General Entertainment Chapek fired, Iger back at Disney

[Pikachu]

Disney Shocker: Bob Iger Returning as CEO, Bob Chapek Exits

WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM

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Disney's board of directors said that Iger "has agreed to serve as Disney’s CEO for two years, with a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth" and to identify a successor.

 

[Brian]

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

[Guest]

I like it

[EternallDarkness]

finally Disney actually acknowledges guest demand!

[Emblazon]

[Jason]

[Guest]

1 hour ago, EternallDarkness said:

finally Disney actually acknowledges guest demand!

My man, let me tell you a thing about something called shareholders

[EternallDarkness]

25 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

My man, let me tell you a thing about something called shareholders

 

oh I know. I was joking. After that last earning report they had to do something. Of course I found it funny since they just reupped good old Bob Paycheck  

[Reputator]

Bob Iger named Disney CEO in shocking development | CNN Business

WWW.CNN.COM

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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.

 

 

Quote

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.

 

 

Yeah that's kind of crazy.

[MarSolo]

If you think about the all the insane shit that happened in the last three years, it’s not surprising. To quote a friend:

 

“In those three years, Chapek started a war with season ticket holders, let the GOP use Disney as a proxy for the culture wars, pissed off ScarJo something fierce, did the Cricket deal in India that boosted subscribers but brought in no money, fired the guy Iger specifically brought in from Fox to guide the movie business (Chapek's background is parks) and I think I missed a couple of other disasters.”

[Kal-El814]

When the money printer goes from BRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRR BRRRRRRRRRRRR to brrrrrrrr brrrrrrrrr brrrrrrrr someone gonna get canned.

[Jason]

[Brian]

Dude got Conan’d

[Firewithin]

1 hour ago, MarSolo said:

If you think about the all the insane shit that happened in the last three years, it’s not surprising. To quote a friend:

 

“In those three years, Chapek started a war with season ticket holders, let the GOP use Disney as a proxy for the culture wars, pissed off ScarJo something fierce, did the Cricket deal in India that boosted subscribers but brought in no money, fired the guy Iger specifically brought in from Fox to guide the movie business (Chapek's background is parks) and I think I missed a couple of other disasters.”

didnt he also gut their imagennering dept and shit talk animation?  thats not a good sign seeing how this was disney lol

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

13 minutes ago, Firewithin said:

didnt he also gut their imagennering dept and shit talk animation?  thats not a good sign seeing how this was disney lol

 

Yup - those are a couple of more of his plentiful missteps. 

[CitizenVectron]

14 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Yup - those are a couple of more of his plentiful missteps. 

 

It boggles my mind when these sorts of decisions are made. Like, I 100% understand perhaps giving a boost to your own passion projects. But why try and destroy the things you don't know a lot about? Such an ego-driven thing.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Chapek somehow managed to pull off the nigh-impossible feat of pissing off practically every single stakeholder simultaneously:

 

Workers

Stockholders
Customers

Executives

Acting/Creative Talent

Politicians

Taxpayers

Etc.

 

It takes a truly "special" type of executive to pull that off as successfully as he did!

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Can't say that I necessarily disagree with this take from CNBC, especially since Chapek's contract was extended for three years only a few months ago.

 

Disney board's decision to replace Bob Chapek with Bob Iger makes everyone look bad

WWW.CNBC.COM

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Disney had just renewed Bob Chapek's contract in June, and Bob Iger had said publicly he wouldn't return.

 

[TwinIon]

I certainly won't argue that Chapek did a good job, but the fundamental problem that Disney faces is one that Iger didn't fix during his tenure. For a long time now, cable TV has driven most of their profits. Go back to their financials in 2012 and you quickly see that cable TV made up more than half their profits, by the time Iger left in 2020 media networks made $9 billion in operating income, where the company as a whole made $8 billion, largely thanks to streaming more than wiping out all the profits from the movie studios. It didn't take a genius CEO to tell you that cable tv in 2020 was not where you wanted to rest your future.

 

Certainly there is still time for streaming to become a profitable business, but the slope of cable tv income was always going to go down faster than the streaming income went up.

