Latest news with #Iger
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Marvel's upcoming movie? – Know the deeds, Lineup in 2028
The OTT platform collaborated with Marvel movies and announced that the famous Marvel-oriented production house will come up with a new movie in the month of December, 2028. It would be the fourth feature from the division set for that calendar year, with previously announced films scheduled for release in February, May, and November of the same year. The certainty of all four movies with the desired time is not there yet; it would be an unexpected move for the studio, given CEO Bob Iger's recent public admission that Marvel 'lost a little focus by making too much.' Iger's words in an investor call He said, 'We all know that in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,' Further saying, 'We've also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we've all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much. By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe that will result in better quality. ' Holding of projects It is still not very sure if the movies will actually release in the year 2028, as it is known to hold on to projects. They do it to ensure they remain available for other films from the company. Just as Marvel's 'Blade' was removed from its November 2025 release date only after the platform was ready to slot the 20th Century Studios film 'Predator: Badlands' in its place. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo 2026 and 2027 lineups After '' opens in July, the studio is producing two films in 2026— 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' in July and 'Avengers: Doomsday' in December—and two films in 2027: an untitled project in July and 'Avengers: Secret Wars' in December. 'Secret Wars' is meant to be the finale of the 'Multiverse,' after which Marvel is expected to focus on characters inherited in Disney's 2019, '20th Century Fox: the X-Men.' Other Marvel projects in development that could wind up opening in 2028 include the previously mentioned 'Blade,' 'Black Panther 3,' and a 'Fantastic Four' sequel. The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official Trailer | Only in Theaters July 25
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bob Iger Says Disney Unlikely to Follow Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery In Exiting the TV Channel Business
Will Disney follow Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast in splitting off most of its TV assets from its streaming business? Don't bet on it. CEO Bob Iger appeared on CNBC Tuesday morning, where he was interviewed by David Faber about his company's acquisition of Comcast's share in Hulu, which was finalized Monday. More from The Hollywood Reporter Disney's House of Mouse Global Tour Debuts New Mickey & Friends Collabs and Disneyland Anniversary Merch in L.A. (Exclusive) Disney+ Inks New Deal to Bundle With Crave, TSN in Canada Inside Hollywood's Succession Wars But Faber also used the opportunity to ask whether Iger, who effectively kickstarted the idea of splitting linear TV from streaming in a CNBC interview two years ago, whether Disney is reevaluating its decision to keep its company together. Warner Bros. Discovery said Monday that it would split itself in two: One company with the studios and HBO Max streaming business, and another with its global TV networks. That move followed a similar decision from Comcast, which is spinning out most of its cable channels into Versant later this year, but keeping NBC, Bravo, Peacock and theme parks for itself. 'Soon after I returned to Disney, I put everything on the table and asked the team to evaluate whether we should buy Hulu or whether we should sell Hulu, whether we should sell our linear television networks or whether we should hold on to them, and after a pretty lengthy process internally, and really taking a long look at what these properties could mean to us, long term, we decided that the best course for us to take was to not only buy [Hulu] in its entirety, but also to hold on to the linear television networks and to integrate them seamlessly with our streaming business,' Iger said. 'What that has enabled us to do is aggregate revenue, both on the sub fee side and on the advertising side. There is still enough linear television subscribers to generate a significant amount of revenue in advertising and in subscription fees. We program them seamlessly, we manage them in one organization. And so there's been great economies of scale in doing that.' 'It's one of the things that's enabled us to turn the streaming business around from a huge loss to profitability, and over the next several years, it will enable us to grow margins significantly on the streaming side, because of the ability to amortize program costs and the ability to essentially aggregate audiences in revenue,' he added. 'It's also interesting to us that as many others exit that business, I think it gives us a stronger hand to stay in that business. We're very focused. We will have, interestingly enough, a linear television business that's paired with a streaming business. So when you think about it, these spin off companies won't have the assets from a streaming perspective that we will have.' And having a broadcast network like ABC is a big part of that. 'I think there's a lot more value in a broadcast network, again, if it's paired very, very seamlessly with a streaming business,' Iger said. 