Can Bob Iger revive Disney? | FT Film

[@FinancialTimes]

Bob Iger transformed Disney in his first reign as CEO as a swashbuckling dealmaker, acquiring Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. Eventually he retired but the succession was botched. Now Iger is back for a second reign, but the media business has changed. Instead of doing deals, he has to cut costs and jobs. Power is like a drug. It can be hard to give up. They say never go back - was Bob Iger right to return to Disney?

[@maxmustermann5369]

No

[@maxmustermann5369]

It feels like Disney under iger has turned its target audience into childless Disney adults instead of actual families

[@danielgarrahan9050]

@@maxmustermann5369 Why?

[@cab8866]

Iger started all the woke crap and overspending. Iger, the Board and all the execs Iger put in place need to go. Then Disney has a chance.

[@denvan3143]

Bob Iger never left Disney. He never vacated the office of the CEO in Burbank, he conducted meetings with Bob CAPEX subordinates without his knowledge and energized radicals within the organization to pressure Bob Chapek, into pursuing the Reimagine Tomorrow not-at-all-secret-agenda of 50% queer representation in Disney parks and children’s programming, as well as the Val to overturn Florida’s Parental Rights In Education law. Every movie that has failed, every TV show that was a flop, every series is on Disney+ that was a failure was green lit by Bob Iger. Bob Iger drove a dagger through the heart of Disney; do you really think he’s going to undo that?

[@96jortega]

Michael Eisner, despite it all, despite his flaws, was the real OG. If you really look back, people’ criticism on Disney’s lack of creativity started with Iger.

[@squidward_tortelllini]

michael eisner & frank wells = walt and roy

[@Maxo1990]

I agree, the parks lost a lot of their creativity and attention to detail as well as original attractions since Iger became CEO. They're really praising him in this video but in my opinion he made some big mistakes, especially in the parks division. Michael Eisner and Frank Wells really understood Park and Hotel design, it made Disney stand out. Something that is noticeably missing nowadays

[@Starpilotsentertainment]

@@Maxo1990 that's true until Pressler era who ran the Parks division with lackluster endeavors in the late 90s early 2000s; there's a point where leaders live "long enough to see themselves become the villain"

[@Maxo1990]

@@Starpilotsentertainment Yes, without Frank Wells, Eisner seemed lost

[@djanitatiana]

Katzenberg deserves a special mention.

[@flolow6804]

Bob Iger is the one under whom was there was a notable drop in quality of disney films and now he is supposed to be the savior ? Yeah, thats not going to work

[@gorillashop337]

Huge mistake firing John Lasseter Disney's cash cow.

[@ovilbabe]

@@gorillashop337 sorry if I missed in the video, why was he fired???

[@gorillashop337]

@@ovilbabe He was accused sexual harassment against a female employee

[@goldengoat1737]

He has massive media connections…. This is a puff pice meant to make him look good. These guys know business very well… he left when Disney was at its peak as far as stock price knowing it was going to collapse… used Chapek as the fall guy come back and blame it all on him

[@denvan3143]

List of Disney CEOs year-by-year since 2005: Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Iger, Chapek, Iger. Let’s see if we can determine the cause of Disney’s problems.

[@linesided]

awesome!

[@elizabethjean2709]

I hate to cause smoke.... but I'm keeping the same ENERGY. From racists to child traffickers. Slip them an Ambien and off we go 🚀

[@sarov7658]

@@elizabethjean2709 all of em belong to left especially how they make drama and fuss over the recent sound of freedom which focus on child trafficking yet they say it's conspiracy these pedos sicken me

[@shoopddawhooped]

It's Chapek, that and critical race theory

[@courtneycook7910]

That was when Disney died

[@TheLoneWolf5346]

Watching this you can tell financial times loves Bob Igar.

[@Samir12357]

.😅

[@56redgreen]

Its like this is sponsored. I have heard alot of business people rave about him. But creatively I think he is a disaster for disney. And long term after milking all the IP there is nothing in the tank. He needs to buy another big IP to milk, but what is left that would vaguely fit into the Disney banner.

[@unionpepe7864]

Exactly. He's literally the reason disney is in this situation

[@angelseda9823]

Exactly !!!.. this is a fluff piece meant to mislead the casual normies into believing that this is all Chapek’s fault and that Disney isn’t burning !!!.. lol.. it’s glorious, I love it !!!

[@s.g.e5523]

im catching up but i think u guys above hit the nail on the head@@angelseda9823

[@seanward]

Iger had a Keen eye for acquisitions but the success under his rule was not his. It was the success of the creative people who came with those acquisitions, who were either sent packing or otherwise muzzled, and look at how good Iger is doing now

[@rachelferguson6889]

Yes, exactly, what they did to Gina Carano publicly was done to others behind closed doors. Run out the people with different political views while simultaneously running out all the talent. But hey, they have diversity now, just not the most qualified!

[@jamesmeade5490]

Iger started this very downfall you see happening now. He then read the tea leaves during covid and put a bean counting patsy in his place to hide how bad the numbers were for as long as possible. Iger was part of the Board still and always in charge. Every project that failed under Chapek was signed off on by Iger before he “left.” Truth is he thought the post covid numbers would go back up so he could play hero and instead its just getting worse with every show and movie they release.

