Disney schadenfreude

https://ace.mu.nu/archives/405352.php

In semi-related news: Bob Iger says that Disney might be forced to sell off the ABC television network, the FX and FXX networks, and all "non-linear" networks... and wants someone to come in as a coinvestor to share the losses from the dying ESPN.

Walt Disney Company boss Bob Iger said the company is considering selling its TV assets while seeking a strategic partner for sports cable property ESPN.

Iger told CNBC on Thursday that he has had discussions with potential investors about buying a minority stake in ESPN, though he would not specify.

Iger said he hopes a partner would assist Disney with its sports-related "distribution or content," adding that the company "wants to stay in the sports business."

Iger added that he would be open to selling or spinning off Disney's cable networks, which includes ABC, FX and National Geographic.

Iger, who revealed on Wednesday he will remain CEO of Disney through 2026, told CNBC he did not anticipate the degree to which legacy television networks would be struggling.

Disney's television properties "may not be core" to the company, Iger said.

Note the properties he's considering selling are, mostly, companies that were purchased by Disney before Iger. FX and FXX were acquired by Iger when he bought Fox's entertainment divisions. But neither of those, I think, has ever been sold as standalone units and so do not have any valuations attached to them.

I point this out because [i]f either Valliant Renegade's or WDW_Pro's point (forget which) that Iger does not want to sell off the big properties he bought -- LucasFilm, Marvel, Pixar, and even Fox, as a whole -- because the selling price will be much, much lower than the purchase price. This would expose him as rube who consistently overpaid for other people' successful studios to cover-up Disney's own struggling creative output. And it would also confirm everyone's strong suspicion that all of these properties are worth only 25-50% of what was paid for them, and therefore maybe all of Disney is similarly only worth 25-50% of the current market valuation.

He can't afford to sell anything that people know a recent purchase price for. He can only sell things acquired long ago (ABC) or which have never been sold on their own as standalone units (FX, FXX).

But he will never sell anything that he over-paid for. He cannot afford to let the world know, in stark mathematical terms, just how poorly he's run Disney these past eight years.

By the way, the last weekend's box office had Mission Impossible at number one and Sound of Freedom at number two. Phloebiana Jones fell to fourth. What a disgrace.

The Sound of Freedom has made $85 million in two weeks of release.

Does anything need to be said more than that? He's already exposed, even if he's trying to hide it. Pretty much everybody has questioned his purchases, and has done so from the get-go. If this is a secret, it's a pretty open one. More like "everybody knows it, but nobody wants to be the one to publicly point it out." And by "nobody" I mostly mean establishment entertainment media only. Non-establishment para-media have been saying it for years, as have investment media, particularly with regards to the price paid for LucasFilm.