CEO Bob Iger Shuts Down Speculation that Disney Will Sell ESPN

There’s a LOT happening within The Walt Disney Company these days.

Bob Iger returned as CEO last year and was originally only slated to stick around for two years. However, his contract was recently extended so that he can stay and help get the company back on track financially. Iger has already initiated thousands of job cuts and made structural changes at the company…so what comes next?

With Disney suffering financial losses ever since the pandemic, Iger has been looking for ways to help fill in the gaps. Because of this, there have been rumors that Disney might sell some of the brands it owns to help cover some of the company’s debt. This included rumors that ESPN was on the chopping block.

But if you’re a sports fan, don’t worry! In an interview with David Faber from CNBC, Bob Iger said, “I think sports stands tall in a sea of tremendous choice.” He noted that there are a wealth of opportunities in sports advertising and that Disney’s position in that business is very unique.

©Disney

“We’re bullish about sports in general,” Iger said. Disney is currently looking for strategic partners that can help with content or distribution, as they want to stay in that business long-term. Iger noted that there’s a lot of potential for what can be done with ESPN in terms of streaming and other forms of distribution.

©ESPN

Iger shared that Disney is also open to having a strategic partner in the ESPN business — someone else to take an ownership stake. It would help de-risk the business overall and if that partnership could help ESPN transition to direct-to-consumer value, Disney would likely be interested. Basically, there are a lot of opportunities in sports for Disney in the future.

We’ll be interested to see what Disney does next with ESPN and how the business will change in the future. It looks like that’s one brand that’ll be sticking around. Stay tuned to AllEars for more Disney news!