Yeah. So Disney currently owns 2/3rds of Hulu while Comcast owns the last 1/3. Based on the terms of the deal in 2019, Disney is expected to buy the final part from Comcast which is estimated to be about $9 billion. Iger seems to be backtracking because streaming is a huge loss but Comcast can force Disney to buy out its stake in early 2024 (as can Disney if streaming did do well).
Since Disney is strapped for cash and streaming is a dud, they need to pray that Comcast will “alter the deal” and find a new buyer to buy out their minority share.
Iger definately did not care about the purse strings when he was on his shopping spree (which inflated Disney stock price which made him seem “good”) and Chapek was the fall guy who needed to rebalance the budget. Now that Iger is back, he needs to solve the mess he made.
The online Disney fandom, in general, LOVED that Chapek was fired and Iger was (temporarily) brought back. Chapek is as dry as an Excel spreadsheet and not a creative type... he is a cost cutter, running a huge corporation. And that's fine if you manage Staples or Pepsi. But I don't believe that Chapek could ever be the public face of a mega entertainment company.
But you are right... all these huge investments were Iger's and his alone.
If Disney needs cash, then they could...
1) Sell Lucasfilm and sign a 99 year agreement to use the characters in media and theme parks
2) Sell Marvel and sign a 99 year agreement to use the characters in media and theme parks
3) Sell ESPN and Hulu
At one time, Disney was the BEST overall at family entertainment. And I really think that needs to be their goal. To the detriment of pure profit, Disney needs to re-focus on having the BEST theme parks (in terms of attraction experiences, cleanliness, maintenance, employee payroll, customer service and friendliness), family entertainment on both TV/media and film (maybe a little bit less on the gritty, angsty, social justice warrior type characters). Keep their nose out of ANYTHING that smells political or socially charged (you are free to have your private opinion, but corporately the response is "no comment"), and treat their customers with respect.
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