Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Disney CEO Bob Iger focused on instilling employees with renewed optimism about the Mouse House’s “blessed” and “fortunate” state during a virtual company-wide town hall Tuesday, rather than making any proclamations about the company’s future. The event, moderated by ABC News’ David Muir, was held just over a week after the one-year anniversary of Iger’s return to the helm at Disney (Iger hosted a similar town hall exactly a year ago to the day, upon resuming his post last November) following the surprise ousting of Bob Chapek, and on the heels of Disney reporting its most recent quarterly and full-fiscal-year earnings and taking a stumble at the Thanksgiving holiday box office with new animated film “Wish.” When asked by Muir if coming back to the position of CEO has been more challenging than he had anticipated, Iger, who originally ran Disney for 15 years from 2005-2020, said yes. “I knew that there were myriad challenges that I would face coming back,” Iger said.
Disney+, Hulu Merged App to Launch Next Month, Bob Iger Says
08.11.2023 - 21:55 / variety.com
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney, which is in the home stretch of swinging the deal to become the full owner of Hulu, will launch a beta test of an app next month that combines Disney+ and Hulu into a single experience, CEO Bob Iger said. Disney still needs to close its deal with Comcast to buy out NBCUniversal’s 33% stake in Hulu. In a filing last week, Disney said it would pay at least $8.61 billion to Comcast for the Hulu stake, with the final price tag — which could be much higher — to be based on an assessment of Hulu’s market value by each parties’ bankers.
“We remain on track to roll out a unified one-app experience domestically,” Iger said on the Mouse House’s earnings call for the September quarter. A beta version of the Disney+/Hulu app will launch in December — giving parents time to set up parental controls, according to Iger — ahead of the official launch in spring 2024. The company expects Hulu on Disney+ to result in increased engagement, greater ad revenue and lower churn, Iger said.
Iger’s comments come after he announced earlier this year that the company was prepping a “one-app experience” in the U.S. that incorporates Hulu content into Disney+. At the time, he said, the new combined offering would launch by the end of 2023, available to customers who subscribe to both streaming services.
Disney already offers a price-discounted bundle of Disney+ and Hulu with ads for $9.99 per month and $19.99 per month without ads, but currently customers must use separate apps to stream each one. For the most recent quarter, the company’s fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023, Disney+ gained a net of nearly 4 million overall to reach 150.2 million. Core Disney+ subscriptions (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) increased
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Tim Allen reveals ‘Toy Story 5’ buzz: Bob Iger told Tom Hanks and me ‘it was on’
Tim Allen and Tom Hanks could be returning as Buzz Lightear and Woody in “Toy Story 5.”On Tuesday night’s episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Allen, 70, revealed that he and Hanks, 67, are in talks to get back behind the mic.“Bob Iger, head of Disney, said it was on,” Allen said of a fifth film in the 28-year-old franchise. “He actually said it was going to happen.
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‘Marvels’ star says huge box office flop is Bob Iger’s problem
said in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. “That’s for Bob Iger.”The Disney-produced film, which was made on a hefty $200 million budget, currently holds a 62% on RottenTomatoes, making it the third-lowest-scoring MCU film after “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Eternals.”In a zero-star review, The Post called the movie starring Brie Larson, Vellani and Teyonah Parris “interminable,” and said it was “a sad study of the downfall of America’s favorite screen franchise.”And ABC News’ Peter Travers echoed those sentiments, writing, “The MCU, once the spawner of glories, is stuck in a rut.
Kelly Rizzo, Wife of Bob Saget, Created a Podcast About Coping With Grief — While Eating Comfort Food (EXCLUSIVE)
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Kelly Rizzo, TV personality and entrepreneur who is the wife of the late Bob Saget, is launching “Comfort Food,” a new weekly podcast in which she hosts intimate conversations with guests about life, love and loss — while tucking into emotionally comforting food. In January 2022, Saget died at a Florida hotel at the age of 65. The comedian, known for his starring role on “Full House,” had just kicked off a new comedy tour.
IBM Immediately Suspends Advertising From X/Twitter After Discovering Its Ads Appeared Next to Pro-Nazi Content
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor IBM said it was immediately pulling advertising from Elon Musk‘s X, formerly known as Twitter, after a report found that ads for the tech giant had appeared next to posts supporting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation,” a company rep said in a statement to Variety.
Disney CEO Bob Iger Says “There Might Be A ‘Frozen 4’ In The Works” After ‘Frozen 3’
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Bob Iger “Elated” By SAG-AFTRA Deal; “It Was Time,” Disney Boss Says Of End To Strike
EXCLUSIVE: Bob Iger finally had his wish come true today
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Don’t expect to see Andor or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on Netflix any time soon.
Disney+ Tops 150 Million Subscribers, Streaming Loss Narrows to $387 Million
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