opposite, they're just riding on assets that are depleting with bad reputations

Reading Disney War about 15 years ago, it was mindblowing how small potatoes things were compared to the utter horror show Disney is now. Basically the issue was Eisner pissed off some other Jews, filled the board with his sycophants, and there were a couple years where he didn’t have smash hits like The Lion King or Aladdin. That was considered all hands on deck to get this guy out but here we have Disney burning through all their IP and burning through billions of dollars with no profit in sight and their solution was to bring back the guy that set the company up for failure.

Disney deserves to crash hard and it’s fun to watch as it does. I don’t give a fuck if it all burns down.

 

[RodgerDodger]

I love how people, Disney people, people within t he company, forget that one of Iger's first acts as CEO was firing all of the traditional Disney Animators.

 

[namelesstacotruck]

The parks arent gonna get unfucked with Iger. He gives no fucks about the parks other than as a cash cow. He cant undo any of the things that people hate either. Because all of those would cost money to change and not one off costs either but long term capital investments. For instance a popular thing they used do was making there be a free bus that would take you from the airport to disney. Basically locking you in to disneys eco system for your stay. They got rid of that. Bringing it back wouldnt be cheap.

All the failed movie projects launched under Iger. I cant think of a single movie that originated with Chapek reign tbh. So no change there either.

Im of the opinion that the woke faction won over because the anti wokes got tired of chapek not doing jack shit and also not making money.

Chapeks interviews were massive cringe. Pandering constantly to wokies that hated him.

We taking bets for Kathleen Kennedy as Disney CEO?

 

[Big moth tiddies]

TLDR: fat retard was using something profitable to fund something that isn't, and was probably shit canned because he was doing stuff to the profitable thing that got enough people worried it wouldn't be able to fund the unprofitable stuff anymore.

Iger started Disney+, just as he did the Genie app. It's not like Chepek was going to be able to shut Disney+ down. Likewise, the projections for Disney+ becoming profitable in 2024 were announced while Iger was still in charge. You can find articles referencing this going as far back as April 2019.

That's not to say Chepek would ever have been successful, but to say he's the one who did this when it was given to him as such is completely untrue.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

We taking bets for Kathleen Kennedy as Disney CEO?

NOW that sounds hilarious to me. It seems unlikely at first glance, but the more you think about weaponized intersectional politics, the more plausible it sounds. What if Iger got #metoo'd by Daisy Ridley acting--as always--as a proxy for KK?

 

[Halmaz]

Do they even advertise their movies these days, outside of fluff pieces, intended to raise controversy?
Granted, I am no parent yet and I am not American, but I have only learned about Strange World a few days ago, when it was posted in A&N. It took me a while to realize Lightyear is an actual movie, because all the images I have seen here and there, looked like generic "this is Buzz, but realistic" fan art. Turning Red came out of nowhere too, only know about it, because of the controversy.
In the past, it was impossible not to know a Disney/Pixar movie is about to drop, because of the massive marketing campaign, preceding its release. There were TV advertisements, toys, Happy Meals, merchandise everywhere.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad the garbage they make these days is easy to ignore, but I find the lack of hype strange. I hope Disney crashes and burns, along with all the IPs they ruined.

 

[quaawaa]

Do they even advertise their movies these days, outside of fluff pieces, intended to raise controversy?
Granted, I am no parent yet and I am not American, but I have only learned about Strange World a few days ago, when it was posted in A&N. It took me a while to realize Lightyear is an actual movie, because all the images I have seen here and there, looked like generic "this is Buzz, but realistic" fan art. Turning Red came out of nowhere too, only know about it, because of the controversy.
In the past, it was impossible not to know a Disney/Pixar movie is about to drop, because of the massive marketing campaign, preceding its release. There were TV advertisements, toys, Happy Meals, merchandise everywhere.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad the garbage they make these days is easy to ignore, but I find the lack of hype strange. I hope Disney crashes and burns, along with all the IPs they ruined.

No you're not crazy, Disney just isn't releasing very many movies, and the ones they do release are mostly mediocre and would have been direct-to-video in an earlier era.
Here is a list of every single movie Disney released in 2022:



Look at the sheer number of sequels and remakes. The only movies that aren't sequels are the documentaries (The Beatles, Polar Bears, and Rise), Turning Red (Pixar), Better Nate Than Ever (musical), and Strange World. Everything else is a sequel or remake. None of the original movies have broad appeal and Better Nate is the only live-action non-documentary new movie. It's no wonder they're losing money; Disney is a movie company that refuses to make new movies.

This is the slate for next year:

The Little Mermaid but black, a Pixar film about a fire spirit and a water spirit falling in love, The Haunted Mansion but black (Disneyland ride; they're trying to repeat the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but they already tried this in 2003 with Eddie Murphy), and Frozen but black (musical about a Princess).

