Disney CEO Bob Iger on streaming: We have to turn it into a growth business

Disney CEO Bob Iger joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the company's proxy fight win against activist investor Nelson Peltz, takeaways from his engagement with shareholders, the company's top priorities, succession plans, state of the streaming landscape, new sports streaming alliance, future of ESPN, navigating America's culture wars, and more.

[@Blood8Chapel]

If Disney wants an all black and female cast in their Marvel series. Then give us all male cast Disney princess series. Dwayne Johnson would be perfect to play Ariel in the Little Mermaid.

[@Liampaul95]

This is such a dumb comment that makes no sense.

[@lelandwhisper]

This guy allowed executives to swat me and my family to the point that they put me in a crisis program overnight. Most evil company ever!

[@nickrook5519]

This guy inspires me to buy more Tesla stock

[@luismedrano6680]

u better because it not looking good for Tesla currently lol

[@Whoaly]

Ah yes, the Blackberry of EVs.

[@SomethingSomewhereJustOnce]

Please do and lose all your money when the Chinese and European EVs take over the world. Teslas are going the dinosaurs way soon.

[@gelzamangitzaman1482]

lol

[@TheEnecca]

Because the guy who wants you to pay to see tweets is somehow better?

[@cladladd]

"the price point was a long time ago too" nice subtle jab reporter man 0:14

[@shmookins]

Here's a crazy thought: why not join with Netflix? Disney and others made the mistake of wanting their own platform when it would have been more lucrative to rent your content to other platforms. I think Sony is aiming to do that with the rumors of the Paramount acquisition. As for consolidation, it should have happened a long time ago. Not every content producers should have attempted their own platform. And make a free tier with ads-just like traditional TV. In a perfect world, we would have one platform to watch anything. Your subscription is divided to the producers of the shows based on what you watch. So if in one month you watched nothing but Netflix shows, the money goes to Netflix. If in another month you watched 30% Disney, 20% Prime, etc. then your subscription gets divided like that to the producers. I know, it isn't perfect, but we need out of the box ideas for a whole new business and model such as 'everything is streaming now'. Podcasts, audiobooks, and music have figured this out. It's time for movies/TV shows to do the same.

[@Seaofgoober]

Good point (I didn't read that) (just jokes)

[@aightm8]

Warner (HBO), Disney and Hulu are packaging their content in the US starting this summer

[@zacherysmith4520]

This is the face of Evil...

[@aelukki]

how

[@cheesesteak2795]

@@aelukkihe ruined Disney

[@moistjuices6969]

@@aelukkihe fundamentally hates American culture, tradition, and white men. He hates disneys legacy and his priority seems to be injecting woke, far left ideology into every movie and tv show made for children.

[@AnitaBlowie420]

He ruines everything he decides to purchase. First starwars then marvel. Who knows what's next

[@DonellHarris2008]

relax at the end of the day he still a person

[@CB-hp1zn]

Last i checked Disney world orlando is a insurance company, for tropical storms and disaster relief 😮 , now Disney is building prisons in Utah?

[@wonderland-vz9cb]

Bob is the head of the Disney grooming gang.

[@jdjr3889]

What's needed is Star Wars content, the Darth Vader show, shows that are no-brainer big bangers, and getting rid of the other stuff that isn't doing well. Right now nothing good coming out and its taking to long to come out with movies and shows that will do well. Manalorian, etc.

[@TechMadePlain]

Fair take. I like the competitive spirit. Shogun is a hit! Disney's moat remains the IP, they'll figure the rest out as always.

[@coldbastard6859]

You can't be serious.

[@TechMadePlain]

@@coldbastard6859 Last quarter alone; ESPN $4.4 billion, Parks and Goods $9.1 Billion, Streaming $6 Billion. Company existence will be 101 years this October. Yeah, they'll be alright.

[@Ideas336]

How do you keep stupid employed ? All board members in Disney need to be fired! This man should NOT be allowed anywhere near Disney! I wish I could bring Walt back so he can fire this disgusting idiot who has destroyed his company!!! Acknowledging this idiot has any brains is an insult to human kind! Why is he there?! Get rid of him!

[@osmanhossain676]

I always love futures Disney Junior, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+.❤

[@casas9425]

Iger takes zero accountability for himself and blames all of Disney’s mistakes on other people. A bad omen for Disney.

[@courtneycook7910]

Classic narcissism

[@aightm8]

Yes he left a sinking ship just as water started to come onboard. Then came back as a "hero" and all the blame went to Bob Chapek.

