Iger says Fox Acquisition Broke Ground for Disney +, Hulu-Comcast Deal
"We realized that we could create significant value from buying those assets in a direct to consumer strategy," he told an industrial conference.
Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger says his 2017 court in Rupert Murdoch and his 21st century Fox assets laid the foundation for the study's emerging streaming television strategy, which now includes securing control of Hulu through a landmark agreement with Comcast.
On Tuesday, MoffettNathanson Media and New York City Communications Summit told that a random meeting with Murdoch in August 201[ads1]7, which eventually led to talks about a potential acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets, revealed the potential value to be created by launch and bundling Disney branded streaming services.
"The lens that we analyzed 21st Century Fox through had an eye to finally starting a direct-to-use service," he recalled. The Disney Commander said the 21st century Fox deal, beyond buying existing movie and television content and franchises, including the most important nabbing talent to create content to drive its streaming strategy. "We've got a huge amount of talent with great experience to help us implement this strategy, which would be more difficult to do without them," Iger said.
He recalled listing the 21st Century Fox assets his studio intended to acquire on a white table in a conference room in January 2018, and joining them with Disney's own diverse assets. "I had to refer to Wikipedia to find out everything we owned. It's a long list. I have a good memory, but it's not that good," said the executor.
Over time, Iger created a management chart after the merger, where Kevin Mayer, directing consumer and international direct, would monitor Disney's multi-platform streaming services. And it will release content leaders – such as Peter Rice, who now runs Walt Disney Television, and Alan Bergman and Alan Horn, who share the co-chair's title at Disney Studios – not to worry about content distribution and sales, and just doing good things "he explained.
Iger also told investors that Disney + and Hulu will eventually be rolled out internationally, but the studio has no hurry as it focuses on starting the platforms domestically. "We want to go before we run. We have a lot on our record when we start Disney +," said the Disney boss.
