Bob Iger Returns/Disney CEO Thread (2022)

[shiekra38]

So willing to bite, is Josh being kicked? Sam Carter (Artist who has worked with WDI prior) seemed to suggest that something may be occuring with Josh getting axed as part of the reorganziations. Been curious to see how people might react to that, and what that could mean for the long haul (please cancel Lake Nona).

I'd fire him

And then I'd move on to Pixar and the Films division

And then I'd fix Epcot again

in that order

Maybe make D+ profitable if Blackrock is nice to me

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Serious question - what's wrong with relocating Imagineering to Lake Nona? I thought the hate was geared more toward the quick and abrupt notice versus the move itself.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

D'maro (unless Chapek was forcing decisions) needs to go.

 

[Mad Dog]

Serious question - what's wrong with relocating Imagineering to Lake Nona? I thought the hate was geared more toward the quick and abrupt notice versus the move itself.

Upending employees and their families lives is contradictory to the Family image Disney likes to sell......On D'Amaro. He kind of hid away and played the willing lackey. You'd never
know he was in charge of the Theme Park division, he was so quiet and almost invisible. So it will be interesting if he pays for his almost cowardice by losing his lackey kingdom.
Really, who would even notice if he disappeared.

 

[Nick]

So willing to bite, is Josh being kicked? Sam Carter (Artist who has worked with WDI prior) seemed to suggest that something may be occuring with Josh getting axed as part of the reorganziations. Been curious to see how people might react to that, and what that could mean for the long haul (please cancel Lake Nona).

Serious question - what's wrong with relocating Imagineering to Lake Nona? I thought the hate was geared more toward the quick and abrupt notice versus the move itself.

Iger is the one who approved the move to begin with if I remember correctly (the land was bought back during his original tenure I think) so I doubt Lake Nona is getting canned, especially since it's already under construction.

D'maro (unless Chapek was forcing decisions) needs to go.

I doubt he's high on Iger's list of people to fire considering that in the recent earnings report that Wall Street lost their minds over, Disney reported record profits for the Parks. I'd actually say there's probably a higher likelihood D'amaro becomes the next CEO than gets fired anytime soon.

I could be wrong though, D'amaro could get fired tomorrow and I wouldn't care at all. I've seen so many different head of the Parks since i've been paying attention from Pressler, Rasulo, Staggs, Chapek, and D'amaro. Staggs was probably the best but honestly, they're all interchangeable and essentially the same person in a different body who each put their own unique spins on how "best" to run the parks.

Iger can fire D'amaro, but lets not fool ourselves into thinking that we're going to get someone who is going to be any better. That person that replaces him is just going to do some slightly different things and give us different reasons to hate them.

 

[shiekra38]

Serious question - what's wrong with relocating Imagineering to Lake Nona? I thought the hate was geared more toward the quick and abrupt notice versus the move itself.

There's nothing wrong with it, it makes a ton of sense quite honestly

Mostly cause Florida is lit

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Upending employees and their families lives is contradictory to the Family image Disney likes to sell......On D'Amaro. He kind of hid away and played the willing lackey. You'd never
know he was in charge of the Theme Park division, he was so quiet and almost invisible. So it will be interesting if he pays for his almost cowardice by losing his lackey kingdom.
Really, who would even notice if he disappeared.

I 100% don't agree with the way they approached announcing the plans to move, especially since lots of them heard first from news/social media. However, moving to Orlando is ideal as so many creative companies are located here.

 

[Tobias]

So willing to bite, is Josh being kicked? Sam Carter (Artist who has worked with WDI prior) seemed to suggest that something may be occuring with Josh getting axed as part of the reorganziations. Been curious to see how people might react to that, and what that could mean for the long haul (please cancel Lake Nona).

Hard to say, but considering Kareem Daniel was shown the door, I don't think anyone who's part of Chapek's inner circle is standing on solid ground, so to speak.

 

[Mad Dog]

One thing to remember about Iger. He never really got too involved with the Theme Parks. While he, of course, had the final decision, generally he delegated the parks to others.
He was generally more involved in the acquisition, media and film aspects of Disney business. He didn't micro manage like Chapek did. That really wasn't his style.

 

[Nick]

One thing to remember about Iger. He never really got too involved with the Theme Parks. While he, of course, had the final decision, generally he delegated the parks to others.
He was generally more involved in the acquisition, media and film aspects of Disney business. He didn't micro manage like Chapek did. That really wasn't his style.

Yup, as long as they were making money, he didn't care and the only time he changed head of the division was when a promotion was in the works.

Swapping Rasulo/Staggs positions was to prime both and see who would be the person who was originally supposed to succeed him. Chapek got the job because Staggs became COO. D'amaro got the job because Chapek became the CEO. The parks division has been a division that has led to perpetually failing upwards.

I know what i'm getting in an Iger CEO tenure though and am willing to accept that maybe the Parks might continue as is or we might not see anything new announced. I'm personally willing to accept that because Disney+ and the individual studios are in such trouble right now. Iger needs to rehabilitate all of the relationships that Chapek broke with Disney in Hollywood. He needs to figure out how to make D+ profitable. Get MCU on right track again and get an announced Star Wars movie actually made. Getting Pixar and WDAS profitable again is another big thing.

Iger just has a lot to do and the parks simply aren't going to be a high priority for him as long as they keep making money.