[@vincenzollamas]

the beautiful magic of Disney folks

[@mryamahapro12]

Hulu on Disney+ was a fantastic idea, led to me directly watching some stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise

[@sreeram483]

No I saw the loss running for discovery and as per Discovery network they followed Disney foot steps, so I have no Idea?

[@TheTechnicalRecruiter]

Less Woke more talent

[@Whoaly]

Why not both? Like Barbie, Spider-Verse and Super Mario Bros?

[@RichardTavilla]

@@Whoaly they lost over $100 billion last year with their woke movies. Middle America now sees Disney straight up creepy.

[@Whoaly]

@@RichardTavilla What is your source for this? Does Middle America see Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Sony as woke as well? By the way, what is your definition of "woke"?

[@punnymoney3692]

@@RichardTavilla I agree! As a black male it's become CRINGE!!!

[@RichardTavilla]

@@punnymoney3692 love you

[@Meforutr]

What I want to know is when can I stop screening shows that are targeted to kids . Honestly some of it is so disgusting and disturbing and simply put blatant racism and promoting all kinds of garbage I can’t even watch it let alone my kids

[@Whoaly]

Do you have examples of this blatant racism ? Peter Pan had racist depictions of Native Americans but that was from the 1950s.

[@dr_IkjyotSinghKohli]

Can you give some examples of these shows?

[@Whoaly]

Examples would help. Peter Pan has poor depictions of Native Americans, which was an unfortunate by product of the 1950s.

[@eglantinepapeau1582]

@@Whoaly he's talking about modern day racist disney movies , not the ones from the 50's

[@Whoaly]

@@eglantinepapeau1582 Do you have any examples of such films?

[@sylvia8112]

Cancel disney, please protect our children

[@AQuietNight]

Growth business for Disney? Any day now, any day. Soon. Very soon. Just you wait. Bob doesn't realize people have to like the shows you produce first. No good programs... no subscribers.

[@SomethingSomewhereJustOnce]

Leaving the Indian market was a stupid move Iger! (Yeah I know he's not going to read this.)

[@Kimo0tJJ]

You, sir, are DESTROYING the amazing name of Walt Disney. Disgusting.

[@CB-hp1zn]

Isnt Disney world in Florida to cover the stroms and hurricanes , and now there building a prison in utah ? And as the hurricane season continues everywhere and everyone goes homeless?

[@osmanhossain676]

I love Disney Junior, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+.❤

[@nihongo-shoyo10]

"We have learned from the past, focused on the future" quote end. Let´s see and wait if this statement of Mr. Iger does justice to reality. You know.... in the future! And even if the last quarter loss of streaming did reduce to $ 137 million, the last years Disney+ lost $ 11 billion dollar. So in the end you can not really say that Disney streaming is "profitable"! The only true statement of Mr. Iger was that Netflix is the "gold standard in streaming"

[@Whoaly]

No one said Disney streaming is profitable, Iger said it would be profitable by fourth quarter of fiscal year. So we'll see if that happens.

[@jucamovi1992]

The little mermaid Pinocchio Peter Pan Oye Primos The Marvels She Hulk Eternals Wish Another “great idea” Bob Iger?

[@bevrosity]

thats a lot of garbage and aint even half of it.

[@coloneldarren999]

Disney is an absolute dumspter fire because of this guy

[@freedomoftruth9071]

The current disney team are trash

[@Whoaly]

They're cleaning up from the last team.

[@andrewaustin3836]

@@Whoalyno they are not Iger was in command for years prior and years after chapek was in for a few months

[@Whoaly]

​@@andrewaustin3836 Do you have issue with Iger's first tenure as CEO? I for one did not. Incorrect on the second point, Chapek was CEO starting in 2020. Granted he did have the unfortunate luck of having a global pandemic right after, however his reign was from 2020-2022. Iger returned in late 2022 and it's not even halfway to 2024. He still hasn't been back for as long as it took for Chapek to ruin Disney. There is also a lag time in particular, the Hollywood machine. For example, the average Marvel film takes 3 years from conception to release. Everything we saw initially in the pandemic was likely started by Iger, and only in 2023 did projects that get initiated in 2020, begin to release.