[@Tancred73]

I'll save you 28 minutes: No, he is the cause of their decline and financial troubles, he put in Chapek as a fall guy, but has come back, not to when the tide was turning as he probably hoped, but when the full effects of his hiring of activists are being felt.

[@bobdobb9017]

I agree! They show a profit chart but don’t show the corresponding debt chart. Real debt is $70.8 billion(liabilities) and stated debt is $40 billion. Only money maker they have left is the theme parks and that’s topped out, in danger of handing it over to Comcast. Star Wars for example is still incurring debt.

[@aL3891_]

Pretty unfair to call chapeks reign disastrous since he inherited most of that from iger. Chapek really got a raw deal, getting kicked out just as things was starting to turn around only for iger to take credit. What a puff piece

[@danielgarrahan9050]

@@chiquita683 The argument made is he lost the support of the creatives in the company

[@sensitivecuriosity5054]

They need to drop the woke, make great movies again, and just do it. Shut up about it and do it. Ignore the small screaming mob and drop the woke

[@jedensnow1084]

Chapek kept increasing the price on Disney+. Bob Iger even said the price increases were too fast.

[@Selgorn]

@@sensitivecuriosity5054 Grow up. Economics are a bit more complicated than "Woke -> Broke".

[@leviwensel8572]

It’s amazing how conveniently they forget about his biggest purchase which was 21st century fox. It was the last of his big purchases for about $70 billion. It put the entire Disney company in a horrible position that wasn’t Bob Cheapeck that was Bob Iger. Which is now in causing the Disney company to be forced to pay or overpay, depending on who you believe for Hulu because Bob Iger agreed to a bad contract. These problems the Disney company has today were mostly caused by Bob Iger.

[@danielgarrahan9050]

Iger’s mistakes in his first reign, including the fox deal, are talked about at 7:51

[@leviwensel8572]

@@danielgarrahan9050 thanks completely missed that they quickly snuck it in there.

[@spiderjump]

Iger sat on all the IPs that came with Fox… that alone is sheer stupidity.

[@snsnplpl]

Wow. Most of this is about how great Disney used to be, how iconic, how well known. Peel off the name, give the last 10 years of information to a business class to analyze and it would show a company nosediving into the ocean, mishandling the IP they paid top dollar for and alienating their fans. Iger can't fix it. Iger caused it to happen.

[@Jose04537]

This 👆 Iger caused everything, including cheapek

[@Kewrock]

The fact that Iger has not fired Kathy Kennedy is astonishing. She's destroyed two of the most profitable and loved franchises in movie history.

[@rachelferguson6889]

For real!

[@jjc4577]

@@Kewrock Kennedy must have dirt on Iger..that is the only explanation that makes sense.

[@leocitywrestling7029]

Disney can be revived, but it wont be done by Bob Iger

[@michaeldavies7949]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 It's a damaged brand. Look at the falling park figures

[@leocitywrestling7029]

@@michaeldavies7949 it’s a brand run by damaged people

[@Kewrock]

How can it be revived? All of their properties have been damaged beyond repair. Then they bought 21st Century at an insanely inflated price. Even if those movies are successful, they probably still won't help. Another Aliens (21st Century) film is coming out next year. The script leaked. The interwebs are already bitching that it's loaded with feminism. Kathleen Kennedy still hasn't been fired after losing half a billion dollars on Indy5 alone. Nothing is going to change. Disney is no longer in the business of entertaining the masses. They are now ideologically driven by Leftist politics.

[@courtneycook7910]

Sadly, Disney is too far gone at this point.

[@leocitywrestling7029]

@@courtneycook7910 as is yes Because it got fat & lazy buying up properties To bring a resurgence in Disney, we need to 1) create new IPs in the independent scene 2) resist being bought out to force them to compete

[@tamwilfred]

It's sad. I grew up knowing I could go Disneyland without breaking the bank in California. Today, it would cost a family of four anywhere from a range of $600 to $1,000 to spend a day in the park.

[@TheNefastor]

Too much people in those parks. I'm in favor of anything that results in queues of less than one freaking hour for every single ride. Maybe we must all accept that such parks are a big luxury not everyone should be able to afford even if it sucks. Like not everyone gets to stay in a 5-star hotel on holidays.

[@tamwilfred]

@@TheNefastor The idea behind Disneyland was to offer the locals a vacation spot that wasn't as expensive as traveling out of state or out of the country. It was for the average working family. You could make some of those lines faster if you purchase speed pass or something. There was a discussion about theme parks on another podcast. If you happen to live in California, Knots Berry or Magic Moutain are cheaper alternatives to Disneyland.

[@TheNefastor]

@@tamwilfred I know what Disney's original intent was, but that was in prehistoric times. Now you can fly across the world for very little money and, ironically, this has attracted a lot of people to Disney parks that aren't locals. The paradigm must change. As for "fast passes", if everyone gets some then they become useless. For context, I live in Paris, we have Disneyland. I used to go there back when it was the least expensive of all Disney parks. There's a Nemo coaster I've only been able to do once in my life, because every time I went the queue was well over an hour long. And I had the annual pass, we used to go there almost every week-end at some point.

