Awful Announcing
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in February "I don’t see The Walt Disney Company, certainly in the near term, getting involved in the business of gambling, in effect, by facilitating gambling in any way." Well, they're doing so at the moment thanks to their stake in DraftKings.
In March, questions swirled surrounding what would be next for the NFL Sunday Ticket package. The NFL was reportedly...
The deal is now being held up by anti-trust concerns in Brazil.
As per Iger, ESPN+'s subscriber numbers so far are strong, and consumers may eventually be able to combine ESPN+ with Disney+ and Hulu at a discount.
"Jimmy felt that the pendulum may have swung a little bit too far away from the field. And I happen to believe he was right."
ESPN actually saw an operating income increase this time around, a big change from the last couple of years.
A Wall Street Journal report suggests issues arose between Skipper and Iger over time, which may help to explain why Skipper abruptly exited in December instead of being put on leave.
"We were trying to figure out where he was and how we could get a satellite feed to him so that he could watch his Ducks game in a hotel in Prague. I believe we succeeded."
Skipper said his cocaine habit had rarely interfered with work before an extortion plot forced his abrupt resignation.
Iger also spoke about variable price plans for specific ESPN Plus services and about OTT entertainment spend replacing some spend in current bundles.
ESPN had a relatively good quarter, compared to both its past results and what happened at ABC.
Could Skipper have been forced out in a corporate power-play?
ESPN has always hired its presidents from within. Will that trend continue this time around?
Will the newly-purchased networks form the backbone of ESPN's new streaming service? Or did Disney buy at the height of a bubble?
ESPN Plus will launch in Spring 2018, along with a new app for the service.
Following Comcast's exit from the talks to buy Fox assets, Disney looks set to land them, with a deal likely coming later this week.
Murdoch has reportedly asked for Iger to stay on longer as a condition of any sale of Fox assets to Disney.
Skipper's contract ran through 2018, so this extension comes over a year ahead of its expiry, much earlier than his last extension.
