Disney ‘Has a Lot of Problems.’ Rival Exec. Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

The Walt Disney Company is struggling right now. Over the course of the past year, Disney, Pixar, and Marvel films have lost more than $1 billion combined. Disney has been desperate for a hit, and while The Little Mermaid (2023) had solid returns, Disney’s other releases have fallen flat. The latest is Pixar’s Elemental (2023), which had the second-worst opening weekend for a Pixar release.

Disney has also taken a hit in its television and streaming divisions. Disney’s television properties, ESPN and ABC, are losing money as customers cut the cord and leave cable. During his last earnings call with investors, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney Plus lost more than four million subscribers.

These are problems that many of the “legacy” or traditional media companies are dealing with as viewing and media consumption habits change. But one rival executive sees Disney’s problems as much different than some other companies.

Tom Rogers, the founder of CNBC and former president of NBC Cable, told CNBC that the Walt Disney Company isn’t necessarily a “broken brand,” but the company has a “a lot of problems.”

Rogers’ point was that when Disney Studio begins to slump, it also directly effects other parts of the Company. For example, a solid Disney movie then allows that intellectual property to come to Disney Parks. Toy Story and Star Wars  are huge hits for Disney, so the Mouse House brought them to Hollywood Studios and other Parks around the world.

Rogers told CNBC:

So when that part of the company slumps, it really begins to look as if it’s not just industry issues that all legacy media companies are facing, but it’s also some very Disney-specific issues. It looks as if they have a creative slump issue in the animation area. Those things are fixable, but they gotta fix it.

The lack of new characters will begin to hurt Disney Parks and Products. It’s hard to sell new toys to kids if no one saw the movie. No one wants to hop on a ride at the Walt Disney World Resort, if they don’t know the characters.

Rogers does not believe that all is lost for Disney. Turning this around will require a new wave of creativity, which Bob Iger has said he wants as well. But it will require a change in culture from top-down and buy-in from all Disney employees. It remains to be seen if Iger can stop the slide that has taken place in recent years.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.