[@tamwilfred]

@@TheNefastor Thanks for the info. I live in California. You are right. As an American, I went on a roundtrip to Madrid and the flight was less than $500 USD. Not to mention the overall cost of living there is less than it is in the United States. Would you pay more for the park experience if there were shorter lines? Or if there was a really expensive VIP pass? I am curious what are the ticket prices in Paris now for Disney Land?

[@courtneycook7910]

Back when I was a kid it was about $50 for a day. I miss that.

[@nicolasjouan452]

Describing the acquisition of LucasFilm as the move of the century despite the fact that Disney is taking L (RoS) after L (Solo) after L (Book of Boba Fett) after L (Kenobi) after L (Willow) after L (Dial of Destiny), both critically and/or at the box office, is either willful blindness or sheer absence of research. Disney is currently exhausting everyone with laughably bad Star Wars products. They have made some quick bucks with the release of the new trilogy (trickin people into seeing TFA before they realised it was shaite) but it's a rob the bank attitude. Now they have alienated enough people that even the release of a cheap Star Wars mini-serie is a financial risk.

[@danjager6200]

To be fair, when Disney acquired LucasFilm, it was a big deal. Don't think about the Star Wars of today. Think of it as it might have been if not mismanaged. It was literally a money making machine. The fact that it isn't that right now doesn't mean it was a bad purchase.

[@phoenix5054]

​@@danjager6200 It was a bad purchase if you didn't make money from it. It's very simple. Don't buy something if you don't have a proper plan to utilize the assets.

[@danjager6200]

@@phoenix5054 The purchase itself wasn't the mistake. The mistake was everything after the purchase. They messed up practically everything at every step. Even the parts that they didn't screw up highlighted their other mistakes making them worse. The couple of episodes of Mandalorian in Bobba Fett were much better than the rest of the show, but the show itself was deeply harmed by them because it showed what could have been to an audience who was better off not knowing. I could go back in time and give them advice that they would actually take, it would be to buy Lucas Film and then to make a price conscious plan after that. I would probably advise them to focus on the original cannon as those stories had structure.

[@DerDudelino]

Iger needs to assemble the board, set a vote of no confidence in motion and get rid of Kathleen Kennedy immediately. Her contract will expire in 2024, but it wouldn't be smart to wait that long. She has alienated LucasFIlms fanbase - if they want Star Wars to be back on track, she needs to be gone and with her all the woke idiots she brought on board. Let someone like John Favreau handle LucasFilm, someone who loves both movies and tv shows and is really good at it. Favreau has turned this tiny little franchise Iron Man into the biggest IP Disney ever owned and was also responsible for the first seasons of The Mandalorian.

[@danjager6200]

@@Larissa-pq6zw I actually had to explain to my son that kids used to like watching Disney movies.

[@Anthonyc301]

No chance, Michael Eisner and Frank wells get a bad rep but they had significantly more success and a hell of a lot more creativity bringing the “magic” in Disney. That magic is certainly gone now.

[@gilgamecha]

Iger shoved Chapek into a bullet meant for Iger and then stepped over Chapek's corpse.

[@dinglshingle]

accurate

[@DavidinSLO]

With all due respect, Disney under Bob Iger has alienated millions of parents and families (certainly a significant part of their core audience). Stick with family entertainment - and avoid politics and social issues.

[@greg6500]

His plan to crush his employees into homelessness rather than pay them fairly has somehow tarnished the Disney magic for me.

[@dejabu24]

wonder How much Iger paid for this

[@billschnell5667]

Iger is the cause of all of Disney’s current demise. Hard pass.

[@Samir12357]

Yes I really can't understand why he has been held as a hero who did everything right

[@Selgorn]

@@Samir12357 Then you are blissfully ignoring the massive profits he got Disney buy acquiring Marvel and Star Wars.

[@courtneycook7910]

@@Samir12357 Hero? LOL yeah right! He's the one who killed Disney in the first place.

[@anthonyd9844]

IF animators artists and directors are left to freely create work without the insane time constraints to meet short deadlines and self censoring for mass appeal (ex. the Chinese market), I think Disney could make a comeback. Disney used to stand for quality, now with so much junk being pumped out at rapid speed its lost the one thing those billions of dollars have worked to create: a strong reputation. Disney will always be a house hold name, but it won't always be seen as a go to for quality entertainment.

[@wrestlinganime4life288]

Basically like Hollywood as a whole most of the issue stem from executive making dumb decisions

[@Alexander_Kale]

Give creatives too much freedom, you get Love and Thunder. Meanwhile, some of the best episodes of Clone wars were created when the creative team really had the thumb screws on, when they didn't know whether their show would be renewed or not. Disney has had a management problem, which started with Iger. It's not so much that animators aren't given enough time to do the job they are hired to do. Rather, Disney keeps changing the deal without expanding the deadline, piling more and more work on them without giving them more money. Entitled management is what caused all of this. Management that couldn't give less of a fig about whether or not a good story was told, as long as it made money. See all the live action remakes, creative bankruptcy at its finest. And Iger is to blame. For all of it.