'I mean, you think about our core networks, obviously, ESPN is a big one. That will be connected, obviously, fully with ESPN's digital offering. Disney Channel is connected seamlessly with Disney Plus. FX and ABC have fed Hulu programming very effectively. And now when you think about all four, and we also have Nat Geo, which does the same with Disney Plus, when you think about those five networks and how they're programmed across linear and streaming, you've got a business that actually provides us an opportunity to not only grow, but to grow margins in the process as well. So, again, we like the direction we're going. We like the fact that we're one of the few that is doing this, because I think it sets us up to be even more competitive in a marketplace that's becoming even more fragmented.' Iger also said that Disney+ will most likely follow the path laid by Netflix, which stopped reporting its subscriber numbers on a quarterly basis. 'Probably,' Iger said, when asked by Faber if the company will pursue that strategy. 'We're focused on EBITDA and cash flow and growing margins, and that's, in fact, what we're doing. I think at some point, what we're mostly going to disclose is the bottom line.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Disney CEO Bob Iger Says WBD and NBCU Spinning Off Cable Networks ‘Gives Us an Advantage'
Two years ago, Disney chief Bob Iger floated the question in an interview on CNBC whether the company's TV channels — including ABC, the ABC station group, Disney Channel, NatGeo and FX — were no longer 'core to Disney.' On CBNC's 'Squawk Box' Tuesday, Iger was back for a talk with the network's David Faber. And this time, the Disney CEO positioned the conglomerate's stable of linear networks as an advantage over rivals. More from Variety Disney Closes Hulu Deal With Comcast, Paying Billions Less Than NBCU Was Seeking Who Is Gunnar Wiedenfels? WBD's Cost-Cutting Finance Exec Picked as CEO of New TV Networks Spin-Off Comprising CNN, TBS, TNT, Discovery+ and More Did David Zaslav's Grand Vision Fail? As WBD and Other Media Giants Move Pieces Around, They Can't Outrun the Cable Math Iger's comments came a day after Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would split the company in two, with one half comprising largely WBD's U.S. cable networks and the other consisting of its streaming and studios businesses. Comcast, meanwhile, has announced plans to jettison NBCUniversal's cable networks (excluding Bravo) into a new, publicly traded company called Versant by the end of 2024. One of the networks set to become part of Versant, incidentally, is CNBC. Regarding WBD and Comcast/NBCU's cable spins, Iger said that 'it's also interesting to us that as many others exit that business, I think it gives us a stronger hand to stay in that business. You know, we're very focused. We will have, interestingly enough, a linear television business that's paired with a streaming business. So, when you think about it, these spinoff companies won't have the assets from a streaming perspective that we will have. Again, I think that gives us an advantage.' Iger recalled, 'Two years ago, soon after I returned to Disney, I put everything on the table and asked the team to evaluate, one, whether we should buy Hulu or whether we should sell Hulu, whether we should sell our linear television networks or whether we should hold on to them. And after a pretty lengthy process internally and really taking a long look at what these properties could mean to us long term, we decided that the best course for us to take was to not only hold on to Hulu and buy it in its entirety but also to hold on to the linear television networks and to integrate them seamlessly with our streaming business because what that has enabled us to do is, one, aggregate revenue, both on the sub-fee side and on the advertising side. Now, there is still enough linear television subscribers to generate a significant amount of revenue in both cases, in advertising and in subscription fees. We program them seamlessly. We manage them in one organization, and so there's been great economies of scale in doing that. We also aggregate audiences for marketing purposes. And so, what we've determined is the combination of both is actually a winning combination for us. It's one of the things that's enabled us to turn the streaming business around from a huge loss to profitability, and over the next several years it will enable us to grow margins significantly on the streaming side because, again, the ability to amortize program costs and the ability to essentially aggregate audiences and revenue.' Also in the CNBC interview, Iger addressed Disney's just-closed Hulu deal with Comcast. He noted that if the third-party appraiser in the mediation had 'come up with a number that was closer' to that which Comcast's banker had picked, 'this could have cost us $5 billion more.' Instead, Disney is paying an additional $438.7 million (in addition to the $8.61 billion it already paid) for NBCU's 33% stake in Hulu. 'So obviously, we're very pleased with this result. But now we're focused on doing what we intended to do once we gain full control of [Hulu],' Iger said. 'And that's basically to put these apps together seamlessly, to create an experience for the consumer that's easier to use, easier to buy, to increase engagement, to lower churn, to grow subs, and ultimately to consolidate more and to save some money in terms of the operation.' So, we're very pleased with this result.'Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Miami Herald
