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SAG-AFTRA accuses studios of 'bully tactics' after talks break down
CEOs from Disney, Netflix and more reportedly walked away from the table.
Disney will slow and spread the releases of its Marvel series
Disney executives say they plan to release fewer Marvel series that are spaced out more on Disney+.
Bob Iger is returning as Disney CEO in a dramatic shakeup
Bob Iger is returning as Disney CEO in a massive leadership shakeup, with current CEO Bob Chapek stepping down.
MasterClass is offering college students a year of courses for $1
You'll need to hurry if you're interested -- the offer expires tonight.
Disney CEO Bob Iger steps down after getting Disney+ off the ground
After guiding Disney through the acquisition of Fox and launching its direct-to-consumer efforts that center around Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, CEO Bob Iger is stepping down from his post. "Effective immediately," former Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek is taking over and will report to Iger while he serves as executive chairman and leads "creative endeavors" through the end of his contract next year. In a statement announcing the move, Iger said ""With the successful launch of Disney's direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO." As far as Chapek's experience, he's worked there for more than two decades, and the press release notes that he spearheaded the infamous "Disney Vault" strategy for handling its iconic films as they were released for home viewing on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. Asked on a call with investors about the timing of the move, Iger said that it made sense to turn over day-to-day management of the company to Chapek so that he can use his remaining time to focus on creative aspects of the company. According to him, the move wasn't accelerated "for any particular reason." With Chapek continuing to report to Iger, it doesn't seem like things materially change at Disney much right now, but the move is announced right after the company revealed Disney+ has already grown to over 26 million subscribers. It's also preparing to launch widely in Europe, and we're still months out from the arrival of The Mandalorian season two and tons of Baby Yoda merchandise.
FX's entire show archive arrives on Hulu next March
"Beginning in March, Hulu will become the official streaming home of FX Networks," Disney CEO Bob Iger told reporters on the company's Q4 earnings call Thursday. The cable network and streaming service both already operate under Disney's corporate umbrella and are about to get a whole lot closer.
Disney+ downloads will disappear when they leave the service (updated)
While Disney leans hard on nostalgia for content from its vast archives to push its upcoming Disney+ package, one downside is that licensing deals signed years ago will mean some movies aren't always available. In the past, it's made limited availability of content part of the business model, rotating classics in and out of the Disney vault to encourage purchases while they're available. As CEO Bob Iger explained during an interview at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2019, that shouldn't be an issue -- as long as people keep subscribing. Asked about the availability of older movies (around 25 minutes into the video below), he referenced the three-hour "All Your Favorites" sizzle reel Disney released last week, and said that there is "some of it but very very little" that will be removed from the service at times. However, as long as someone is an active Disney+ subscriber, he said, they'll be able to watch downloaded copies of those movies anyway. It's not the perfect solution, but it may nudge some people to get -- and keep -- that annual subscription, even in future years if Disney ever raises the prices. Disney+ launches November 12th, with a $6.99 per month / $69.99 annual price tag. Update 11:30AM ET: It seems that Iger's statements have caused some confusion. While he seemed to be suggesting that any videos you downloaded from Disney+ would continue to be available as long as you were a subscriber, regardless of changes in licensing or things going back in the "vault" so to speak, that's not necessarily the case. A Disney spokesperson clarified to The Verge that, if a movie or show leaves the Disney+ platform, then it will no longer be available as a download. To give you the full context of Iger's statement, we've included a transcript below. Q: I have a quick, you mentioned the breadth of content and you kind of, you guys exploded the internet, I think it was last week, with this incredible flex of everything from the vault. Now I grew up in the tradition of the Disney vault, you know the movie would come out and then it would go back in the vault, and if you didn't get it, it was gone. So I'm just curious as the mother of a five year old, is the stuff gonna stay on Disney Plus or are you gonna take The Love Bug away? A: No, no, no. What you're referring to they've someone in our marketing department decided to put out a trailer which I think was a snippet from every one of the movies and television shows that will be on and it was a three and a half hour trailer. It was kind of inventive although I have not gotten through it all yet. Virtually all of the library is on Disney Plus and will be available. There's some encumbrances from deals that we had, legacy deals that we had before, which will prevent some of it from being on initially, and will cause some of it but very very little to come off for brief periods of time. But by and large, almost all of it is there. And if you are a subscriber, you can download it and put it on a device and it will stay on that device as long as you continue to subscribe. So in your case if you wanted to download 10 classic Disney films that may not have all been available at once before, you can do that basically fill all of your hard drive space on one of your devices and your child can watch wherever they are.