 

I trust Iger to do a much better job of figuring out the parks and making the filmmakers happy and to better deal with the politics surrounding the company. What will really save Disney though is to actually turn Disney+ into the kind of profit machine that ESPN has been.

[Guest]

I just don’t believe in streaming as the sort of business that replaces any of the traditional revenue streams Disney has made bank off of. The content is too expensive, and people have been used to pricing in the $10-$20 a month range when the numbers suggest D+ probably needs to be in the $25+ range to be the money printer Disney wants it to be. But who is willing to pay that when they’ve been getting it for $8?

[TwinIon]

4 hours ago, sblfilms said:

I just don’t believe in streaming as the sort of business that replaces any of the traditional revenue streams Disney has made bank off of. The content is too expensive, and people have been used to pricing in the $10-$20 a month range when the numbers suggest D+ probably needs to be in the $25+ range to be the money printer Disney wants it to be. But who is willing to pay that when they’ve been getting it for $8?

 

I agree it's a real conundrum, but it is the path that Iger set Disney on and it doesn't seem like they have much choice in the matter. TV revenue will continue to decline and direct to consumer is their only answer. If Iger can solve that puzzle, he'll really be the genius he's often referred to as.

[skillzdadirecta]

22 hours ago, sblfilms said:

I like it

So do I... the crazy thing is I've been traveling all day and had no fucking idea this happened and I WORK for thesde folks! 

[skillzdadirecta]

28 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

 

I agree it's a real conundrum, but it is the path that Iger set Disney on and it doesn't seem like they have much choice in the matter. TV revenue will continue to decline and direct to consumer is their only answer. If Iger can solve that puzzle, he'll really be the genius he's often referred to as.

One thing I can tell you is that the News division did VERY well for them especially during the pandemic... so much so that they are now putting a healthy amount of focus on news and magazine shows...

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

30 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

 

I agree it's a real conundrum, but it is the path that Iger set Disney on and it doesn't seem like they have much choice in the matter. TV revenue will continue to decline and direct to consumer is their only answer. If Iger can solve that puzzle, he'll really be the genius he's often referred to as.

 

I honestly don't think there is a way out of that conundrum at all for Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, or any other media firm that has streaming as a component of their overall portfolio.

 

The question really boils down to for just how long are shareholders willing to tolerate the bleeding by what essentially amounts to streaming being subsidized by the actually profitable operating units?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Iger has announced his first actions which will essentially undo practically everything Chapek did:

 

Iger announces first big moves in new tenure as Disney CEO: Restructuring and departure of Chapek right hand Kareem Daniel

WWW.CNBC.COM

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Iger's decision marks the swift undoing of one of Chapek's primary actions during his nearly three-year tenure as Disney CEO.

 

Quote

 

Bob Iger, less than 24 hours after returning to the helm of Disney, told employees Monday that the company would be undergoing a restructuring in coming weeks.

 

One of the first steps, Iger announced, would be the departure of Kareem Daniel, the company’s head of media and entertainment, and right hand to now-departed CEO Bob Chapek.

 

Iger announced Daniel’s departure in a memo to employees of the division, along with a “new structure that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs.”

 

“This will necessitate a reorganization of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. As a result, Kareem Daniel will be leaving the company,” Iger said in the memo, which was obtained by CNBC.

 

Iger said top Disney lieutenants, including Dana Walden, head of general entertainment, Alan Bergman, leader of Disney content studios, ESPN’s James Pitaro and CFO Christine McCarthy would work together on Disney’s new structure “that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs.”

 

The decision marks the swift undoing of one of Chapek’s primary actions during his nearly three-year tenure as CEO. Chapek reorganized the company to establish the DMED division and consolidate budgetary power for Disney’s content and distribution divisions under Daniel. 

 

“Our goal is to have the new structure in place in the coming months. Without question, elements of DMED will remain, but I fundamentally believe that storytelling is what fuels this company, and it belongs at the center of how we organize our businesses,” Iger said. “This is a moment of great change and opportunity for our company as we begin our second century.”

