Could ‘Restructuring’ Come To Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution?

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He’d been back for less than a day, but Bob Iger, who abruptly returned to the CEO post of The Walt Disney Company following the Board of Directors’ ouster of Bob Chapek late Sunday, notified Disney employees via an e-mail on Monday of his intent to “restructure things.”


Could that further impact the division that houses the company’s broadcast, cable and streaming media assets, which has already seen the exit of Kareem Daniel?

That seems very possible, based on the memo, shared by FOX Business on Wednesday.

 

 

“Over the coming weeks, we will begin implementing organizational and operating changes within the company,” Iger said. “It is my intention to restructure things in a way that honors and respects creativity as the heart and soul of who we are.”

Iger continued, “[T]his is a time of enormous change and challenges in our industry, and our work will also focus on creating a more efficient and cost-effective structure.”

The impact to the streaming media assets Disney holds could be significant, with pundits predicting the merger of Disney+ and Hulu. While subscriber growth has been healthy and ESPN+ is holding its own, profitization of the streaming platforms has lagged, making some wonder Chapek’s prioritization of OTT over theme parks and the ABC broadcast network, along with ABC Owned Stations such as KTRK-13 in Houston, KABC-7 in Los Angeles and WLS-7 in Chicago.

According to FOX Business, Iger’s memo notes that a reorganization of the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED) division will result in “a new structure that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs.”

With Daniel’s exit immediately after that of ousted CEO Bob Chapek, Disney General Entertainment Chairman Dana Walden; Disney Studios Content Chairman Alan Bergman; ESPN and Sports Content Chairman Jimmy Pitaro; and Disney CFO Christine McCarthy will lead the restructuring effort, Iger said. He added, “[Our] goal is to have the new structure in place in the coming months” and said more information will be shared “over the coming weeks.”