Want to keep ESPN, could offload some traditional TV assets, says Disney CEO

New Delhi, 14th July 2023: Walt Disney wants to maintain ESPN and will seek strategic partners to form a joint venture or buy a stake in the sports network to help bring it directly to customers. The statement was made by CEO Robert Iger in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.

For the first time since Disney extended his term to the end of 2026 on Wednesday, Iger implied that the firm would sell some of its traditional TV assets, which have struggled for years due to the development of streaming services.

Iger said, “We’re going to be open-minded… not necessarily about spinning ESPN off but about looking for strategic partners that can either help us with distribution or content…We want to stay in the sports business.”

Iger came out of retirement in November of last year to rescue Disney, which has been struggling with cord-cutting in its linear business and heavy losses in its streaming operation.

On Thursday, he stated that the corporation will take a “expansive” approach to the traditional TV sector, which comprises broadcast, cable, and satellite.

“They may not be core to Disney,” said Iger, who has long worried about the collapse of linear television.

ESPN, a long-time cash cow for Disney, is similarly stuck between dwindling cable customers and rising league fees. It cut off approximately 20 employees last month to help manage costs and meet financial targets.

Iger also criticised the ongoing strike by Hollywood writers, calling it the “worst time in the world” for such a strike because it enhances the interruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The remarks came only hours after the actors union’s negotiators overwhelmingly supported a strike after discussions with studios fell through, laying the stage for actors to join writers on the picket lines as early as Thursday and disrupt hundreds of series and films.