Bob Iger: Disney might have merged with Apple if Steve Jobs were alive
A few days ago, Disney chief Bob Iger resigned from Apple's board of directors ahead of TV+'s launch in November -- the House of Mouse, after all, is launching its own streaming service in the same month. Things may have been much different if Steve Jobs were still alive, though, because Iger believes a Disney-Apple merger would have happened (or at least seriously considered) under their leadership. Iger revealed his thoughts in a Vanity Fair article adapted from his upcoming autobiography.
Disney CEO Bob Iger resigns from Apple board ahead of TV+ launch
Bob Iger, the long-time Disney CEO, has resigned from Apple's board of directors. Apple made the announcement on Friday in an SEC filing, where it revealed that Iger stepped down on September 10th -- which happens to be the day the company shared launch details for Apple TV+, its upcoming video streaming service. Disney is, of course, getting ready to debut a streaming service of its own, Disney+, on November 12th for $6.99 a month in the US, Canada and the Netherlands. Apple TV+, meanwhile, will arrive on November 1st for $4.99 per month in over 100 countries.
'Game of Thrones' creators' Star Wars movie is coming in 2022
There's just one episode left of Game of Thrones and the creators of the HBO phenomenon are looking ahead to a project with an even bigger canvas: Star Wars. Disney CEO Bob Iger said today at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit the next movie in the franchise (after this year's The Rise of Skywalker) will be from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Disney CEO Bob Iger speaks about his relationship with Steve Jobs
Yesterday at the Hollywood Radio and Television Panel, Producer Brian Grazer lead a Q&A with Disney CEO and current Apple board member Bob Iger. Though the discussion was to center around the television and film industry it quickly turned to Iger's relationship with Steve Jobs. In 2006, Disney purchased Pixar. However, Iger said the deal almost didn't happen because of Steve Jobs' disagreements with previous Disney CEO Michael Eisner. When Iger found out he would become the next CEO of Disney in 2005, the first thing he did was call his family -- and then Steve Jobs. "I don't even remember it being totally premeditated," Iger told Grazer. "I just decided to call my parents and my grown daughters in New York and a couple of good friends and Steve." Iger said he asked Jobs if Apple's and Disney's relationship could be "salvaged" to which Jobs responded that he thought Iger was just "more of the same" as Michael Eisner. According to The Wrap, Iger said Jobs' directness was infectious. That in turn led to Iger himself being candid with Jobs about Disney's desire to improve its animated film division by buying Pixar. The Pixar deal was eventually achieved for $7.4 billion in Disney stock, making Steve Jobs the largest shareholder in the company. As for Jobs and Iger, the current Disney CEO said that he took to calling Jobs on Saturdays to see if a Disney movie he saw the night before had "sucked" -- a phrase Steve Jobs was not afraid to use.
Disney considering 28-day rental window, because 'On Stranger Tides' was that good
That sound you can hear is the studios dashing around as they look for a new scapegoat. Disney's got Redbox and Netflix in its sights as it declares plans to impose a 28-day window before it'll make its titles available for rental. Despite conceding that the studio hadn't seen any impact on overall DVD sales, CEO Bob Iger pointed to a 16 percent drop in quarterly revenue compared to 2010 as the motivation. It's also collecting splinters in its backside as it watches to see how well digital locker service UltraViolet fares with consumers before committing to join the program. Of course, given the legitimacy of First Sale Doctrine, it's possible Redbox will do as its done with Warner titles and just buy 'em at retail -- as long as it can cover its costs as it does so.
Bob Iger picks up $55,000 in stock for joining Apple's Board
We mentioned earlier this week that Disney CEO Bob Iger was invited to join up to Apple's Board of Directors, and Fortune reports that as part of his deal, Iger got 142 restricted shares of AAPL, totalling a nice bonus of over $55,000 at current market value. Nice work, if you can get it! We joke -- Iger has been a key player at Disney for a while, overseeing both the recent purchase of Marvel Entertainment, as well as the acquisition of Pixar, which of course was headed up by none other than Steve Jobs. $55k is nothing for Iger, though -- last year, he picked up more than $29 million in compensation from Disney, according to SEC filings. And Iger has one other thing going for him that he and I share: He's a Bachelor of Science alumni from the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in upstate New York. Go Bombers!
Arthur D. Levinson new Apple chairman, Disney CEO Bob Iger joins board
Arthur D. Levinson has been named chairman of Apple's board of directors. Levinson has been a co-lead director of the board since 2005, and he is also chairman of Genentech. At the same time, Disney president and CEO Bob Iger has also joined Apple's board of directors; together, he and Levinson will both serve on the board's audit committee. "Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board," said Tim Cook, who called Disney's CEO "a great fit for Apple." Iger's appointment to Apple's board appears to further cement the ties between the two companies. As CEO of Pixar, Steve Jobs was Disney's largest shareholder. Show full PR text Apple Names Arthur D. Levinson Chairman of the Board Robert A. Iger, President & Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, Joins Apple's Board CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov 15, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Apple(R) today named Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D. as the Company's non-executive Chairman of the Board. Levinson has been a co-lead director of Apple's board since 2005, has served on all three board committees--audit and finance, nominating and corporate governance, and compensation--and will continue to serve on the audit committee. Apple also announced that Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, will join Apple's board and will serve on the audit committee. "Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "He has been our longest serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders." "Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board," said Tim Cook. "His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple." "I am honored to be named chairman of Apple's board and welcome Bob to our team," said Art Levinson. "Apple is always focused on out-innovating itself through the delivery of truly innovative products that simplify and improve our lives, and that is something I am very proud to be a part of." "Apple has achieved unprecedented success by consistently creating high quality, truly innovative products, and I am extremely pleased to join the board of such a wonderful company," said Bob Iger. "Over the years, I have come to know and admire the management team, now ably led by Tim Cook, and I am confident they have the leadership and vision to ensure Apple's continued momentum and success." Levinson is chairman of Genentech, Inc. and a member of the Roche Board of Directors. He joined Genentech as a research scientist in 1980, and served as Genentech's Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2009. He is also a director of Amyris, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Levinson currently serves on the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Advisory Council for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. He has authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific articles and has been a named inventor on 11 United States patents. In 2008, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Levinson received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington and earned a doctorate in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton University. Iger is the steward of the world's largest media company and some of the most respected and beloved brands around the globe. He has built on Disney's rich history of unforgettable storytelling, with the acquisition of Pixar (2006) and Marvel (2009), two of the entertainment industry's greatest storytellers. Always one to embrace new technology, Iger has made Disney an industry leader at the forefront of offering its creative content across new and multiple platforms. He is a member of the board of directors for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. He became a board member of the US-China Business Council in June 2011. In June 2010, President Barack Obama appointed him to the President's Export Council, which advises the president on how to promote US exports, jobs and growth. He is also a member of the Partnership for a New American Economy, a coalition of mayors and business leaders from across the United States that support comprehensive immigration reform. Iger is a graduate of Ithaca College. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
Apple announces changes to its board: Arthur D. Levinson named Chairman, Robert Iger joins
Apple has just announced some changes to its board of directors, including the appointment of a new non-executive chairman: Arthur D. Levinson. Currently Chairman of Genentech Inc., Levinson has been a co-director of Apple's board since 2005, having first joined the board in 2000. He'll be welcoming new board member Robert A. Iger, who you may know as the President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Levinson "has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000," and that his "insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders." On Iger, Cook said: "Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board," further noting that "his strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple." The official press release is after the break.
Disney will not be a part of iCloud launch
Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke at the D9 conference this week, and said that while he considers the cloud to be a huge force in technology going forward, he's not sold enough to be included in the first round of Apple's almost-announced iCloud service. Whatever Steve Jobs announces for iCloud on Monday (likely a music sharing and storage service, according to the rumors), it will not include goodies licensed under Disney. Still, Iger lauded Apple for working on what he called a "digital locker in the sky," saying that a system like that would really be "a step in a better direction for the user experience." Hopefully Apple will nail down Disney's agreement for iCloud in the future, if indeed it is going to serve as a media storage unit in the cloud. Meanwhile, Iger's plans seem much more local to his company -- rather than relying on Apple or any other company to sell and store his content, Disney apparently plans to "deliver entertainment directly to our consumers through a proprietary site or platform," said Iger. Seems a little inconvenient to have each content company set up its own platform to sell content (rather than going through Apple's store and service), but to each his own, we guess.