 

 

[skillzdadirecta]

4 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

I honestly don't think there is a way out of that conundrum at all for Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, or any other media firm that has streaming as a component of their overall portfolio.

 

The question really boils down to for just how long are shareholders willing to tolerate the bleeding by what essentially amounts to streaming being subsidized by the actually profitable operating units?

I can tell you the golden age of streaming is already over. All of these guys are tightening their budgets and the days of unlimited money for shows or anyone getting. a series on a streamer is pretty much over. Apple and Amazon have the deep pockets to continue to outspend everyone else (including Netflix) because streaming and content creation is not their core business... it's basically a side hustle for them. A bunch of us were talking last week and we all came to the conclusion that when the dust settles, the streaming landscape won't look much different than what tradional TV has allways looked like with the three big Networks and their companion streamers, CBC/Paramount+, NBC/Peacock/ABC/Hulu with Apple, Amazon and Netflix and whatever the hell ends up happening with HBO/Discovery existing on the side. Everyone else will be absorbed into these entities. There is a HUGE merger coming down the pipe soon that will change things for one of these streamers that I can't talk about, but it will give one of these guys a competitive edge on the others. Stay tuned.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I'm fairly certain that if Amazon and/or Apple announced tomorrow that they were shuttering their respective streaming services that investors would shrug it off or even reward them for it as those cash outlays could be reallocated towards more productive/profitable endeavors.

[Guest]

I actually expect Amazon to begin scaling back from their current pace of production. The new CEO Andy Jassy does NOT care about being a culture maker in Hollywood like Bezos wanted desperately to be.

 

AWS is the business of Amazon, it’s the o ly thing that makes money for the. Implant, and Jassy seems poised to try and end the years of running all the rest of Amazon as loss leaders.

 

 

Apple’s endeavors with Hollywood serve two goals: one is to keep more people within the Apple eco system for as many hours a day as possible, and the second is that they’ve always wanted to be culture makers. Movies and TV play a huge role in that. They can light a ton of cash on fire on pursuit of those goals.

[skillzdadirecta]

48 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

I actually expect Amazon to begin scaling back from their current pace of production. The new CEO Andy Jassy does NOT care about being a culture maker in Hollywood like Bezos wanted desperately to be.

 

AWS is the business of Amazon, it’s the o ly thing that makes money for the. Implant, and Jassy seems poised to try and end the years of running all the rest of Amazon as loss leaders.

 

 

Apple’s endeavors with Hollywood serve two goals: one is to keep more people within the Apple eco system for as many hours a day as possible, and the second is that they’ve always wanted to be culture makers. Movies and TV play a huge role in that. They can light a ton of cash on fire on pursuit of those goals.

Yeah but both Amazon and Apple are expanding their production footprint in LA specifically in MY NEIGHBORHOOD. Apple is about to build a HUGE facility practically down the street from me

 

Details Emerge On Apple Office Campus In Culver City

THEREALDEAL.COM

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Apple wants to build its 536,000-square-foot regional headquarters in Culver City and Los Angeles cloaked in designer copper.

 

You don't invest this kind of money if you plan on getting OUT of the content creation business anytime soon. Also in addition to the rumors that Amazon (which is located less than a mile from this site) is about to buy one of the old arclight theaters that was shuttered recently due to the pandemic  in order to exhibit their own films and original projects, there's an even MORE persistent rumor around town that they are about to announce a pretty huge and expensive joint venture with a very well known brand that will all but reaffirm their commitment to content creation as well. Production is neither of these companies' core businesses but it compliments both of thier businesses rather well. Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime and Apple wants people in their ecosystem watching Apple shows on Apple TV's, Iphones and Ipads and buying movies they don't own from Itunes. I could be wrong and things can change, but based on what I'm hearing and seeing, neither company is getting out of the TV/Streaming/Movie business anytime soon. Again, that could change given how crazy things have been recently.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Yeah but both Amazon and Apple are expanding their production footprint in LA specifically in MY NEIGHBORHOOD. Apple is about to build a HUGE facility practically down the street from me

 

Details Emerge On Apple Office Campus In Culver City

THEREALDEAL.COM

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Apple wants to build its 536,000-square-foot regional headquarters in Culver City and Los Angeles cloaked in designer copper.

