
When Bob Iger was brought back as CEO of The Walt Disney Company in November 2022, he had one goal — to make Disney the powerhouse company it once was. Disney stock was dropping, theme park prices were soaring, and guests were more dissatisfied than ever. Additionally, Disney+ — Disney’s streaming service — was costing the company billions of dollars. It was a tall order — one that Iger is still struggling to fulfill.
In the 10 months since Iger has been back, he has been doing everything he can to turn the company around. In an attempt to satisfy guests, he has brought back things like free parking at Walt Disney World Resort hotels, as well as daily housekeeping service. He has also given the creative power back to Walt Disney Studios creatives as the company tries to create the hit animated and live-action films it was known for.
Unfortunately, Iger has also laid off thousands of Disney employees as he cuts $5.5 billion from the company’s budget. He has also admitted that Disney would be interested in conversations about selling off parts of the company. This includes “linear networks” like ABC, National Geographic, FX, and Freeform. Over the last week, there have multiple reports that Iger has spoken to several companies about a potential sale. According to Bloomberg News, he was even offered $10 billion for ABC by media mogul Byron Allen.
A new report from CNN says that, while Iger might be looking forward to selling off a lot of the company, the people who work for those companies are not. Insiders spoke to CNN and said that ABC News employees are “freaking the f*** out.”
“Everyone is freaking the f**k out,” one ABC News staffer bluntly told me about the state of affairs inside the network.
“It’s all anyone at work is talking about,” added another.
Indeed, mergers and acquisitions always inspire feelings of anxiousness as staffers wonder what a new corporate parent might mean for them. Will a new parent move to install its own leadership? Cut costs? Make other changes?
In addition to wondering what a new employer would mean for their jobs, many are frustrated that they don’t know what is going on. A sale could happen at any time, even though Iger said that no decisions have been made yet.
The ABC News’ers suggested that they are frustrated that they remain in the dark about the future of their company. Instead of hearing directly from Disney leadership, they’re instead reading in the press about what the House of Mouse plans to potentially do with the company.
CNN also reports that Iger is set to travel to New York City in the coming week and meet with the team at ABC News. He is expected to talk to the employees about their concerns. However, he cannot say much about deals that are in the works, offers that have been made, or what Disney is planning for its news division or other networks.
Iger has been candid about the fact that Disney’s linear networks may no longer be “core” to Disney’s business. Linear networks are networks that show content created for cable. The explosion in the popularity of streaming has meant that the popularity of linear networks has fallen off a steep cliff.
Agree. Time to get back to Walt’s vision. Family time in the parks, affordable and high customer service. Attractions and services offered instead of deleted, bring back extra hours nit just for the deluxe, get ride of genie and bring fast pass back. Lines long and no entertainment and food opens ver limited