Things seem to be getting worse and worse for the Walt Disney Company, as a major report has emerged indicating that the company may ditch some of its most profitable assets in the new year.
On Thursday, Fox Business reported that Wells Fargo analysts predicted that Disney would part ways with ESPN and ABC in late 2023 as part of an effort by returning CEO Bob Iger to focus on content and cost rationalization.
While ESPN, which is 80 percent owned by Disney, has been described as a “cash cow” for the company, Fox Business states that “linear and sports trends are diverging from the core IP.”
Thus, the analysts at Wells Fargo have concluded that “severing the company is increasingly logical.”
The report also notes that ESPN and ABC are integrally linked, and the different ways of monetization between licensed and owned IPs will eventually lead to the spinoff of ESPN and ABC from the Disney company.
Trending:
This is just the latest and perhaps most dire sign of a serious crisis at Disney that has emerged over the past year.
For Disney, 2022 was not a good year. It saw several major blockbusters fall flat at the box office, and it saw the company engage in political battles that saw its image tarnished in the minds of conservative Christians.
In fact, the two problems are linked. Many of Disney’s box office failures in 2022 were a direct result of the woke stance that the company had taken.
It started in the spring of this year when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which forbade education about sexuality to young children at Florida public schools. The act was derided by leftists as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Are we witnessing the collapse of Disney?
Yes: 94% (32 Votes)
No: 6% (2 Votes)
One of the most vocal of these leftist opponents was Disney, which, seemingly unaware that many parents did not want woke sexual politics rammed down their child’s throat in school, kicked up a huge stink about the new law.
The ensuing political firestorm…
Source
Leave a Comment