Bob Iger steps down as Disney CEO

[EricJ]

TV channels, schools in China and ‘Frozen’ musical get the ax

I continue to believe that a Higher Providence has granted a silver lining through all the fallout of the pandemic, by forcing the entire industry to take that needed time-out to reconsider bad ideas.

As for "Schools in China", they already lost their big China-mania window with Mulan making money in Chinese theaters and nowhere else...
If they're the first company to drop a general corporate strategy of kissing up to China because of health reasons, others may follow, and think we've had the unpredictable-event pin that always pops an overmarketed Bubble.

The former home-video chief pushes hard into streaming TV

They may have realized they dodged a bullet reducing Artemis Fowl to streaming-only, but they haven't quite grasped that Disney+ has now literally taken the place of Disney Channel, as cable cord-cutting is now the majority across the country.

We're in a transition period right now where the rush of streaming that was supposed to "replace Digital VOD" (after all the studios got confused which one had become a hit), and settling into its true role as Replacing Weeknight Cable TV.

[ShyViolet]

By “Phoenix”; WDWMagic forums, posted on July 29. I don’t know how accurate it all is, but it’s definitely worth a read; they certainly sound like they might be an insider.

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/on- ... ce.966982/

Oh man. I have logged in, written drafts, deleted them, and swore I would never do this. Yet here I am. And I'm ready to start some ****.

The Walt Disney Company is about to experience some of the deepest layoffs I have ever witnessed in my adult life. I would call attention to the 2002 and 2009 layoffs after those respective crises. Those separations from the company were orderly. Often via generous voluntary packages. Hell, to his credit, Al Weiss was militant about never laying off a CM against their will after 9/11. I respect that. He was basically a dumba** otherwise.

In 2009, there was a similar "orderly" exit of excess personnel. However, much of this labor was brought back remarkably fast as Disney's business was in far better shape in 2009.

We also have other, smaller layoffs that hit project teams at WDI. These are bull**** layoffs. Flim Flam. Just some accounting tricks. Almost everyone is brought back.

Well, these days are no more. What you are about to see from WDC will be shocking and it will permanently change their business forever. The bloat is about to be gone. The mediocrity that's failed upward all our lives is about to be purged. A new company is emerging.

And no, Bob Chapek is no hero. But he does recognize the value in taking out the trash.

Now, lets talk about attendance at WDW. It's effing bad. Its Hard Rock Park bad. It's Dubai bad. Its the worst attendance in the history of the resort. Epcot is lucky to hit 2500 a day and usually is only hosting a few hundred at a time. Magic Kingdom is tormentingly under performing. There is simply no demand to fill the park out even to its limited capacity. The other two parks are also in dire straits, but due to their smaller size, there are certain days they can make a go of it. And yet still, the resort business is the iceberg and WDW Parks are the titanic. This will not end well.

The situation is dire. Unsustainable. WDW parks will be dropping to five day weeks soon. They will likely not be alone in this practice.

And that brings me to Bob Iger. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Gotta Put Yoda on His Wife's Dress to Bury Some Search Engine Leads. That guy. It is my pleasure to announce that he will be soon tossed on his ***. In disgrace. His sins, his poor judgement, his poor treatment of subordinates. His malicious temper and outrageous displays of "toxic masculinity" as the kids call it. All this and more is coming out. Good riddance.

I highlighted that one paragraph because it’s been quoted a lot around the Internet. I know many fans have interpreted it positively...just my opinion, but really think the poster was probably being sarcastic. But then again, I really have no idea. So I guess we’ll see what happens.

[Ben]

Surprise, surprise! In absolutely non-shocking news, Bob Iger will, as predicted, remain at Disney beyond his current contract for the foreseeable future:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/busin ... 1235533307

[ShyViolet]

Interesting. Could this somehow be reflective of Disney’s growing relationship with Apple? Has there been any more talk/rumors on that front lately?

I mean could this be a sign that Disney/Apple really will merge? Will Iger have an even bigger part to play?