Disney CEO Bob Iger using Star Wars, Marvel, originals to test Netflix, Amazon, Apple
Disney CEO Bob Iger is leading “The Happiest Place on Earth” and wants to share it with “as many people across the world” as he can.
From theme parks, to television and major motion pictures, The Walt Disney Company, built by Walt Disney in the 1920s, had it first wildly popular success with an iconic cartoon character named Mickey Mouse. Today, Iger carries on that legacy, while building his own, Iger told FOX Business’ Deirdre Bolton on Wednesday.
Disney recently closed its $71.3 billion fox deal, acquiring parts of 21st Century Fox, and will soon end a licensing deal with Netflix. Iger said that he’s made a “huge investment” in Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu streaming services to not only grow as a company, but also attempt to dodge any bullets or disruptions to the business model.
“What we've tried to do is build a company that is capable of adjusting not just in terms of our culture and the wherewithal but as cable is adjusting terms, we have to form new kinds of product for new forms of modernization and new forms of delivery,” Iger said.
Iger said Disney Plus will cost $7 per month, and believes that consumers will think it’s a service worth paying for because of its ample library from television and movies to originals. It also recently acquired majority ownership of streaming technology leader BAMTech. Netflix recently raised its pricing 18 percent, with its most basic plan costing $8.99 per month and Amazon Prime membership costs $99 per year, for access to Prime Video.
“Well we priced Disney Plus to be very accessible. What we're putting on is incredibly popular product from Disney animated movies going all the way back to Snow White and the Star Wars films and Marvel films. I could go on and on and in all the new things that we're making we wanted as many people across the world to be able to afford what they do and what they love.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 113.75 | +4.62 | +4.23% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 228.22 | +3.10 | +1.38% |
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 837.26 | +6.79 | +0.82% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 201.20 | -10.28 | -4.86% |
Apple may also present another challenge to Disney. It is taking a family-friendly approach to content with a massive $2 billion investment. But Iger said he’s more worried about delivering to the consumer.
“We spend a lot more on what we make every year,” he said.
“Every movie that we released this year will be on Disney Plus service. There's a lot of money that's been poured into those films and I'm talking about Captain Marvel and Avengers Endgame and Aladdin and Toy Story 4 and Lion King and Frozen and Maleficent 2 and Star Wars the end of the year… so there's a huge investment. All of those will be on Disney Plus,” he explained.
