Walt Disney has spent the past three years making a shift to online streaming. Bob Iger, Disney's chief executive has repeatedly called the shift the "number one priority".
It therefore came as a surprise when Disney abruptly announced that Mr. Iger was retiring, with nearly two years left, to be replaced "immediately" by Bob Chapek, who has least experience in streaming.
"You thought you were going hard right, and all of a sudden you went hard left," said Rich Greenfield, a media analyst. He compared the choice to Apple's decision to replace Steve Jobs with Tim Cook: "You're choosing the operating executive instead of the wise, dynamic CEO."
The appointment came as a surprise also because analysts had considered Kevin Mayer, another longtime Disney executive, as the most likely candidate to take over Iger's position. In March 2018, Mayer was appointed to run Disney's streaming and international businesses-a high-profile job given Mr. Iger's emphasis on streaming as the future of the entire group.
"When thinking about what I need to do before I leave the company, creatively getting everything on track is my number one goal. If I also need to run the company every day, I will not be able to do that," said Iger.
According to the financial report, while Disney's streaming has attracted more subscribers, the war of streaming media is a war of burning money. It lost$693 million.
It is the theme park business in the charge of Chapek that has performed the task of "blood transfusion" for these money-burning new businesses. In 2019, by September, Disney's theme park unit operating profit rose by 11% to $6.76 billion. Wall Street analysis predicts that by September 2024, Disney's theme park division will have a profit of $10 billion and streaming media operating profit is expected to approach $2.5 billion.
"Look at the businesses he's been in charge of. They have nothing to do with streaming, but everything to do with profitability," said Brian Wieser, president of business intelligence at GroupM.
4. What does Iger value most in running Walt Disney in the last few years?
A.Repeated changes. | B.More profit. | C.Creative goal. | D.Online streaming. |
5. What is Greenfield's attitude towards the appointment of Chapek?
A.Doubtful. | B.Curious. | C.Supportive. | D.Ignorant. |
6. What does the underlined part "blood transfusion" in Paragraph 7 probably mean?
A.Saving lives. | B.Ending a war. | C.Borrowing money. | D.Recovering losses. |
7. Why was Chapek rather than Mayer appointed as Disney's chief executive?
A.Chapek is more experienced in streaming. |
B.Mayer was too self-satisfied after 2018 promotion. |
C.Chapek is abler to get Disney financially balanced. |
D.Mayer caused Disney to lose much in pushing streaming. |