Bob Iger of Disney on Culture Wars and Streaming
The chief executive talks about returning to the company’s roots while adapting to changing times.
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DealBook Summit includes conversations with business and policy leaders at the heart of today’s major stories, recorded live at the annual DealBook Summit event in New York City.
When he was last chief executive of Disney, one of Bob Iger’s favorite things to do was to sit in a reconstruction of Walt Disney’s office.
“It sounds a little weird,” Iger told Andrew Ross Sorkin of The Times at the DealBook Summit, “but it’s kind of a nice way to relax and appreciate the legacy of the company.”
After a three-year absence, Iger came out of retirement to return as chief executive of Disney. His ambitious plans, combined with strong revenues for Disney theme parks and experiences, have given investors hope that a turnaround is imminent. But the company still faces significant headwinds, including slowing subscriptions to its streaming network Disney+ and a fight with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. What’s Iger’s next move? And what would Walt think of the company now?
Background reading
From the summit: Bob Iger denies plans to sell media properties after “fixing a lot of problems” since returning as Disney chief executive.
After previously saying he planned to leave his post as head of Disney in 2024, Iger announced he would remain through 2026.
Iger calls a strike by actors “very disruptive and dangerous.”
Follow DealBook’s reporting at https://nytimes.com/dealbook
Hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist and editor of DealBook, a daily business and policy report from The New York Times, DealBook Summit features interviews with the leaders at the heart of today’s major stories, recorded live onstage at the annual DealBook Summit event in New York City.
The DealBook events team includes Julie Zann, Caroline Brunelle, Haley Duffy, Angela Austin, Hailey Hess, Dana Pruskowski, Matt Kaiser and Yen-Wei Liu.
Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Nina Lassam, Ravi Mattu, Beth Weinstein, Kate Carrington, Isabella Anderson and Jeffrey Miranda.
Andrew Ross Sorkin is a columnist and the founder and editor at large of DealBook. He is a co-anchor of CNBC’s "Squawk Box" and the author of “Too Big to Fail.” He is also a co-creator of the Showtime drama series "Billions." More about Andrew Ross Sorkin
Elaine Chen joined The Times in 2017 from WNYC public radio. Before media, she was a lawyer for the New York City government. She now works on Times events. More about Elaine Chen
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