[@Kewrock]

@@Alexander_Kale Are you kidding? It has NOTHING to do with time constraints, workloads or even China (well, maybe a little China). It's all about Leftist politics and pandering to the bottom 20% and fringe population. Then pile on a whole heep of feminism. The general population resents having "The Message" constantly rammed down their throat. My Ex, who is Democrat, and has a mixed-race 8 year old boy said they were going to see Elemental. I told her it featured a trans/non-binary character, and a same-sex couple. She replied, He doesn't need to be exposed to that yet. Nobody wants it. My point being. My Ex is pretty liberal, and she doesn't want her kid exposed to it.

[@Alexander_Kale]

@@Kewrock Whatever floats your boat mate.

[@Kewrock]

@@Alexander_Kale The legions of Star Wars and super hero geeks have spoken, loud and clear.

[@sylvainsaintlaurent]

Like Jack Welch at GE, Iger had a recipe that worked very well during his tenure; it doesn’t work anymore, and Chapek didn’t understand that. Eisner was successful until he lost Frank Wells & Jeff Katzenberg. The SaaS model in this industry has nothing to do with the current state of Disney. Like they say, there is no “I” in “team”; Disney should remember that.

[@EdgyNumber1]

If only you knew how Disney, and indeed the wider Hollywood industry operates............ Hollywood companies do not operate in any logical way compared to your average Dow or FTSE company. Also of note, Chapek was not running the show. Iger was, even despite his 'retirement' from Disney. You should check out the SEC filings. Chapek was the fall guy for something much, much bigger.... good job Iger was conveniently, lurking in the background to 'rescue' the business......

[@gorillashop337]

Disney absolutely misses John Lasseter no one comes to hits that he generated for the company.

[@normsti000]

Hmmm, the piece is a little too pandering for my taste. My opinion is that Bob Iger really has no creative understandingof Disney, he is at best, a skilled deal maker. The problem is he has succeeded by letting his "creatives" run free, he is as enthralled by Hollywood "creatives" as they are with him, but there is a very real question as to whether Hollywood is actually understands anything but itself. The closest analogy I can think of is Disney as the Sears of entertainment, it has a fantastic history but now seems unable to adjust to the reality of a new market and bereft of a creative vision and the discipline needed to make the changes.

[@MrShadowfax42]

LOL - Disney have so far purchased and destroyed - Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Indiana Jones.... FT - "Yeah but look at how many great franchises they bought! Bob Igor is a GENIUS! ICONIC!" LMAO

[@vraisairs9201]

uggh we stopped watching Cable to get away from advertisements and now prices are higher AND we get ads. I honestly hope all these companies go under

[@danielmaia6135]

It's wild that Bob Iger is trying to play the Steve Jobs comeback hero.....when it was his decisions in fact that landed Disney where they are today. Bob C. was not around long enough to implement any changes. Crazy how America is naive

[@Tancred73]

Americans do suck up to business leaders to an extent that is hard to fathom, at least for a Northern European like me. It must be all the money, it usually is.

[@danielgarrahan9050]

Critics say Bob Chapek's reign as CEO was disastrous but he was unlucky, starting in the role just before Covid shut the world down. Is Iger really the right man to revive Disney? His second reign looks like it will be about managing the decline of the cable TV business. It won't be swashbuckling dealmaking this time around.

[@dinglshingle]

chapek was definitely set up to fail. iger was keeping all his contacts and ready for a comback.

[@courtneycook7910]

Both Bob Chapek and Robert Iger are just as bad.

[@SonofJeddah]

During Eisner’s reign, content was king. Disney’s x-factor in entertainment vs its competition. It was pure entertainment and not agenda driven By the time Iger left, Chapek (who already was trying to overcome losses due to pandemic) deepened the losses further with his ideology coupled with really bad decisions On Marvel, the house of ideas maybe richer than before but Disney’s acquisition has brought down its creativity across the board (from comics to movies and even video games with the exception of Spider-Man) Loss of revenue for movies and animations from strong markets like China, India and Saudi Arabia add insult to injury if not losses

[@TheJRSvideos]

I'll give Iger this, he knew when to get out at just the right time in order to eventually come back in as the hero, ultimately preserving his reputation. Because much if not all of Disney's problems would still be around had he stayed on, but he'd be viewed as the one who let the company down and "fell from grace." Just watch, I'm betting he won't be the one to truly turn the company around.

[@nellym46664]

1: Allow the core entities such as Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, etc to operate an adequate degree of freedom from corporate division. These entities are the main reason we consumers even pay attention (and money) to the rest of the corporation. Allow them to experiment with new ideas instead of constantly playing it safe. 2: Demote or fire the people linked to the poor performance of these entities (*cough*Kathleen) and replace them with better alternatives. 3: Prioritise pleasing the consumer and not the shareholder. You can have the former without the latter, but not the other way around. It also seems like all those acquisitions are leading to the company crumbling under its own weight. Maybe they should trim off all of the unnecessary fat, or restructure the management system in such a way that they don't have to rely on a single guy to put everything back on track.

