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- Bob Iger is back at the helm of The Walt Disney Company
- Disney+ caused the group to lose $1.5 billion in the last quarter of 2022
- Disney wants to focus on cinema, even if it means abandoning its SVOD
In 2020, Disney+ is coming to France. Very quickly, Mickey’s streaming platform succeeded in winning the hearts of many viewers, in France and elsewhere. But at a time when SVODs are waging a merciless war, Disney+ is far from emerging victorious. What if his time was running out?
This fall, Bob Iger took over the helm of The Walt Disney Company, to everyone’s surprise. After a two-year break, and twenty years of good and loyal service alongside Mickey, the businessman is back to raise the bar. Indeed, the group’s results have been generally disappointing for several quarters. At the end of 2022, Disney+ caused the company to lose $1.5 billion.
With the approach of the hundred years of Disney, the new CEO of Disney is cleaning up and actively reviewing the group’s strategy. This should go through emphasizing cinema… And, consequently, abandoning Disney+.
Despite viewers’ interest in SVOD, Disney+ is not profitable enough for the group. Producing your own series takes money (a lot), even if success is there for many of them like Wanda Vision, The Mandalorian or Loki.
Similarly, for several years, Disney has been recovering its licenses to offer them exclusively on its SVOD. But exclusivity comes at a price. And today, The Walt Disney Company would no longer be able to afford this luxury. Reselling its licenses to the highest bidders could allow the group to get off to a good start
Currently, the “battle” of SVOD is in full swing and Netflix and Prime Video are winning it… Not without difficulty. Especially the firm of Reed Hastings, which suffered a troubling subscriber hemorrhage in 2022 and was forced to launch a controversial offer with advertising and end account sharing.
Certain of not winning, Disney could follow the example of Warner Bros., which seems lost with HBO Max, or even Lionsgate which has just announced the end of its video streaming platform. Even if it means not coming out on top, you might as well admit defeat and gain in profitability by moving away from Disney+. If materialized, this could be excellent news for viewers who would no longer necessarily have to subscribe to various platforms, always more numerous and expensive.
Disney wants to bet on the cinema
To boost the group’s financial results, Bob Iger seems to want to focus on cinema. The CEO of the group has indicated a cinema program for the next three years and this should continue in this direction. This is certainly something positive, Disney having regularly turned its back on dark rooms in recent years.
Just last year, Red alert was only available on the platform despite the announcement of a theatrical release, Disney blaming this decision on the back of the pandemic.
Likewise, the group has chosen to release its latest animated film, Avalonia, the strange journey, directly on Disney+ in France to fight against the chronology of French media. In addition, the long-awaited Black Panther: Wakanda Forever nearly suffered the same fate before enjoying a sudden turnaround and a November 2022 cinema release.
Thus, according to Bloomberg, Disney is already in the process of making a big shift in its strategy in order to present more favorable financial performance in the months to come. The new CEO would be ready to give more decision-making freedom to creatives. This Wednesday, February 8, 2023, we should hear more about the group’s strategy as Bob Iger unveils Disney’s financial results.
