To The Moon

Bob Iger is Focusing on Creativity, Profitability at Disney $Walt Disney(DIS)$ 

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger told employees at his first companywide town hall since retaking the reins of the entertainment giant that he will empower Disney’s creative teams, chase profitability in streaming instead of adding subscribers, and spend money where it would add value for the company.

Iger, Disney’s CEO from 2005 to 2020, sought to reassure Disney employees and shareholders after a year of unpopular changes under previous CEO Bob Chapek. He said he plans to keep the hiring freeze Chapek started, but didn’t mention the layoffs that Chapek warned about.

Chapek increased Disney’s content spending to around $30 billion this fiscal year, but charged subscribers far less for Disney+ than rivals including Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery‘s HBO Max do for their services, The Wall Street Journal reported. Losses for Disney’s streaming division ballooned to $1.47 billion in the most recent quarter.

Iger said employees need to be skeptical about the future of traditional television amid the rise of streaming services such as Disney+. Iger called the idea of a potential sale to a company like Apple “pure speculation,” cautioning against expecting any deals soon.

When asked about the public disagreements with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney’s position on Florida’s legislation limiting discussion of gender identity in schools, Iger said Disney’s LGBT employees are very important and that Disney cares deeply about them, the Journal reported.

Iger said he “will look into” Disney’s plan to relocate its “imagineers,” the engineers and designers of its theme park rides, to Florida from Southern California in 2026. He will also examine Disney’s online theme-park reservation system, introduced when they reopened following pandemic closures.