[@gremlinfinger5964]

Iger killed disney. He's not saving anything.

[@phatmeow7764]

meh the question for me is: is he even concerned about saving Disney? injecting identity politics even for shows catering to kids while forgetting it's a compelling story/plot that makes a film/tv series unforgettable? the response both at the box office and from fans are showing that identity politics w/o a solid plotline is a recipe for disaster...

[@RenlangRen]

Iger can’t fix the problem, he is the problem.

[@Agtsmirnoff]

Disney movies and shows are mostly low tier trash for the past 3-4 years, and they treat their customers that come to their parks like garbage too.

[@JRGines]

Nope, just look at Indy 5's poor box office performance. Disney has also lost a ton of money on the Galactic Starcruiser which is closing this year

[@overthecounterbeanie]

Iger has zero imagination and the cause of Disney's current woes. Chapek has been cast a villain when he was trying to rescue Disney from the financial mess Disney is in right now.

[@samlee86421]

These is a Bob Iger PR piece

[@theckp]

How is this not just a 5 minute video?

[@---...---...---...---...]

The management team destroyed the brand.

[@dacolombianking]

Everything that is causing disney to fail was in the pipeline and greenlit during HIS tenure. Disney+'s failure was iger's idea to priorities streaming. Marvel was in decline during iger's tenure (phase 2). Kathleen Kennedy has been awful for star wars, an iger hire, which he refused to fire. Pixar has been going down ever since they fired Lassiter. That horrific star wars hotel was green lit by iger. The so called "creatives" have been pushing out garbage product and iger wants to empower them more? He is not going to fix jack.

[@PresidentBob1989]

My bet is that the BOD will extend Bob Iger contract for another 2 years

[@JoeScottish]

Can Bob Iger revive Disney? Nope, he hasnt sacked Kathleen Kennedy..... a person who single handed tarnished the 3 franchises she's touched......

[@gemaferro]

The short answer is no. The person who steered the ship to the iceberg won't have the criteria to save it.

[@ambition112]

0:00: 🎥 Bob Iger's reign at Disney and his game-changing acquisitions transformed the company into the largest media company in the world. 4:12: 💡 Bob Iger's transformative acquisitions and focus on building franchises drove Disney's success. 7:58: 👑 Bob Chapek's tenure as CEO of Disney has been viewed poorly as he faced challenges and lacked the skills of his predecessor, Bob Iger. 11:45: ⚡ Bob Chapek's tenure as CEO of Disney faced numerous challenges and criticisms, leading to Bob Iger's return as CEO. 15:17: 💼 Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz challenges Disney by seeking a board seat, but fails to wound CEO Bob Iger. 18:53: 📺 Disney is facing challenges in the streaming industry as it tries to compete with companies like Netflix and navigate the decline of its traditional TV business. 22:26: 🎥 Bob Iger faces challenges in the entertainment industry, including the decline of traditional broadcasting, the impact of the pandemic on cinemas, and the need to revive Disney's franchises and creative content. 26:10: 👑 Bob Iger's success and influence at Disney is unmatched, making it difficult to find a suitable successor. Recap by Tammy AI

[@courtneycook7910]

What Success? He didn’t do anything good for Disney. Nothing.

[@willc7861]

It was the artists, writers & creatives that made Disney. Not Iger

[@ChangesOfTomorrow]

"Can Iger save Disney from the problems Iger created?" Hmmm....

[@shanehen]

Revive it? He’s responsible for its current state.

[@anarchistatheist1917]

Iger is the one that destroyed disney.

[@laborspy]

You could .. maybe try putting it back to the way it was?

[@jish55]

I love Disney and have always been a fan of the company, films, and theme parks. With that said, although Iger has done a lot to make the company profitable, an issue I've always had with him is his obsession with buying ips over pushing Disney down the same path his predecessors have done. Eisner for example may have had a bad ending, but in many ways, he had the very same ideology as Walt, where when he had someone to keep him in line financially, the two helped Disney pump out some of the greatest content ever. Sadly, Iger just doesn't have that imaginative mindset necessary to bring the Disney magic back.

[@kevin10001]

Exactly I have stated for years now that the shopping spree of iger was a problem cause they didn’t need to own Pixar marvel and Lucas films they could have just worked with them cause like Disney has done in the past helping other movies get made the problem is that iger’s shopping spree got rid of the competition they needed cars without it they had no incentive to do better and now we are the cracks are getting light shed upon them when a company like universal’s animation department has started giving them competition again

[@christinemikhail7088]

Yes, Bob Iger should have returned because he needs to find a proper successor. But also do not discount the issue of politics. The company has been leaning left for quite some time, and I do believe that that has alienated a lot of people.

[@muslimahmood]

‘King of Hollywood’ the Rise of Bob Iger, I would say. Thanks FT Film, what a 30min worthwhile documentary. Very insightful. Thanks.

[@Pahoe77]

It seems like, in short, Iger created a lot of the issues, stepped out, sort of, whilst the world was shut down, created a patsy, then tried to be a white knight, riding to the rescue... To fix problems he set in motion, or outright caused.

