7 CRITICAL Updates from Disney’s Major News Drop

The Walt Disney Company is in for some HUGE changes that started when Bob Iger returned as CEO.

On February 8th, 2023, the company held its first quarter 2023 earnings call, the first for Iger since returning to his role as CEO. The call discussed company revenue, upcoming changes, and more. A LOT was covered but we’re going to break down the most important announcements that came out of the call.

The Company’s #1 Priority

During the earnings call, Iger spoke about what the company’s “number one priority” is — streaming. He clarified that the company was focused on more growth and profitability when it comes to streaming.

Disney’s focus will be on its core brands and franchises, which deliver higher returns for the company. The company will work on curating entertainment content, reevaluating specific markets, adjusting global content as needed, adjusting pricing and promotional strategies, and tweaking advertising on streaming platforms.

CEO Bob Iger Announces His #1 Priority at the Walt Disney Company

Disney+ Lost Subscribers (Sort Of)

For the first time EVER, Disney+ has seen a decrease in subscribers. As of the end of the first quarter in 2023, Disney has a total of 161.8 million Disney+ subscribers. The company reported 164.2 million at the end of Q4 2022, marking a drop of 2.4 million subscriptions.

However, the drop seems to be coming from Disney’s international services (HotStar+) and not domestically. In the U.S. and Canada, Disney+ subscriptions held steady with a slight increase: from 46.4 million to 46.6 million.

BIG UPDATE on the Number of Disney+ Subscribers

3 Popular Movies To Get Sequels

Disney announced that three of its most popular movie franchises are getting sequels. First, fans of Frozen will be thrilled to know that a third movie is in the works. Disney fans can also expect a 5th installment in the Toy Story film franchise.

Finally, Zootopia is getting a sequel. This comes after Disney teased a potential Zootopia land in Disney World.

NEWS: Disney Announces Sequels for 3 Popular Movies

‘Avatar’ Could Be Coming To Disneyland

The huge success of Avatar: The Way of Water at the box office proves that there are a LOT of people still interested in the franchise. Now, that franchise could be coming to Disneyland in some way. During the earnings call, Iger spoke about how the Star Wars and Avatar expansions in Disney World were examples of additions to Disney Parks that have helped increase capacity and improve guest satisfaction.

He mentioned talking with Josh D’Amaro (Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products) about looking at other franchises to put in the parks, including bringing Avatar to Disneyland in a new experience.

A NEW ‘Avatar’ Experience Is Coming to One Disney Park!

Disney Parks Revenue Is Up

In the first quarter of 2023, The Disney Parks, Experiences, & Products division had a revenue of $8.7 billion, a 21% increase from the same quarter in 2022. However, after subtracting operating costs from that revenue, the total is $3 billion, which is an increase of 25% from Q1 2022.

Part of the reason for the increase is that more guests are purchasing Genie+, which launched in the first quarter of 2022, as well as other guest spending. These gains were also achieved even while the company continued to limit park capacity.

Genie+ Is Proving a Financial SUCCESS for the Disney Parks…And We’ve Got the Numbers to Show it

Disney Announces Massive Job Cuts

Iger said that the company plans $5.5 billion in cost-cutting, which will start with cutting 7,000 jobs. The elimination of these jobs could include open positions that have yet to be filled.

The cuts will cover about 30% of cost-cutting measures, while marketing cuts would account for 50%, and the other 20% would be cuts made in tech, procurement, and other expenses.

Disney Announces Job Cuts, Company Restructuring in Latest Earnings Report

Disney To Return Creativity To The Center of the Company

Iger shared that the company would return its focus to creativity. One way to do this is to make sure that the creative staff at Disney feel empowered. A new company structure will return authority to creative leaders, but the company is also working to make those leaders accountable for how their projects perform.

The new structure will allow creative teams to determine content but also decide on how that content is distributed and marketed.

Disney CEO Bob Iger Reveals Major Company CHANGES

That’s a lot to process, but we expected to hear about some big changes coming to the company, given that Iger has returned to the role as its CEO. We’ll continue to keep an eye on all developments with The Walt Disney Company, so be sure to check back with AllEars often.

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What do you think of the announcements made during the earnings call? Let us know in the comments!

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