Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger expressed confidence that the company will achieve profitability in its streaming TV businesses in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley technology, media, and telecom conference, Iger stated that the company is on track to meeting its goal of showing a profit.
Disney reported a loss of US$216 million in its combined streaming businesses in the previous quarter, which included Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu streaming services. However, this substantially improved from the US$1.05 billion loss in the same period the previous year. As traditional TV viewing continues to decline, Disney has been investing in streaming businesses to meet the changing consumer preferences.
Disney’s fiscal year ends in late September or early October, and the company is embroiled in a proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP. Peltz is seeking to appoint himself and Jay Rasulo, Disney’s former chief financial officer, to the company’s board at its annual meeting in April.
To counter this, Trian published a 133-page manifesto for change titled Restore the Magic at The Walt Disney Company, in which the firm advocated for an overhaul of Disney’s business strategy. However, Iger is determined to meet the company’s goals and not be distracted by the proxy battle.
Iger also addressed the issue of superhero movies posting disappointing results at the box office. Contrary to popular belief, he stated that it’s not audience fatigue but the lack of quality that’s the problem. Disney has reduced the number of Marvel Comics films and TV shows it releases to focus on producing high-quality content that will attract audiences.
