Disney CEO Bob Iger sounded pretty bullish about his studio’s traditional linear TV assets on Wednesday.
“We actually are at a point where the linear networks in our company are not a burden at all. They’re actually an asset,” Iger told financial analysts during a morning call after the studio revealed its first quarter earnings.
“We are programming them and we are funding them at levels that actually give us the ability to enhance our overall television business, that obviously includes and leans into streaming, which basically is the future of the television business,” he added.
Those comments marked a reversal from Iger’s comments during a July, 2023 CNBC interview in which he said the linear networks “may not be core to Disney” as the company steered its business into streaming. Iger’s latest comments appear to signal Disney’s traditional linear TV assets and its evolving streaming platforms are being managed together, and broadcast and cable assets have been taken off the auction block.
“So while I won’t rule out the possibility some of the smaller networks in some form or another being configured differently in terms of how we bring them to market, maybe even ownership,” he told analysts. “But right now, we actually feel good about the hand that we have,” Iger added as he appeared to shut down the M&A rumor mill started up in 2023 over Disney possibly selling its ABC broadcast network and stations.
At the time, Iger tapped former top studio execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs to help advise on a possible sale of linear TV assets beyond ESPN, including the ABC broadcast network and the FX cable channel.
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