What follows Bob Iger’s ‘Mr. Fix It’ era at Disney?

After the year of negative headlines Walt Disney Co. has had, I suppose it’s not exactly a shock that Chief Executive Bob Iger is facing renewed pressure from a prominent activist investor.

The stock has limped along like Snow White’s little helpers after a tough day in the mine, though it got a boost last month after the company said it narrowed its quarterly streaming losses by more than $1 billion while Disney+ continued to gain subscribers.

Despite Disney cutting 8,000 jobs and targeting $7.5 billion in cost savings (which is $2 billion more than Iger previously promised to Wall Street), hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz revived his proxy campaign against the company, aiming for multiple board seats. Peltz’s firm, Trian Fund Management, said in a statement last week that it would take its “case for change directly to shareholders” after Disney turned down its request for board representation.

Peltz’s effort has considerable backing from former Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, who sold the comic book publisher to Iger in 2009 and was later sidelined from the movie side and finally ousted in March, though he remains a major shareholder.

There are legitimate concerns about Disney’s business, which is why Iger has spent so much of his first year back in Mr. Fix It mode, floating the idea of selling off TV networks, overhauling the company’s structure and plowing forth on a plan to offer its flagship ESPN sports network direct-to-consumer. Cable and broadcast TV are in decline. Streaming is expensive and still losing money.

And the movies? Ouch.

“The Marvels” bombed, “Haunted Mansion” flopped, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was a big disappointment and the 100th anniversary-pegged animated movie “Wish” is struggling. It hasn’t been all bad. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was a hit and Pixar’s “Elemental” at least recovered from its weak opening, proving a good movie can catch on when the word gets out to kids and parents. But overall, not great.

That said, it’s not obvious what Peltz, now a recurring thorn in the side for the company, would like Iger to do differently. Iger has acknowledged Disney’s problems (more on that later) and taken steps to address them. As corporate governance expert Charles Elson told Yahoo Finance, this is going to be a big distraction for Disney.

Disney responded to Peltz’s missive by noting that Perlmutter, who according to the company holds 78% of the shares Trian claims beneficial ownership of, has voiced a “longstanding personal agenda” against Iger. The company has made moves to shore up investor confidence by naming two new board members — Morgan Stanley CEO James P. Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch — and declaring its first dividend in more than three years.

Another shareholder, Blackwells Capital, issued its own statement expressing concern that “Trian’s campaign prioritizes Mr. Peltz’s ego over what is best for all Disney shareholders.” Analyst Ric Prentiss of Raymond James wrote in a note to clients that “we do not believe Trian has made it clear what exactly it would change at Disney,” in contrast with other, more clear-cut activist campaigns. What should Disney do? Cut more? Un-buy Fox?

Iger spent much of last week talking about what still needs to be done at Disney, and explaining how it got where it is now. “The Marvels” production suffered from a lack of supervision during COVID, he intimated. The studios must focus on quality over quantity. Bad movies shouldn’t get sequels. And when he hinted months ago that he might be willing to sell or spin off ABC and other networks? That was more of a trial balloon he floated while thinking out loud, he suggested.

In a bit of an eyebrow-raising comment, he told Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit that the company must make sure to prioritize entertainment over messages in Disney content, which was widely interpreted as a concession to those who’ve accused the studio of going too woke.

It’s easy to see why Iger might be eager to move on to a new phase in his second reign at the company he previously ran for 15 years with a remarkable track record of success. “I can tell you that building is a lot more fun than fixing,” Iger said at last week’s town hall meeting for staff, moderated by ABC News’ anchor David Muir. But hey, the most fun part is yet to come: succession planning for 2026.

Stuff we wrote

Newsom-DeSantis debate draws 4.75 million viewers on Fox News. “The Great Red State vs. Blue State Debate” more than doubled the typical audience for Sean Hannity’s nightly program.

Adjunct film professors at USC move to unionize: ‘Enough is enough’. Folks at USC’s prestigious film school have formed a union in pursuit of higher pay, greater career opportunities and other demands.

Taylor Swift is Spotify’s top artist of 2023, surpassing Bad Bunny. T-Swift’s massive year continues as 2023’s most streamed artist on the Swedish audio platform. The rankings are part of the company’s annual Spotify Wrapped marketing blitz.

The George Santos Hollywood gold rush is underway. A movie about the disgraced former congressman involving “Succession” and “Veep” executive producer Frank Rich is in the works at HBO Films.

Number of the week

Time for post-strike Hollywood big shots to start burnishing their Democratic bona fides again.

The Times’ Seema Mehta writes that this week’s Hollywood fundraiser for President Biden, “his first in-person soiree here since the end of the entertainment-industry strikes dried up the traditional wellspring of campaign money,” is expected to attract big names donating “as much as $930,000 each” in support of his reelection.

“Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Rep. Nancy Pelosi will address the gathering of the glitterati whose hosts include directors Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner, producers Shonda Rhimes and Peter Chernin and former studio chief Jim Gianopulos on the evening of Dec. 8, according to an invitation obtained by The Times,” Mehta reports.

The Spotify Wrapped week was fun while it lasted. The Swedish audio giant is laying off 1,500, or 17% of its global staff, marking the third round of cuts this year, totaling 2,300 roles shed. CEO Daniel Ek cited a global economic slowdown requiring the company to streamline itself after years of rapid growth during the era of cheap capital.

Film shoots

Last week’s on-location shoot days saw an uptick following a whole lotta nothing around the Thanksgiving holiday, according to permit data from FilmLA.

Best of the web

— “A Verizon-backed Netflix and Max deal, and talks between Apple and Paramount suggest that streaming bundles may be about to go get bigger and better,” says the Hollywood Reporter.

— No surprise here. Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is on track to become the highest-grossing global tour ever. The 2023 shows earned more than $900 million, Billboard estimates, adding, “That total could nearly double next year.” Dang.

— NASCAR’s TV and streaming deals are worth $8 billion. The seven-year deals with Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox and others will take effect in 2025. (Wall Street Journal)

Finally …

R.I.P. to Shane MacGowan, the Pogues singer and punk rock poet who died Thursday at 65. He’ll always be remembered for the classic Christmas ballad “Fairytale of New York,” which turns legions of embittered romantics misty-eyed at this time of year. But he had so many other good songs, including the evocative “Dirty Old Town” from “Rum Sodomy & the Lash.”

Here are 10 selections.

On a lighter note, I kind of liked the new Please Don’t Destroy movie that’s streaming on Peacock.