Disney’s CEO drama explained, with Julia Alexander

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Today, we need to talk about Bob. Two Bobs, actually: Bob Iger, the former and now current CEO of Disney, and Bob Chapek, the man Iger handpicked as his replacement, who flamed out and was fired by the board, and then, on November 20th, was replaced by Bob Iger. Bobs, man.

The heart of this whole thing is total Decoder bait. It’s a story about how to structure a company like Disney. Then you add in the complexity of the shift to streaming, the future of TV and movies generally, and the gigantic reputation of a character like Bob Iger, who many people think could plausibly run for president. There’s just a lot going on here.

Whenever I need to talk Disney, media, and Bobs, I call one person: Julia Alexander, director of strategy at Parrot Analytics and a former reporter at The Verge. Julia pays a lot of attention to the streaming giants, she’s sourced inside all the companies battling for our attention, and she has a lot to say about the Bobs.

Links:

Bob Iger steps back in as Disney CEO, replacing Bob Chapek

Reed Hastings on Twitter

Disney+ launch lineup: Every movie and TV show available to stream on day one - The Verge

Bob Iger steps down as Disney CEO, replaced by Bob Chapek - The Verge

Disney streaming chief Kevin Mayer resigns to become TikTok CEO - The Verge

Disney Plus surpasses 100 million subscribers - The Verge

Meta announces huge job cuts affecting 11,000 employees - The Verge

Netflix's $6.99 per month ad tier is now live

Stranger Things - The Verge

Disney’s major reorganization is good news for anyone who loves Disney Plus - The Verge

Functional Structure: Advantages and Disadvantages | Indeed.com

Pros and Cons of Implementing a Divisional Structure | Indeed.com

Disney Proposal to Restructure, on McKinsey’s Advice, Triggered Uproar From Creative Executives - WSJ

Disney Shows the Limits of Streaming - WSJ

Disney Erases Almost All Its Pandemic Gains After Earnings Miss

‘Strange World’: Beautiful to look at, but not much below the surface - The Washington Post

Watch The Future Of | Netflix Official Site

Kevin Mayer quits as TikTok CEO due to ongoing political turmoil - The Verge

Kevin Mayer Says His Firm Is In Deal Mode After Buying Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announces exit as Discovery deal nears close - The Verge

Transcript:

https://www.theverge.com/e/23259187

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

It was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Director is Eleanor Donovan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices