- Disney is considering selling its linear television business, except for ESPN.
- It is because of the pressure for the transformation of the sector towards streaming.
- The company is also looking to focus on Disney+ and cut costs by pausing production of content for Marvel and Star Wars.
Disney is considering the sale of all of its linear television business except ESPN, CEO Bob Iger has confirmed.
The company is under strong pressure to adapt to the transformation of the media industry as viewers switch to streaming services.
It must be remembered that linear television is losing audiences year after year, a trend that accelerated with the pandemic. Where does that audience go? More and more streaming content is being consumed.
Disney is one of the largest media companies in the world, and has a wide range of assets, including theme parks, content generation, streaming, and still, linear television. However, the linear TV business is one of its least profitable assets.
Disney abandons linear TV, but ESPN is still in the plans
According to publish Axiosciting an interview by Iger to the CNBCFor Disney, the sale of the linear television business includes the ABC network, but not the sports network, ESPN.
The remarks by Iger, who returned to the company last year, are important because Disney’s decision regarding its assets is something the entire media industry is waiting for.
What the entertainment giant does will guide the steps of the rest.
The big picture says that TV was a major source of revenue for media companies for decades, but the landscape has changed dramatically.
Data in the United States says the fewest people have cable TV since 1992.
“We are going to consider all the possibilities,” Iger told CNBC during the interview that followed a conference in Idaho.
When pressed on whether that answer meant a sale, Iger demurred, but added that linear TV “may no longer be critical” to Disney.
Regarding ESPN, Iger said: “The distribution model, the business model that forms the foundation of the TV business, which has generated huge profits over the years, is broken, but one asset that doesn’t seem to be on that block is ESPN.”
disney strategy
A few days ago, as we published in Merca2.0, it was learned that Disney decided to pause the production of content for its Marvel and Star Wars franchises.
The move is part of a broad cost-cutting plan at the company, motivated by the poor performance of its latest films.
Iger explained that the goal is to “spend less” and focus on initiatives that boost Disney’s flagship streaming service, Disney+.
The decision to narrow the content focus on Marvel and Star Wars comes after a period of expansion on both franchises by the entertainment giant.
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