[@nathonso_edits]

Kind of weird how highly they praise Iger here, yeah he had a good run, but we're seeing that once you take the creativity out of a company there's only so far you can go, starting to see that with Marvel post endgame etc. Lucasfilm was a great deal but completely mismanagement, star wars was a well loved merchandising machine for decades and now even the biggest star wars fans are apathetic to it. Not to mention that horrible fox deal that they completely overpaid for

[@KarazolaX]

Iger's only back as CEO, because his Chapek-shaped shield is riddled in holes. He was the guy in charge when the decline began. I suspect that they're going to start turning the ship around by getting rid of all the woke garbage, since their diversity manager or whatever just got the boot. But he was the one who planted those seeds to begin with.

[@TheBuenaventura93]

No. He can't. He killed Disney. He's got to go.

[@gilgamecha]

Did Disney or Iger pay the FT money for this hagiography?

[@Astrogator1]

probably!!!

[@erniehudson1]

Iger is a genius in destroying what was believed to be indestructible - Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, Marvel, Disney Animation are all in the toilet now thanks to Bob. What a talent!

[@killuminati2911]

Cmon they fired Chapek because he was about to fire all the incompetent and woke persons in the Company that drove Disney where they are now, just to hire back this muppet. If there's anything he's going to do is to nail the coffin and that's gonna be awesome.

[@BrunoDeMarques]

It’s all good but, after the pandemic, closing down several Disney Stores around the world - that serve also as major communication devices for present and upcoming movies - was a major misstep.

[@misaghkhosravi4541]

Disney is very important for the future of our kids

[@Astrogator1]

Not really, Its the kids that are important to the future of Disney...

[@misaghkhosravi4541]

@@Astrogator1 both ways, disney matters alot

[@Astrogator1]

@@misaghkhosravi4541 I grew up in Europe in 1980’s /90’s Yes, Disney was an icon in the past but it’s a faded icon. Without an audience to influence Disney has no future, it most definitely not the other way around (that is an arrogance that has left them here), and there are more alternatives to Disney than ever, thankfully. For what it’s worth my children have very little related to Disney. But maybe it’s different in the US??

[@danjager6200]

​@@Astrogator1not so different in the US. I recently had to explain to my son that kids used to watch Disney and like it. When I tell young people what Disney used to be like they are dumbfounded. Consider superhero cartoons as an example. In the last ten years there has been a steady decline in the number of episodes of superhero cartoons made per year. Cartoons are inexpensive to make and reach a wide young audience who will grow up liking your brand.

[@jimmyboy7817]

Disney + should have been The Disney Vault, an on line archive of classic Disney content and the final resting place for their movies and tv shows. Meanwhile, their new movies and tv shows should have gone to Netflix or Amazon Prime for a considerable amount of time to see how well they went on streaming. It would have had a chance to be more profitable.

[@RajDeelish]

LOL

[@meditationmountainbyrishab919]

Ours is an Industry and Business of emotions; emotions, values and service to humanity is what made Disney unique, Walt Disney clearly knew and believed in this. That is what is lacking in Disney's content today. The other streaming platforms never had theses qualities, nor do people expect it from them, but people came back to Disney because it was a beacon of hope of a utopian world. By blatantly exploiting the 'Marvel' and 'Lucas' content, as mere cash cows, rather than patiently harnessing the values of that content and creating masterpieces, has tarnished the image of the company to a huge extend. Longevity of any business has nothing to do with numbers, but every thing to do with trust, values and service to its consumers. 'Values' are in a deficit in society, always bring back what is in deficit. Disney should go back to the drawing board and bring new inspiring and uplifting stories from various cultures, that can guide and empower humanity, and that an audience never forgets and they shall be back. Keep the pricing very low and very affordable, that is blending good business with great service to its subscribers, that will earn you the respect and loyalty of your audience. Become a game changer, make money by numbers of footfalls. Invest in great writers from across the world, invest in great new creative visionary minds. "I do not make movies to make money, I make money so I can make movies" Walt Disney.

[@Ni-wl9uh]

To be far some recent films did have emotions, values, and the service to humanity you mention. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (who didn't cry?), Disney Pixar's Soul, I'd even argue that the latest film, Elemental, has really good themes as well (prejudice, immigrants, sacrificing for family, pursuing one's own dreams), even though it didn't do so well at the box office. I didn't care for everything that Disney has released in recent years, but I think that there's something for everyone in that respect.

