Bob Iger says TV assets apart from ESPN ‘may not be core to Disney’
Walt Disney Company boss Bob Iger said the company is considering selling its TV assets while seeking a strategic partner for sports cable property ESPN.
Iger told CNBC on Thursday that he has had discussions with potential investors about buying a minority stake in ESPN, though he would not specify.
Iger said he hopes a partner would assist Disney with its sports-related “distribution or content,” adding that the company “wants to stay in the sports business.”
Iger added that he would be open to selling or spinning off Disney’s cable networks, which includes ABC, FX and National Geographic.
Iger, who revealed on Wednesday he will remain CEO of Disney through 2026, told CNBC he did not anticipate the degree to which legacy television networks would be struggling.
Disney’s television properties “may not be core” to the company, Iger said.
Earlier this week, it was learned that Disney is exploring options to sell or find a joint venture partner for its India digital and TV business. Disney’s India business comprises the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service and Star India, which it took over when it acquired the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019.
The CEO told CNBC that Disney needs to be “expansive” in its thinking about network and cable television.
“The challenges are greater than I had anticipated,” Iger told CNBC from Sun Valley, Idaho, where he is attending the annual Allen & Co. business conference that brings together tech and media executives.
“The disruption of the traditional TV business is most notable. If anything, the disruption of that business has happened to a greater extent than even I was aware.”
Americans are ditching cable television in droves — shifting the media landscape in favor of streaming and digital offerings.
But Iger indicated that he sees ESPN and the streaming service Hulu as part of the Disney family in years to come.
Disney owns 80% of the “worldwide leader in sports” while Hearst Communications controls the remaining 20%.
ESPN has already begun laying off some of its biggest stars, including Jeff Van Gundy, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber and Jalen Rose in a purge that will cut 20 on-air personalities in an effort to save tens of millions of dollars.
Comcast has indicated it will likely sell its 33% stake in streaming platform Hulu to Disney in early 2024.
Disney said in 2019 it would take full control of Hulu in a deal with Comcast that ascribed a minimum equity value of $27.5 billion to Hulu, allowing either company to trigger a sale or purchase of the stake as early as January 2024.
Iger on Thursday said that Disney is “better off having Hulu,” which will be combined with the Disney+ streaming service.
While Disney looks to cut costs on its sports spending, Iger is dishing out as much as $7 million to update his seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom Los Angeles mansion that’s worth an estimated $33 million.
Iger, 72, purchased the splashy home for $19.5 million with his journalist wife, Willow Bay, back in 1995, records show. It only had five bedrooms at the time.
