Yahoo Finance Suggests Disney Should Buy Netflix
While the rest of the Cultjer team gushes or crushes Stephen King's It. I'm here to give our Cultjer followers a It break.- Disney Reporter Zach Perilstein
Disney CEO Bob Iger is faced with finding a new face to run the "Mouse House." The succession plan has been delayed twice. Iger although said he is serious about leaving this time in 2019. Possibly to run for the President of the United States.
Yahoo Finance's Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer gives a suggestion on how Iger could exit. Disney buys Netflix.
The digital revolution hit Disney very hard. Movie viewership is way down. The number of movie tickets sold has declined from 1.4 billion in 2009 to 886 million this year (annualized.) Movie ticket prices have increased leading to the decline of people traditionally going out to the movies. ESPN has been struggling with its subscribers.
Iger earlier in the year announced two streaming services. One that will focus on ESPN and the other focusing on Disney and its entertainment properties. Disney even promised original content on both streaming services. This means that Disney will be ditching Netflix in 2019. The details on the departure have been scarce.
Serwer suggests Disney buying Netflix. It would be a pricey decision and would come with Netflix's own baggage. This was the rest Serwer had to say about his idea.
In that case Disney doesn’t have to build any kind of over-the-top service and saves all those billions and doesn’t take that risk. Yes, it loses all the revenue from Netflix for streaming, but it then gets all of Netflix revenue, right? It could build its sports/ESPN service on the Netflix platform, too.
And maybe most important, in Reed Hastings, 56, Disney would get probably the best-qualified person in the business as his successor. Could it be done? Yes. Netflix is pricey with a market cap of $76 billion and revenue of only about $9 billion last year, but of course it’s growing like crazy (internationally too). Disney’s market cap by the way is about $150 billion, so yes this deal is doable. And Bob Iger has shown he has the fortitude and acumen to pull off sizable deals (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm.) This would be his biggest ever, but I would argue it would be a most perfect way to exit, stage left, from the Mouse House.
This is where I have to argue. Disney's next CEO should be a homegrown talent. Not Reed Hastings. Although Hastings could make a formidable CEO. It simply wouldn't be the Disney way. With acquiring Netflix a lot changes for Disney. ESPN would benefit the most off of the Netflix platform. A lot of people already use Netflix. ESPN using Netflix for their critically-acclaimed 30 for 30 series could attract more subscribers. Netflix streaming sporting events live could be a creative possibility.
Disney acquiring Netflix would also mean getting properties like Stranger Things and the new Netflix asset Millarworld. Which would be ironic for Millarworld joining a company that has comic giant Marvel.
The suggestion makes sense. Disney doing it is highly unlikely. Anything is possible. As a true Disney fan I hope we don't see a merger with Apple or any other large corporations. I believe Disney will find a successor to Bob Iger.
Disney has always been rumored to acquire Netflix or Twitter. Bob Iger is known for making big deals (Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel.) Disney will be facing interesting business challenges until the retirement of Iger.
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Source: Yahoo Finance