[@andrewaustin3836]

@@Whoaly what exactly did chapek do I’ve never heard anyone able to break it down. Why is everyone able to believe that chapek, a lifelong business man, somehow ruined the studio in such a short amount of time. It makes much more sense that Iger during his tenure acquired all these studios and franchises, and his groundwork laid the path for where they are now. And Iger was never gone you know. He kept his office, there was drama because he refused to allow chapek to use the ceo master office. So iger oversaw everything even while chapek was there. Upon his return Iger hasn’t done any course corrections either.

[@Whoaly]

​@@andrewaustin3836 From what I understand, that was part of Chapek's downfall - he was just a businessman. He didn't understand the creative side of the company. An operational track record was mistaken for leadership skills. In the past Disney has had most success with either someone who understands both business and creatives (Iger), or having two people that do (i.e. Walt and Roy, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells). I'll highlight what I think are some of the major mistakes Chapek made. The largest issue that Chapek caused was a structural reorganization. When Chapek took over he created the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution and appointed his right hand man Kareem Daniels to head it. This organization was to supersede all the creative producers (Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Animation) and decide where each of their produce content went (i.e. releasing Pixar films to streaming) and essentially middle manage each of the studios. This was the first thing Iger removed when he came back, giving decision-making and operational control back to the creative teams. In fact, removing middle management and giving power back to the creatives was arguably the most significant thing Iger did to unlock Marvel to it's full potential when Iger removed Feige from under Ike Perlmutter who was against the release of Black Panther/Captain Marvel, which both went on to make a billion dollars each. Another error was in the handling of Scarlet Johansson and the release of Black Widow. Apparently he and the people around him didn't think to negotiate a new contract with the actress before releasing it on streaming first. This, apparently despite her team reaching out multiple times before it went public. This created bad optics and bad press. Iger, who's spent time in show business and around "creatives" since 1974 wouldn't have allowed this to become public. In pursuit of the higher stock price, Chapek chased Disney Plus Subs by emphaziing quantity over quality, pump out as much content as fast as possible (confirmed by X-Men 97/MarvelStudios producer Brad Winderbaum). This has resulted in the slump content has had. Another thing Iger has course corrected by slowing down the slate and which hopefully we shall see the fruits of this year. Iger was there in the background while Chapek was CEO for a portion of his time, this is true. Maybe it was a bit grand to keep the CEO master office while he was still chairman, but the issue was that Chapek refused to take any of his advice and in fact seemed to do the exact opposite in some examples. There's a bunch of other issues too relating to the parks, needlessly relocating employees, alienating board members (which lead to his ousting) as well.

[@gorillashop337]

The only subscription service I have is Netflix I have no plan to subscribe to Disney+ 😮

[@masterfarr8265]

This guy represents everything wrong with corporations

[@LupitaPerez-xx9xl]

Happy holidays

[@skipperry63]

Losing less is improving?

[@chrisbourne3543]

I’m sorry, but the defense department of the United States needs some cash

[@MilesBellas]

Genius

[@osmanhossain676]

I always love Disney Junior, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+.❤

[@chrisbourne3543]

I found someone to work with you, Stan Crockey owner of the Rams he hasn’t actually said yes yet

[@MiguelGonzalez-iw5wp]

Evilness aside, he looks amazing for 73 years old.. must be nice to have money

[@edgarallanpoestheblackcat6613]

Fire him!

[@ACK333]

The Founder loves him to be the Board keys.

[@patfehl-ov9hh]

Amber Fehl Disney plus no ads

[@DamplyDoo]

I sold all my Disney stock, and happily pirate Disney content 😊

[@knownpleasures]

He’s giving away too much of his business strategy to other streaming platforms

[@osmanhossain676]

I love futures Disney Junior, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+.❤

[@zenithfox23]

In Elon We Trust

[@osmanhossain676]

I always love futures Disney’s and Disney’s PIXAR’s.❤

[@skipperry63]

Destroyed Disney indeed!

[@StillmanSpinningSteel]

Mark my words Bob. Disney will be mine.

[@gizmonovack]

You can own it for 4 billion

[@jujufactory]

Iger should be fired. He has zero talent. He hires the wrong people.

[@areuokay4984]

ok then let’s grow stand down your men

[@areuokay4984]

and women

[@bevrosity]

this guy just cant stop taking L's lol good thing he's disgustingly rich.

[@utsavgupta5781]

This guy is a shining faliure despite all the media and ecosystem supporting him he is still not able to do his job properly

[@gregrosenberg1541]

There was more to this interview, Faber asked about Musk and the problem of wokeness in the company’s entertainment division, CNBC of course cut it out. David Faber is a great interviewer unlike the handjob interview that Gloria Borsten would’ve given

[@starship519]

Streaming is trash

[@luismedrano6680]

and yet that's where consumers prefer to consumer their movies/shows over paying for cable/internet or going to the theaters

[@starship519]

@@luismedrano6680 than why does it have losses?

[@starship519]

@@luismedrano6680 go ask paramount about that

[@starship519]

@@luismedrano6680 streaming content quality is trash compared to theaters

[@starship519]

@@luismedrano6680 theaters while straddled with covid debt, actual make profits on products unlike disney and paramount

[@dillion-gm4fd]

growth..? where..? in what department? when..? how..? this conversation is a joke.

[@KermdoubleO7]

STOP BEING WOKE HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE there for the sake of fun STOP IT

[@janeford218]

Iger is leading the downfall of a once great company. He leads with his ego rather than a brain, which I doubt he has.

[@RS-jb1lf]

Iger really committed a cardinal sin. He decimated the Hollywood ecosystem. He was desperate to undercut theatrical but was greedy and oblivious to the damage it has done to consumer driven revenue. Theatrical, PVOD, Streaming/Cable, Terrestrial (Advertised). This was established but rendering a movie to a one time watch on television was myopic. The damage is done and Disney+ will continue to haemorrhage with no end in sight.

[@Whoaly]

Are you referring to the Premier Access on Disney Plus done under Chapek during the pandemic? Extreme circumstances aside, I'd argue more damage was done by Jason Kilar with his Day and Date streaming initiative for Warner films.

[@RS-jb1lf]

@@Whoaly WBs Project Popcorn was definitely a contributing factor to the dilution of Hollywood.

[@williamandersen1367]

Recognizing the change coming to the Hollywood ecosystem (Netflix provided the proof of concept and others were going to follow) and transforming Disney to be ready is not the same as causing the change.

[@williamandersen1367]

I think Disney under Iger had long supported the theaters. Disney has benefited greatly from the theaters and cable. Moving to streaming is recognition of a new market that has great potential. They will likely continue to support theaters too.

[@SomethingSomewhereJustOnce]

All of that was under Chapek.

[@gooberstankable]

Undercut theaters and promoted DEI to the core. Not supporting woke trash agenda writing and neither are my kids

[@gooberstankable]

@simsfan881-pl5ge that they do I screen most everything

[@gooberstankable]

@simsfan881-pl5ge own most all of them on blu and 4k

[@TimmyTheTinman]

He did undercut theaters, but I feel like that last part of is just your homophobia and your kids are going to grow up to hate you

[@chrisbourne3543]

Hello, my name is Christopher. Would you be willing build a new park and resort movie studio another country I would like you to stop the war in Gaza If the Palestinians would like to sell their land for a better life? Great that you own 20 century Fox.

[@will201084]

Stop pushing these men bashing and making gimmicky content with crap writers. That Rick and Morty writing staff are trash 🗑

[@purelandbuddhism2771]

Namo Amitabha Buddha

[@utsavgupta5781]

I identify myself as a vegetable so I dont know what this guy is talking about

[@patfehl-ov9hh]

Amber Fehl Hulu anime series not in English

[@chillbro7055]

🤬🤬🤬

[@user-yt7jb7kk1i]

The way he frames he never made any mistakes. Huge compensation 0% return to shareholders in a year. Let the bobble head board keep rubber stamping and in another 13 years there will be a succession plan.

[@sreeram483]

Wow I understood the Hot dog secret finally, and goofy the dog character, but seriously they will go to that level just curious on those human behaviours, an attitude to be attacked at such level, but why attract all Landlords and those stupids to India or those influenced in that way to be at celebrity status to move to Disneyland since in same attitude you can get tour cartoon done in ways of child viewable way because you cant see a kids value or needs. Ultimate

[@dannyshipley3399]

proverbs 6:12-15 kjv

[@Muskieangler]

Woke Disney Company. Iger's legacy will be the mouse snuffer.

[@utorrent01]

DEI

[@Whoaly]

ABC

[@HarisonThes]

BBC

[@tabularasa7350]

Boomer Lobster 🦞 eating executive Killed the mouse, takes all the money and bails out when the Stock Dives, no accountability, classical Boomer.

[@dcoughla681]

I think Bob Iger is in denial & counting down the days to the end of his contract.

[@lpmmxvii7422]

Keep making them woke and u will continue to lose 😂😂😂