Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said Thursday the studio may resume making movies and tv shows for its rivals, marking a departure from recent years, when its production resources were harnessed to launch and grow its marquee Disney+ steaming service.
Iger told the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco that streaming services have traditionally relied on a volume of fresh content to draw subscribers. He said he hopes to embrace a more curated HBO-like approach of constructing a couple of high-quality shows built around its major brands, as he works to lift Disney+ to a profit.
“As we glance to scale back the content that we’re creating for our own platforms, there probably are opportunities to license to 3rd parties,” Iger said. “For some time, that was something we couldn’t possibly do because we were so favoring our own streaming platforms. But when we get to a degree where we want less content for these platforms, and we still have the capability of manufacturing that content, why not use it to grow revenue?”
Bob Iger returned to Disney in November, lower than a 12 months after he retired.REUTERS
Iger also talked about the potential for licensing content to 3rd parties, noting that Seth MacFarlane’s animated series “Family Guy” draw viewers each on Disney-owned Hulu, in addition to on the Roku streaming service.
Iger returned to Disney in November, lower than a 12 months after he retired, because the entertainment company sought to spice up investor confidence and profits at its streaming media unit.
The corporate announced a sweeping restructuring in February, saying it will eliminate 7,000 jobs as a part of an effort to avoid wasting $5.5 billion in costs and return power to Disney’s creative executives.
The plan promoted activist investor Nelson Peltz to finish his quest for a board seat, saying he was completely happy with Iger’s restructuring.
