Bob Iger Has One Major Regret About Disney Plus
Disney+ launched with a plethora of original content in 2019, with many new television shows and movies available to subscribers. However, according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Disney's approach was way too aggressive under former leadership.
Iger, a previous Disney CEO who returned to replace Bob Chapek, the CEO between 2020-2022, spoke about the ambitious launch of the platform. Speaking at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference 2024 (via The Hollywood Reporter), Iger admitted the previous regime spent too much money in their efforts to compete with companies like Netflix during the streaming wars, leading to a $4 billion loss. Iger added that under his leadership, the streaming platform will be pulling back, as he wants to turn around Disney's fortunes by reiterating the importance of both the creative and financial sides of a project. "There's a very fine line that you can cross and get in trouble if your volume ends up diluting management's attention to what is being made is right. And that's what happened to us. So I have pulled that back," Iger relayed at the conference.
Iger has been very candid about how Disney handled the two years he was away from the company, previously sharing that Disney lost some of its focus while producing quantity over quality. In the same conversation, Iger stressed the significance of bundling services such as Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ to increase engagement across the board.
What does that mean for Marvel Studios?
Bob Iger has been particularly vocal about wanting Marvel Studios to scale back in their yearly number of films and television series. In an earnings call, Iger told participants that they are slowing down on releases in both TV and film while stressing the importance of the Avengers franchise. "We're slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four, and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two or at the maximum three," Iger said (via The Hollywood Reporter). "And we're working hard on what that path is, we've got a couple of good films in '25 and then we're heading to more 'Avengers,' which we're extremely excited about."
Ultimately, Iger sees how Disney was handled while he was gone and wants to cut down on what he views as unnecessary fat that dilutes the brand and Disney's overall profits. So while audiences might be bummed to hear Disney is scaling back its streaming services, perhaps Iger will get his wish, and the new movies and television series that are released under his purview will all be high quality. Thankfully for Iger, "Deadpool & Wolverine," is the next movie coming in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which feels as close to a guaranteed hit as the studio can have with the IP's past success and return of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Although, only time will tell if Iger's aspirations lead to the House of Mouse being more profitable — or whether it spells the beginning of the end for Disney+.