 

[shiekra38]

One thing to remember about Iger. He never really got too involved with the Theme Parks. While he, of course, had the final decision, generally he delegated the parks to others.
He was generally more involved in the acquisition, media and film aspects of Disney business. He didn't micro manage like Chapek did. That really wasn't his style.

Nothing wrong with delegation, but remember who he was delegating to at the time lol

 

[Nick]

Nothing wrong with delegation, but remember who he was delegating to at the time lol

Yeah, towards the end, Chapek was the one ruining the parks and then Chapek took over as CEO and micromanaged, so basically forced his own policies everywhere.

I'm willing to give Josh a chance as I do think Chapek's policies were a big push with him as CEO. It'll be interesting to watch if he manages any different with Iger in charge or if he stays course. If he stays doing the same general things, I agree he needs to go.

 

[Evan]

It’s my understanding that Chapek basically took all control from the creative executives.

So while Chapek had a real impact / say on the parks under Iger (umm, remember the Tomorrowland cabanas?), Josh was mostly in a follow the leader chess game.

What I do know is Josh is incredibly well liked, well spoken, and did great work when he was president of the individual parks under Iger.

Not sure where all the Josh hate stems from, but I guess if you stand too close to the sun, you may get burned?

I am hopeful he can stay, and show us what he can do under Iger.

 

[Mad Dog]

Nothing wrong with delegation, but remember who he was delegating to at the time lol

Yes, that's what I was saying in one of my previous posts. Chapek's input into the park operations has been prevailent for a good while. He's basically responsible for all the stuff guests dislike.
That list from the Wash Post in one of my previous comments, of guests dislikes, is primarily all from Chapek's time as Corporate CEO and before as Parks CEO......and yes Evan , Josh
has a Chapek tan. It will be interesting to watch if that ends up affecting his tenure.

 

[Nick]

What Will Iger Do With ESPN and Hulu? (Published 2022)

With Robert Iger back in charge at Disney, his to-do list takes shape: turn around the streaming businesses, and groom a successor.

www.nytimes.com

Interesting article. I seriously wonder if ESPN will still be a part of the Walt Disney Company at the end of Iger's second tenure. Wall Street hates it and wants Disney to sell. As far as Hulu goes, i've said for awhile they just need to pony up and buy it off of Comcast so they can integrate it into Disney+.

Although with Disney's current debt and how much it will cost to buy, there are some who want Disney to actually sell Hulu, which i'd personally hate to see. I think Disney has invested too much in it at this point to now sell to Comcast.

 

[shiekra38]

What Will Iger Do With ESPN and Hulu? (Published 2022)

With Robert Iger back in charge at Disney, his to-do list takes shape: turn around the streaming businesses, and groom a successor.

www.nytimes.com

Interesting article. I seriously wonder if ESPN will still be a part of the Walt Disney Company at the end of Iger's second tenure. Wall Street hates it and wants Disney to sell. As far as Hulu goes, i've said for awhile they just need to pony up and buy it off of Comcast so they can integrate it into Disney+.

Although with Disney's current debt and how much it will cost to buy, there are some who want Disney to actually sell Hulu, which i'd personally hate to see. I think Disney has invested too much in it at this point to now sell to Comcast.

I feel like I've heard about Disney shedding ESPN for a decade at this point lol

Hulu being integrated into D+ would go a long way to boost the platform a lot and it would be a wise move for them

Hulu does have the live TV aspect which D+ doesn't have, as well as an expanded library

As long as Verizon keeps offering it for free I don't really care

 

[Nick]

I feel like I've heard about Disney shedding ESPN for a decade at this point lol

Hulu being integrated into D+ would go a long way to boost the platform a lot and it would be a wise move for them

Hulu does have the live TV aspect which D+ doesn't have, as well as an expanded library

As long as Verizon keeps offering it for free I don't really care

Disney+ needs to integrate Hulu and ESPN+ into Disney+ if they plan on seriously competing with HBO Max and Netflix. Sure, they have a huge subscriber count, but most of that is overseas where everything is integrated already. In the US, there's still a lot of room to grow outside of Marvel and Star Wars.

For example, the only time we use Disney+ is when we watch a Marvel or Star Wars show normally. Like, my mom will throw on Netflix just to scroll and see if there's anything new to watch because she knows that they make content that she likes. Disney+ has a stigma of being more of a kiddy service and thus people like my mom just generally don't even think to put it on because they know that Disney+ has never made much for her anyway (and she doesn't like crazy graphic stuff, just something a bit more mature).

If you add Hulu and ESPN+ content to the mix, you don't have to spend as much on Disney+ original content because the content from those other services will account for a good portion of the shows and movies, not to mention live TV and sports. They would also save money because by operating three different streaming services, that means you have three different teams running the services that could be combined down to one team. There would inevitably be a decent amount of overlap meaning you would be able to save money by cutting unnecessary staff and streamlining your service.

 

[Mad Dog]

The problem with ESPN for the future is that sports rights fees have exploded since Amazon & Apple entered the market. Their business plan may not be very viable in years forward. And then
there's the issue with cable losing customers.

 

[GAcoaster]

Hey, let's see Disney buyout Comcast's stake in Hulu!

 

[Nick]

Hey, let's see Disney buyout Comcast's stake in Hulu!

Can’t be said enough how much it needs to happen! Everyone join in!