Bob Iger Looks to Sell Disney Assets
According to Bloomberg, Disney CEO Bob Iger is looking into selling about one-third of the company, primarily focusing on Disney’s TV assets. Channels like ABC, Freeform, and FX are up for sale, while Disney seeks a business partner for ESPN. At this time, they don’t want to sell ESPN altogether. Iger is also looking to either sell or “restructure” Disney’s TV and streaming assets in India, where the company suffered severe losses after losing the digital rights to air Premier League cricket games. This all comes on the heels of a great month for Netflix and a double-whammy of profit losses for Hulu and Disney+. Bloomberg says that Iger is planning to consolidate the latter two into one service by having Disney+ absorb Hulu, but that will only come after Disney has purchased Comcast’s stake in Hulu, which is one-third of the streaming service. With Hulu said to be valued at a minimum of $27.5 billion, Disney will owe Comcast around $9 million, which Iger is hoping to offset with the TV sales.
Well, I didn’t think this would ever happen. I know cable has been on the decline for a while now, but Disney’s presence on TV felt non-negotiable. They’ve been on TV my whole life, whether it was ABC, the Disney Channel, or Freeform. I’m not surprised that Disney+ and Hulu lost money; that seems to be the new normal. The streaming balloon is finally popping. It does feel like the end of an era to say goodbye to these channels for an abundance of streaming services, and only time will tell if it was worth it.