[@maxmustermann5369]

Bob Iger is in his micheal Eisner phase he was great but not the right man for the current problems and hugely responsible for them as well

[@danielmaia6135]

Yuppp...... I find it to be so warming that people will write these articles about how he's returning to save the brand. When in fact it was his decisions that led to where the brand is today. And that's when I realize who is and isn't a reporter. And who is a paid promoter

[@maxmustermann5369]

@@danielmaia6135 exactly just licking his boots for no reason sad honestly even this is like a hype train for iger and doesn’t even mention the reason chapek lost the studios was because he wasn’t woke enough

[@wakeywarrior]

What this film does not mention is that parks are now suffering as revenge travel ends. The company has taken advantage of the park fans to fund the rest of the business. Taking away value, charging more for everything. Reducing the experience. In fact there was almost a desire to drive them away in favour of higher spending fresh new meat. The problem is the parks rely on loyalty and return visitors, and these customers are now abandoning the brand. If Iger is able to ‘think like (his) consumers’, he needs to introduce the feel good value back to the parks and scrap that awful Genie+ Top creative CEO after the obvious was Eisner. He had his faults but his creativity was amazing. He insisted on all the top architects and was involved in design. Many of the best parts of the parks came to fruition in Eisner’s tenure.

[@wakeywarrior]

@hightide4782 parks are packed because Genie+ has slowed the throughput and encourages people to get in earlier to avoid Lightning Lane greed charges, and also hang about for ride times to come around. Actual numbers thorough the gates are well done and hotel occupancy is well down also.

[@kevin10001]

To me it’s like they don’t want the average people at the parks anymore they only want the well off and the rich at the parks they aren’t coming out and saying so but they are saying it with the ticket prices and souvenir prices

[@rachelblack314]

Iger is the problem. Not the solution

[@hammerr3]

As long as they keep putting message first and story and quality second…. They won’t get the magic back

[@robertrock8833]

You missed the real issue . They have become woke on ESPN and then on the studio side . Next will be the fall in cashflow of theme parks . There core customers have had a enough. The FT review has missed the elephant in the room .

[@phoenix5054]

It's the FT, do you expect them to go against DEI/ESG orthodoxy?

[@ConradNeill]

When someone claims a company has become 'woke', it's clear they have no idea what they are talking about. I guess it's more convenient to recite right-wing trigger words rather than formulate an informed opinion.

[@MandatoryMyocarditis7]

@@phoenix5054 Exactly. 100%

[@Btn1136]

They need original stories. When you buy something you didn’t build the entropy is accelerated.

[@rajatwtf]

No .... Disney has gone off the far end on the woke spectrum

[@phoenix5054]

Disney Lucasfilm is a success? Those three movies couldn’t have netted enough to pay that $4B acquisition.

[@danielgarrahan9050]

There are all the other films and spin-off series too and the consumer products

[@danjager6200]

What Daniel Garrahan 9050 said is important. You have to take the failures in toy sales, the failure with Willow, and the failure with that hotel into account. When those are added in then you have the reason Disney stock prices have been Skyrocketing over the last two years. Look it up, the stocks have been shooting like a rocket right out of the sky. ;)

[@Agtsmirnoff]

@@danjager6200 Sarcasm? The stock price is literally half of what it was 2 years ago

[@danjager6200]

@@Agtsmirnoff yes, sarcasm. When you see a rocket from the sky, it's not going up. It's heading down. I was hoping my ;) would give away that I was joking. I picked the two year window for that exact reason.

[@ConradNeill]

@@Agtsmirnoff Comparing the stock price to what it was 2 years ago doesn't provide an accurate picture. It's only down 15% over 5 years, so it's not like they are imploding. It appears that the majority of the criticism directed towards Disney is emanating from naive right-wing individuals who believe that Disney has become 'woke', a term they are unable to define, and, to a lesser degree, some ardent Star Wars fans who harbor reservations about their involvement with the franchise. Disney will be around long after all of us are gone. The Mouse always wins in the end.

[@roadrider_2771]

Fascinating. Iger now has a writer and actor problem.

[@RajDeelish]

I don't think so. Disney has the upper hand. They can work with international talent.

[@yokester74]

Many of the issues facing Disney were set in motion before Iger left and he should be blamed. While Chapek was a disaster, Iger is not untouchable. You can also almost trace the series of missteps to putting all their eggs in the DEI basket. Tarnished their brand with a huge swath of their customer base.

[@Alexander_Kale]

How was CHapek a disaster? Many of the things Iger is now doing were started by Chapek. Chapek tried to make Disney profitable again, to right the ship Iger had run into the ground. He wasn't ousted because he failed, he was ousted to keep him from succeeding by the poeple who stood to lose money from that.

[@RajDeelish]

LOL

[@Selgorn]

@@Alexander_Kale Dude...if you state such...adventurous theories, you should back them up with some proof. Otherwise, people cannot take you seriously.

[@Alexander_Kale]

@@Selgorn What part of what I said was "adventurous"? Chapek's policies are a matter of public records. He tried to make DIsney apolitical again. He has stated this publicly. He tried to reduce the influence and independence of department heads, much to their disdain. This and the reaction to it is public knowledge. It went through all the trades at the time, if you recall. Meanwhile, when Iger is asked whether he wants to make Disney apolitical, he declines to answer the question, he has done so in a number of public appearances since his return. He has also CONTINUED a number of Chapek's policies, see the aforementioned reorganization of departments. btw, also keep in mind, Iger keeps blaming Chapek for decisions that were made under Iger's watch, something I find rather disingenuous....

[@courtneycook7910]

Both Chapek and Iger are just as bad.

[@largol33t1]

Wrong questions FT. The question should be: Why the hell does Iger still have a job??