10-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Disney finally owns all of Hulu, ending long tug-of-war with Comcast
Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay Comcast Corp. an additional $438.7 million to finalize the Mouse House purchase of streaming service Hulu. Disney in December 2023 initially paid Comcast $8.6 billion for NBCUniversal's one-third stake in the streaming service. The final payment, announced Monday, brings the total amount the Burbank entertainment giant will ultimately pay Comcast for its stake to $9.2 billion. This week's agreement came after an extended appraisal process as the two companies struggled over Hulu's actual value. The platform that is home to "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Only Murders in the Building" appears to be worth about $27.5 billion. The resolution also represents a major step in Disney's years-long pivot to streaming. "We are pleased this is finally resolved," Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement, acknowledging Disney's productive partnership with the Philadelphia-based company. "Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu's general entertainment content with Disney+ and, soon, with ESPN's direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivaled value proposition for consumers," Iger said. The two companies have had tense relations since Comcast launched a failed hostile takeover of Disney in 2004. Tensions flared again seven years ago after Comcast jumped into Disney's bidding process for Rupert Murdoch's entertainment assets, substantially driving up the price for Disney. Disney prevailed. It gained the majority stake in Hulu as part of its $71 billion acquisition of much of Murdoch's company in April 2019. That spring, Disney and Comcast negotiated a pact that outlined the governance of the service while it was jointly owned by the two companies and also provided a blueprint to dissolve their partnership. At the time, they agreed that Hulu would be valued at no less than $27.5 billion, making Comcast's stake worth at least $8.6 billion. Comcast's divestiture process began two years ago when Chief Executive Brian Roberts signaled that his company wanted out. The parties then entered into an appraisal process to find a value for Hulu. Disney noted the $438.7 million payment was substantially less than what Comcast had wanted. The deal is expected to close by July 24. Hulu launched as an NBCUniversal and Fox joint venture in 2008. Disney joined the following year as an equity owner. "Hulu was a great start for us in streaming that generated nearly $10 billion in proceeds for Comcast and created an important audience for NBCUniversal's world-class content," Comcast said in a statement Monday. "We wish Disney well with Hulu and appreciate the cooperative way our teams managed the partnership." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Mint
10-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Disney to pay Comcast additional $438.7 million to finalise Hulu acquisition before July 2025
Hulu deal: Walt Disney Co. must pay an additional $438.7 million to Comcast Corp. to complete its purchase of the Hulu streaming service, Disney said in a regulatory filing on Monday, as reported by Bloomberg. The Bloomberg report said the transaction is expected to close before 24 July 2025 and will reduce Disney's net income in the fiscal third quarter. In 2019, Disney agreed to acquire Comcast's one-third stake in the business at a price that valued the whole company at around $27.5 billion starting in 2024. However, when the deal was nearing its conclusion, Comcast said the business was worth much more. The two sides began a dispute resolution process, which involved three investment bankers valuing the business. The process was completed on 9 June, the company told Bloomberg. Bloomberg said that Disney already paid Comcast $8.6 billion for the stake. In addition, Comcast didn't have to make the $557 million in contributions to Hulu, which was required under their partnership agreement. Comcast's appraiser had valued the business at as much as $5 billion more. 'We are pleased this is finally resolved,' Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said in a statement. 'We have had a productive partnership with NBC Universal, and we wish them the best of luck. Completing the Hulu acquisition paves the way for a deeper and more seamless integration of Hulu's general entertainment content with Disney and, soon, with ESPN's direct-to-consumer product, providing an unrivalled value proposition for consumers.' Iger added. According to Bloomberg, Comcast, in its own statement, said: 'We wish Disney well with Hulu and appreciate the cooperative way our teams managed the partnership.' Hulu is one of the first streaming TV services. It evolved from a joint venture between broadcasters seeking a platform for next-day online content to a place where viewers can see original programming like the Chicago restaurant drama The Bear. The business was previously co-owned by broadcasters — Disney, 21st Century Fox Inc., Comcast and AT&T. The service was a pioneer in selling advertising around its shows, something that has now been copied by most of the major streaming services. Hulu has more than 54 million subscribers, said Bloomberg.
