Bob Iger is back. Can he cope with Disney’s many challenges?
November 25, 2022·6 min
Kim Masters opens The Hollywood Breakdown with Matt Bellany to unpack Disney's stunning Sunday-night ouster of CEO Bob Chapek and the return of Bob Iger. Masters runs through Chapek's troubled two years: a public dispute with Scarlett Johansson over her Black Widow compensation, a badly handled response to Florida's Don't Say Gay law, and a clash with Governor Ron DeSantis. She notes staff demoralization after Chapek's initial refusal to take a position. Masters describes a recent earnings call where Chapek sounded cheerful despite the bad numbers, then issued a memo announcing cost cuts, layoffs, and a hiring freeze that he had not mentioned on the call. The board had reached a breaking point and removed him abruptly, without the usual farewell memo from a decades-long Disney veteran. Bellany argues the firing reflects both Chapek's personal fit problems and Wall Street's broader rejection of streaming's grow-at-all-costs model, which Iger himself had created. Disney stock is down 40 percent for the year. Bellany describes Chapek as awkward on the earnings call, talking about Disneyland events while analysts panicked. He contrasts Chapek's style with Iger's smooth, cashmere executive image. The hosts note Iger has returned after postponing retirement four times and botching succession. They predict intense scrutiny over whom he elevates as heir apparent. Masters frames Iger's challenges: an unrecovered theatrical business, falling broadcast and cable earnings, streaming still losing money, and high interest rates that make his historical acquisition playbook too expensive. The Disney that Iger left, Masters argues, no longer exists. She half-jokes he might just sell the company. Bellany's role at Puck News and on KCRW's The Business is noted in the sign-off.