Of those movies, only the Pixar movie is likely to be good (and it is also the only original idea), though the musical may have some catchy songs and do well.

 

[BasedCentrist]

NOW that sounds hilarious to me. It seems unlikely at first glance, but the more you think about weaponized intersectional politics, the more plausible it sounds. What if Iger got #metoo'd by Daisy Ridley acting--as always--as a proxy for KK?

Maybe as shabbos diversity & equality officer. Top roles are resevered for the chosen people.
I think Jennifer with her cred as kosher ESG shill has good chances, she's still young too.

The only people who care about modern disney are video rel and brown children.
Same type of person that gets exited about adult happy meals, goy cattle.

 

[Creep3r]

Chapek is just the fall goy. Many of these Jew-infused businesses will set up these goy puppets to be a figurehead who can be discarded at will. Chapek never had any real authority but he’ll get paid off with tens of millions of dollars so he will be okay. Iger set this guy up to fail and not a surprise that things fell apart. It’s a lot like Bob Welch and Jeff Immelt: Immelt didn’t keep things from falling apart but the setup all happened on Welch’s watch.

Bob Iger - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jebu Nagazi]

Yet another shitty day & yet another shitty Bob...

 

[Oilspill Battery]

Shared this back in the disney thread but they've been subsidizing disney+ and their studios with profits from the parks for a long time with hopes that in the near future that both will be able to start generating income on their own (Chapek was telling investors to expect Disney+ to achieve profitability in 2024) , and this quarter was probably the biggest example of it yet.

Does that mean losing their fiefdom in florida fucked them even harder since it was their main source of profit?

 

[whatever I feel like]

There are tons of youtube vids about this.

She did that sneak in your own people thing.

So lucas film got staffed with wokies that support "the cause" if you fire her than half the staff will revolt and create tonnes of bad PR. doesnt help that anyone who had the power to fire here would be risking their neck looking sexist.

She's been at Lucasfilm since the early ninties, she wasn't some outsider invading and replacing people.

 

[Übertroon]

She's been at Lucasfilm since the early ninties, she wasn't some outsider invading and replacing people.

He didn't say she sneaked in, he said she snuck her own people in.
Basically when Kennedy was given control she first ensured that the studio got filled with loyalists

 

[mlanguishi]

Fucking dammit, Well Lucas is still alive and got to see his creation star-treked into oblviion. Fucking sellout

ETA, there was a real support of Lucas from late 70s, and I'd say until ROTS 2005. I remember seeing guys yelling 'Hail Lucas' after the THX promo.

 

[Product Placement]

Eisner saved Disney and led to their late 80s/90s recovery. What's going on now is kind of the opposite, they're just riding on assets that are depleting with bad reputations

True but Eisner during the 90s he also had the financial train wreck of Disney Land Paris and going into the 2000s he clearly was doing an awful job with Disney. Iger was a much needed replacement and really did turn Disney around. Think the true issue is that Iger has done all he can for Disney business wise much like Eisner did by the 2000s and at this point is more of a hindrance than help. Disney need a fresh CEO who is willing to take risks, but doubt they will find that person any time soon or even want that person.

Do wonder if Disney right now is just too big to mange it's self and departments need more self control. 20th Century Studios now is under Alan Bergman like every other studio Disney owns, and that is clearly not working out.

 

[mlanguishi]

Do wonder if Disney right now is just too big to mange it's self and departments need more self control. 20th Century Studios now is under Alan Bergman like every other studio Disney owns, and that is clearly not working out.

It's way too big, imo. They might've been ok with the TV stuff like ESPN. But they are a bloated beast now which is out of any single person. They need a Disney+ strong leader, a park ones, and a movie one.

Disney has enough cash to burh through like Apple could, which is another wreck down the line. The markets for their products, especially Disney's, are going away.

 

[namelesstacotruck]

True but Eisner during the 90s he also had the financial train wreck of Disney Land Paris and going into the 2000s he clearly was doing an awful job with Disney. Iger was a much needed replacement and really did turn Disney around. Think the true issue is that Iger has done all he can for Disney business wise much like Eisner did by the 2000s and at this point is more of a hindrance than help. Disney need a fresh CEO who is willing to take risks, but doubt they will find that person any time soon or even want that person.

Do wonder if Disney right now is just too big to mange it's self and departments need more self control. 20th Century Studios now is under Alan Bergman like every other studio Disney owns, and that is clearly not working out.

They have business units that de facto compete with each other and all that implies. Even at the parks this is true sense they reduced the ability to hop parks.

The ESG investors likely threatened a full on crash if their boy wasnt put back in. With Igers fancies expect him to double down on sports as the way out.

Disneys debt profile is huge. How much do they have to pay just to service the debt? Also did Disney have a single hit movie release this year? Capeshit came out, but wasnt that just "slightly profitable territory"?