Disney Interactive likely to invest less in console games following $234M loss
Losing $234 million over the course of 12 months is pretty unimaginable to most individuals. For Disney, it's not such a big deal, especially when that loss is recorded by just one of its six company divisions -- the other five all profited over the last fiscal year (ending October 2, 2010), including its Media Networks, which pulled in more than $5 billion in operating income (profit excluding interest payments and income taxes). Unfortunately for gamers, that one bad division was Interactive Media. Uh-oh. "On one side we've got a collection of games businesses," Disney CEO Bob Iger explained of the Interactive Media division to investors during a call this week, "and the other side we have a collection of largely dot-com businesses." For both the fourth quarter and entire fiscal year, Interactive's revenues actually increased marginally over the previous year's earnings, and "operating results" were "improved" (meaning: the division lost less money -- perhaps unimaginably -- in fiscal 2010 than in the previous fiscal year). Still, when you end up $234 million in the hole, something's gotta change. A new Toy Story game (the division's big breadwinner for the year) can't be released every year, after all. Reflecting on a "pretty big shift" in the games industry, in which "everything from mobile apps to social networking games" has become a player, Iger said of Interactive, "It's our goal not only to be profitable, but obviously to get there by shifting our investment and reducing our investment, too." You know what that means: "We probably will end up investing less on the console side than we have because of the shift we're seeing in consumption [...] Consumers are obviously spending time playing games -- from casual games online to mobile apps to social networking to console -- and we felt all along that we need to be where the consumer are [...] we want to be there." No doubt. Quick -- everybody go buy Split/Second before it's too late! Like, for real this time.
Disney Interactive to be more 'judicious' with HD games as losses abate
Though Disney's gaming division saw improved operating results during the company's first fiscal quarter of 2010 (which ended January 2) -- a loss of $10 million compared to a $45 million loss in Q1 the previous fiscal year -- CEO Robert Iger has maintained a prudent stance on upcoming projects. "Disney-branded games seem to perform better on the Wii and DS platforms," he noted during a recent investor call (via Computerworld). It seems Disney will continue to target non-Nintendo platforms, but with fewer shots and steadier aim. "While we'll continue to make high-end games, we'll be very judicious in how many we make and which ones we choose," Iger said. Iger is also likely to keep an eye on the performance of upcoming "high-end" titles like Tron Evolution and Black Rock Studios' Pure follow-up, Split/Second. And if neither of those work, you send in the spandex. "We have some interesting opportunities with Marvel," he said. "That's a brand we think would do extremely well on higher-end consoles." Source: ComputerWorld [via GamesIndustry.biz] Source: The Walt Disney Company Q1 results
Disney CEO calls iPad "a game changer"
While discussing the iPad with the Associated Press on Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger hinted at his company's plans for the iPad, and called it "a game changer." He gave brief examples of ideas they're throwing around for the iPad, including ESPN ScoreCenter and an interactive app for the ABC drama "Lost." ESPN ScoreCenter is currently an iPhone and iPod touch app that provides real-time scores and updates from the world of sports. Iger says that the iPad gives them an opportunity to "...really make the scores come to life." I think of the demo of Major League Baseball's At Bat for the iPad and see how the ESPN app could do the same -- provide gorgeous, full-screen video and stats plus chat and trash talk with other fans during the game of your choice. Multiple camera angles, locker room interviews, fantasy leagues, and so on, could all enhance the fun of watching the big game. Likewise, a Lost app could provide a similar experience. "When you think about ABC," Iger said, "you think about a program like Lost and not just being able to watch the program, but all the other things that viewers like to do with that program." As a leisure content device, the iPad could be a killer with the right apps in place. Iger went on to say, "We think [the iPad] could be a game changer in terms of enabling us to create essentially new forms of content." No, it's not the same as watching your favorite show on that big, shiny HD TV, but the iPad might further synthesize the TV and computer into a single device. [Via MacDailyNews]
Disney CEO says iTV will come with a hard drive
As everyone well knows, LL Cool Stevie J is so secretive that it inevitably leads to reams of rumors before any big Apple event. The problem is the companies Apple works with sometimes seem to be confused by the three letters: N, D and A -- we're lookin' at you, Lionsgate. This time, however, it looks like they're taking a slightly different approach; Disney's CEO, Bob Iger (whom we last spotted sharing the stage with Steve Jobs at the most recent Apple event), recently revealed at a Goldman Sachs conference that the iTV would, in fact, have a hard drive. According to a transcript of the conference purportedly obtained by iPodObserver.com, Iger said: "It can also stream it live through the box to the TV or it has a small hard drive on it so they can download what you put on the device on your computer, on your iTunes, through the television set." So much for keeping cards close to the vest, huh Steve? We understand maybe this is their way of making sure people buying their movies on iTunes feel secure about their purchases knowing a whole Apple entertainment platform awaits them in the future, but Steve, we hope that should you reconsider that fleeting thought of duct taping an iTV across Bob Iger's mouth, you just send it our way instead, cool?
