As groomer mill Disney stock levels approach pandemic level of value, CEO Bob Iger is looking to dump TV assets like ABC, FX, National Geographic and maybe ESPN. Of course, who would want to pay money for failing networks like ABC or ESPN at this point? Their reputations are so tainted, you couldn’t get ten cents on the dollar for them.
Groom on Disney.
Disgraced Disney CEO Bob Iger “put roughly a third of the company up for sale this week,” Bloomberg Business reports.
According to the report, the sale announcement was a subtle but unmistakable one. Iger made the announcement during his disastrous CNBC interview last week, where he was caught lying with the false claim that Disney is not sexualizing children.
By declaring its cable and broadcast TV assets “noncore,” the report says, Iger told the world ABC TV, the FX cable networks, National Geographic, and Freeform are all for sale. He’s also looking for a partner for the failing ESPN.
Bloomberg does the math. “Disney’s media networks generated 35%, or $24.8 billion, of company revenue and more than 50%, or $7.5 billion, of its operating income.” Yep, that’s a big sell-off.
The problem — and Disney knows it — is that cable/satellite TV is quickly dying off. People are moving to streaming, which is much cheaper and, in many cases (Pluto TV, FreeVee, Tubi, etc.), entirely free. The billions Disney (and other entertainment/media outlets) has made from cable TV have nothing to do with merit. For nearly 50 years, upwards of 100 million American homes have subscribed to cable TV and paid a fortune for channels they never watch. The reason your cable bill is so high is because corporations like Disney earn a substantial piece of that bill simply for providing a channel on your cable package. You don’t watch it but still pay for it (same with CNN, MSNBC, MTV, etc.). Cable/satellite TV is one of the most lucrative scams in the history of American business.
Streaming puts an end to that. Tens of millions have canceled their cable TV and moved to streaming. Streaming companies, like Disney+, have to survive on merit now, which is why Disney+ is losing billions every year.