Disney CEO Iger makes profitable streaming a priority - Reuters

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Chief Executive Bob Iger said connected Monday 1 of his apical priorities is to marque the company's streaming concern profitable.

Iger is liable for Disney's all-in clasp of streaming, and the motorboat of its marquee service, Disney+, but helium acknowledged the measurement of occurrence has changed. Wall Street investors present absorption connected profitability, not simply subscriber gains.

"Instead of chasing (subscribers) with assertive selling and assertive walk connected content, we person to commencement chasing profitability," Iger told a town-hall gathering connected the company's Burbank, California, lot, according to a transcript of remarks seen by Reuters.

"In bid to execute that, we person to instrumentality a very, precise hard look astatine our outgo operation crossed our businesses."

Disney joins a fig of media companies seeking to turn their streaming services without sacrificing its movie oregon tv businesses.

The committee announced it had installed Iger arsenic main enforcement connected Nov. 20 aft removing his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, who had mislaid the enactment of elder staff.

"Filled with gratitude and excitement to beryllium backmost @WaltDisneyCo!," Iger tweeted connected Monday with a representation of the company's headquarters.

From a dependable signifier connected Disney's lot, Iger said helium returns to the institution helium led for 15 years with a consciousness of urgency. He said helium had precocious been listening to Lin-Manuel Miranda's philharmonic "Hamilton," and was struck by the opus "What'd I Miss?," arsenic Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. curate to France, is called home.

"The presumption quo is gone. A batch has changed. But the prima is inactive shining," Iger said.

Iger, successful a question-and-answer session, said it was a "surprise" to person been asked to instrumentality to Disney for a two-year period. His apical focus, helium said, is creativity.

His predecessor, Chapek, had a rocky tenure astatine Disney's helm, adjacent arsenic helium was credited with navigating the institution done the worst of the pandemic.

Chapek clashed with "Black Widow" prima Scarlett Johansson implicit the determination to simultaneously merchandise the movie successful theaters and online, and with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis implicit authorities limiting schoolroom treatment of intersexual predisposition oregon sex identity.

Disney besides has been nether unit from activist investors, who person been pushing for change.

Iger said helium planned to support a hiring freeze, which Chapek instituted, successful place, portion helium assesses Disney's outgo structure. He offered nary timing connected the restructuring of the company's movie and tv organisation group, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. CNBC was the archetypal to study details, which Reuters independently confirmed.

Asked astir Disney’s archetypal attempts to stay neutral connected a Florida instrumentality that critics notation to arsenic the "Don't Say Gay" bill, Iger reiterated his committedness to the company's LGBTQ+ employees -- "we attraction profoundly astir them. That is simply a given."

The returning main executive declined to respond to speculation that Disney mightiness research a merchantability to Apple Inc (AAPL.O), noting, "We ne'er remark connected acquisitions oregon divestitures oregon whatever. You tin rapidly get into a batch of occupation determination -- and I don't privation to permission this occupation and extremity up successful jail."

Iger near the signifier to a lasting ovation, according to 1 idiosyncratic who attended the session.

Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski successful Los Angeles; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Anna Driver

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