Disney CEO Bob Iger recently made comments indicating that the company could be willing to sell some of Disney’s “linear TV assets,” including ABC, Freeform and FX. He also mentioned that they want to sell or restructure their ownership of Hotstar.
According to Bloomberg, ESPN could also be in for changes as Disney is reportedly looking to find a “strategic partner” for the network. It’s so bad Bloomberg put this headline in their article “Bob Iger shifts from building an empire to a Disney yard sale.”
When Disney+ launched, Iger did so with a meager price and multi-year subscription offers. Of course, this was not sustainable, and subscribers have been dropping, especially in India, where they want to restructure or sell.
Streaming services are taking losses as subscriptions are flatlining or declining for many. As it stands, Disney now has to buy out Comcast’s stake in Hulu in early 2024 at a value of at least $27.5 billion. The company may need to roll Disney+ and Hulu together instead of having them be two separate services.
If Iger wants to sell off some of their “noncore” linear TV channels, they will need to navigate carefully because they are tied to other deals Disney might want to keep. Bloomberg points out, “ABC, for example, is key to retaining NBA rights. FX has been a key supplier of programming to Hulu, which Iger plans to keep and fold into Disney+.“
Disney has already cut 7,000 jobs as part of a restructuring effort to save the company $5.5 billion, and selling off these linear TV networks could bring them several billion dollars more. Still short of the base price, they must pay Comcast for Hulu.
Buyers for the networks would likely be private groups, as we’ve seen with other ones that have sold. For ESPN, their potential buyer or partner list is more extensive.
I’m not sure where Disney’s $17 billion infusion for Walt Disney World, which they promised when they went against the governor of Florida, will come from at this point. But they may want to use that money to pay for Hulu if they have that money.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: Bloomberg
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