It’s no doubt that Hollywood has seen better days, let alone Disney. But you would think, even in times like these, that the world’s largest entertainment company would have no issues paying its bills. However, things are always on edge in business, and Bob Iger knows this better than anyone. There is now speculation that Disney may be sold to Apple.
Iger served as CEO of the Walt Disney Company for 15 years, and oversaw many of the organization’s largest acquisitions including Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, to name several examples. Although he retired in late 2022, the Board of Directors brought him back in the wake of the company’s growing challenges.
With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions striking against major entertainment companies, including and especially Disney, for a lack of pay from residuals on streaming and AI taking over jobs, industry CEOs have a lot to answer for. In response to the recent uprisings, Bob Iger replied by saying he finds the protests quite “disturbing.”
“We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic.”
Bob Iger, Disney CEO
One of Disney’s major issues in the modern day with paying writers and actors, along with other major entertainment companies, is due to how competitive the streaming business is. In the past, actors, writers, and producers received residuals that allowed them to take care of their bills and live comfortably, feeling valued for their work. However, this extended mainly to broadcast media. In the era of streaming, it’s become almost impossible to meet these same demands.
After almost 4 years of offering subscribers access to Disney Plus, the company has yet to turn a single penny in profit on the service. In fact, the Walt Disney Company lost more than $650 million in 2023 alone for its streaming package. This is true even after working together with Hulu.
Companies are now making outrageous offers that include automating people’s likenesses and reusing them over and over for a one-time fee, all to save on costs. This clearly has not been met with much enthusiasm by artists.