Behind the stunning exit of Disney CEO Bob Chapek, the company’s new president of global consumer products, Robert A. Iger, spent the first six months of this year trying to figure out how to cut the massive Disney payroll and streamline what he calls a “strange” division.
But as Disney found out, being president of a huge entertainment company isn’t easy. Chapek was forced to make big changes at Disney, which was hit by the departure of hundreds of employees and the departure of beloved chairman and CEO Michael Eisner.
The changes in Disney come amid a broader shift in the entertainment industry to streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. The streaming media giants are quickly becoming the new entertainment powerhouses, replacing Hollywood as the place to go for movies, TV shows, and other entertainment.
Disney’s new president, Robert Iger, has been tasked with figuring out the company’s future, but he’s also fighting to keep the good work he says he and Chapek started from getting more closely aligned on Disney’s biggest issues.
The changes at Disney seem obvious. But they’re taking hold with the entertainment industry, and there’s no clear playbook for what’s next for one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies.
1. More movies, less TV shows
The streaming media companies are going to change the way most people see movies and TV shows. There will be more movies and fewer TV shows. One way Disney and other entertainment companies are getting ready for the changes is by starting to rethink their business models.
Disney has already said that about 20 percent of the content on its current streaming service is going away. That means fewer movies and, in some cases, fewer TV shows.
Disney didn’t make this announcement to announce the demise of its streaming service. It’s about saving money. The company could cut the prices of popular films and TV shows, which would likely put a dent in some of the profits that the company had been making from the streaming business.
But the move is a sign that Disney is working on strategies for surviving the changing industry. If the new strategy works and makes Disney more attractive to people who watch streaming content, then the company will probably add more shows and movies to its streaming content.
So far,