[@danjager6200]

Don't you have to declare when a piece contains paid advertising? Sorry, thought that was a rule.

[@MuppetCore]

Iger should finish what Eisner started and buy the *entire* Jim Henson Company.

[@laughingvampire7555]

these people say it like it was all Chapek's fault, Chapek was only following the direction that Iger set before he left. this is a clear ad in favor of Iger, but the thing is that people have rejected all of Disney

[@albertnicolau4139]

Lol, disney aquired Lucasfilm for 4 bn $ and only made a 300 mm $ profit from all Star wars movies. Truly a success...

[@RajDeelish]

I think your math is wrong...The Force Awakens alone made over 2 billion with a net profit of $588 million.

[@coastalhillbilly3419]

Disneyweiser

[@ValenHawk]

Iger is the reason Disney is failing, why would he be able to fix it.

[@RicGric]

Parks have never been so empty during summer. Prices are outrageous for anything.

[@tooxtalivai0690]

Disney will bounce back easy. They own everything.

[@baralah]

Bob Iger: How are we going to revive Disney? Marketing: By lecturing our target audience with equity and beyond, and with 'Brave and Stunning' messages of course Bob Iger: sounds good to me, yayyyyyyyy

[@chakky533]

quality doc, glad this is more than just some edited stock footage

[@Skipping2HellPHX]

12:10 People may have thought Bob would not have gotten into a fight with Ron, but Ron was looking for a culture war fight, and what says culture war better than picking a fight with a company based in California.

[@JWP452]

Obviously not Iger.

[@tayf85]

As per usual, FT ignores the elephant in the room. The problem is Disney produces content I don't want to watch and I don't want my children to watch. Activists have ruined this once great company. The magic is gone.

[@jaredj9170]

What content is Disney producing that you don’t want your kids to watch? Regardless of your own personal views, Disney has hundreds of millions watching their content. Their problem is not a lack of eyes, it’s the high cost of the their productions.

[@swaser112]

That's anecdotal lol. Maybe elephant poop, not the entire elephant.

[@danjager6200]

​@@jaredj9170regardless of my personal politics, it's a matter of understanding the audience and budgeting accordingly. Children want fun entertainment and the massive success of the Mario movie is evidence that traditional style entertainment is the way to go. Disney can still make money with their political messaging, but they need to budget accordingly to the much smaller demographic who would appreciate that sort of content.

[@jaredj9170]

@@danjager6200 The Mario movie was not a very good film. But it was an eagerly anticipated movie that people have been waiting a long time to see. Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse is doing quite well and it has a very direct reference to support of Transgender youth rights. Meanwhile, Pixar’s Elemental, a traditional love story between male and female characters is doing poorly even though it has received an A Cinemascore from audiences.

[@Ni-wl9uh]

@@jaredj9170 I thought Elemental was a pretty good movie. But I noticed most kids/people want action and excitement. People like fast-paced action movies these days it seems like. Elemental wasn't that type of film. It didn't seem long enough or fully fleshed out like... let's say Zootopia was. Or maybe the notion of "elements" as characters jusy wasn't interesting enough for people. I don't know why it did so poorly.

[@appliedengineering4001]

I don't know why people won't address the elephant in the room. The number 1 thing that's hurting Disney right now is the debt brought on by the purchasing of Fox. Acquiring Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm were good moves. but acquiring Fox was the dumbest thing Disney ever did and now they're paying the price for it.

[@dinglshingle]

star wars is incurring debt tho

[@RajDeelish]

Keep X-men and Fantastic Four. Sell the rest of the Fox pieces back out. Problem solved.

[@HiddenGemsHistory]

This is so well done

[@oscccar1]

The fact that FT doesn’t not address what would be obvious anywhere else say a lot about what tyrannical influence Iger has, even over the business press. It’s a fact that Iger appointed every single board member.

[@mitchio86]

🤨did the stars wars acquisition really make money? It cost $4 billion and the box office and toy sales haven't been great.

[@JRich-yz3he]

I wonder if paying employees a living wage and treating them with respect and for the long term through the pandemic would have helped making the company healthier in the end.

[@ericjackson4553]

This is not hard. If you have a successful business plain that has made the company money then keep that going. If Disney wants my money then give me the content we all enjoyed once upon a time. Hopefully they will get a clue as to what kind of content we all desire or Disney is going to go bankrupt.

[@resa574]

No lol Their business was cable and linear media. Now the business is streaming which is a terrible business to be in, which is their only option

[@forplay2706]

Good PR for Bob Igar

[@dhrgkbqxtjr2743]

This video is a load of lies. Bob Iger's only legacy is opening up Walt's wallet and spending his money buying things that were poised to become more successful than Mickey Mouse and then running them into the ground until they are no longer financially viable. Bob Iger IS the problem at Disney.

[@donaldduck4470]

I think he can he seems very nice and smart and pays attention to the details that matter

[@florvasquezr]

how old is this?

[@kapsig10]

If he gets out of culture war and focuses on the base and profits

[@RionellKoay]

the last few minute background music does turn this up to a more intense tone