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Bob Iger

Iger Succession Setbacks & Elon’s Debt Nosedive

A downturn at Candle Media is lowering Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ altitude on the Disney C.E.O. shortlist. Plus, notes on Byron’s ABC bid and Linda’s Twitter/X mess.
William D. Cohan • October 8, 2023
William D. Cohan • September 24, 2023
Iger’s $60B Gamble, I.P.O.-looza & Rupert’s Legacy
Of course, just because Rupert Murdoch is turning the chairmanship of both companies over to Lachlan, no one believes he is giving up control of either Fox or News Corp.
Notes on the latest storylines in media and finance: the Murdoch family trust, a rocky road for I.P.O.s, and a silver lining at Disney.
William D. Cohan • September 20, 2023
More Notes on The Second Iger Age
Bob Iger
Musings on the fate of the once-great Walt Disney Company and whether it would be great once again. Does that mean spinning off ABC and ESPN together?
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 12: Byron Allen on stage at the Byron Allen Oscar Gala at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Allen Media Group / Byron Allen)
William D. Cohan • September 17, 2023
Iger’s Buyers & The Arnault Dynasty
News and notes on the fire sale of Disney’s linear assets and the LVMH succession.
Bloomberg reported that Bob Iger has held “exploratory talks” about selling ABC.
Dylan Byers • September 15, 2023
Iger’s New Suitors & ABC Agita
Nexstar and other potential suitors, including strategic buyers and private equity firms, have called to express interest in ABC, but none have enough clarity about exactly what Disney is willing to sell—or how they would structure a deal—to move forward.
Mark Thompson has already started his new CNN job incognito, meeting with members of the quadrumvirate interim leadership team and top talent almost immediately upon news of his appointment.
Dylan Byers • September 13, 2023
ESPNomics & Mark Thompson’s Previews
News and notes from the last bastions of the cable bundle: ESPN and CNN.
bob iger
William D. Cohan • September 13, 2023
Year of the Iger
Running Disney may be close to impossible, but Iger is supposed to be the one guy with near complete free rein—isn’t everything on the table?—to do it. Are his various half-step initiatives early signs of Vulcan chess, or something much less magical?
So far in his second iteration, Iger’s superpowers seem wanting, as if sapped by kryptonite.
Dylan Byers • September 8, 2023
The Iger Bunker
As Disney’s stock has hit a decade low, former heir (and current Blackstone-funded roll-up guru) Kevin Mayer is making his presence felt across the Disney portfolio. But in the everything-on-the-table era, what’s actually on the table?
We are in the “everything on the table” era, after all, when Bob Iger is publicly floating an ABC sale and seeking a strategic partner for ESPN.
Dylan Byers • September 6, 2023
Iger’s ESPN Game of Chicken
Notes on the existential reality undergirding Disney’s white-knuckled negotiation with Charter. (“The game is over,” as one media executive put it.)
Writer, director, and former actress Justine Bateman recently said that, regarding A.I., studios might be overlooking the “largest copyright violation in the history of the United States.”
Eriq Gardner & Matthew Belloni • August 21, 2023
Will A.I. Eat Hollywood?
Thoughts on a looming tech reckoning, Iger’s “Avatar” profit-sharing dilemma, and the “Blind Side” legal imbroglio.