 

You don't invest this kind of money if you plan on getting OUT of the content creation business anytime soon. Also in addition to the rumors that Amazon (which is located less than a mile from this site) is about to buy one of the old arclight theaters that was shuttered recently due to the pandemic  in order to exhibit their own films and original projects, there's an even MORE persistent rumor around town that they are about to announce a pretty huge and expensive joint venture with a very well known brand that will all but reaffirm their commitment to content creation as well. Production is neither of these companies' core businesses but it compliments both of thier businesses rather well. Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime and Apple wants people in their ecosystem watching Apple shows on Apple TV's, Iphones and Ipads and buying movies they don't own from Itunes. I could be wrong and things can change, but based on what I'm hearing and seeing, neither company is getting out of the TV/Streaming/Movie business anytime soon. Again, that could change given how crazy things have been recently.

 

A lot of that is legacy Bezos stuff. The Amazon stock price has been one of the worse performers of the tech giants during the tech correction, and a ton of that is driven by the fact that AWS is the only solid business unit there (though generally ad sales are still highly profitable, but that isn't quite a business unit in this context). And guess who is pretty much the architect of that money printer called AWS? Andy Jassy. That's why he got the CEO gig, so I fully expect to see him begin to pivot many areas of the business to behave in ways that are financially beneficial to the company (and shareholders) as AWS continues to be.

 

It can't be overstated just how much Amazon Studios was a vanity project for Bezos, even if a ton of people over there are highly qualified and excellent at their jobs.

[skillzdadirecta]

2 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

 

A lot of that is legacy Bezos stuff. The Amazon stock price has been one of the worse performers of the tech giants during the tech correction, and a ton of that is driven by the fact that AWS is the only solid business unit there (though generally ad sales are still highly profitable, but that isn't quite a business unit in this context). And guess who is pretty much the architect of that money printer called AWS? Andy Jassy. That's why he got the CEO gig, so I fully expect to see him begin to pivot many areas of the business to behave in ways that are financially beneficial to the company (and shareholders) as AWS continues to be.

 

It can't be overstated just how much Amazon Studios was a vanity project for Bezos, even if a ton of people over there are highly qualified and excellent at their jobs.

When did this Jassy guy take over because the deal I'm talking about hasn't happened yet and I'm failry certain that it's post bezos. Again i could be wrong but the indications I've seen is that they are commited to Amazon Studios for now if this pretty expenisve deal goes through.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

When did this Jassy guy take over because the deal I'm talking about hasn't happened yet and I'm failry certain that it's post bezos. Again i could be wrong but the indications I've seen is that they are commited to Amazon Studios for now if this pretty expenisve deal goes through.

 

He's been on for about a year and a half. Nothing happening now hasn't been in the works for quite some time. And the pummeling of the Amazon stock is a more recent trend, and it is for sure driven by the loss leader status of most business units at Amazon. Changes are going to happen, they just take time. Often as crazy as it seems, it is better to see a project to completion and then can it than it is to pull the plug in the middle of the process.

[skillzdadirecta]

Just now, sblfilms said:

 

He's been on for about a year and a half. Nothing happening now hasn't been in the works for quite some time. And the pummeling of the Amazon stock is a more recent trend, and it is for sure driven by the loss leader status of most business units at Amazon. Changes are going to happen, they just take time. Often as crazy as it seems, it is better to see a project to completion and then can it than it is to pull the plug in the middle of the process.

yeah the thing I'm talking about is VERY new. Definitely is post bezos... we'll se if it actually happens.

[Guest]

I think the better way to think about what Amazon is going to do moving forward: less LOTR mega blockbuster budget projects, more non-scripted and Blumhouse level budgeted product. The return just isn't there for these terrifically expensive projects without more traditional sell through. None of these companies are going to stop making content, but they certainly are going to move around to more profitable projects.