Disney's Bob Iger Low-Key Slams Warner Bros. For Licensing DC Movies To Netflix
Disney CEO Bob Iger owned up to some of the media empire's recent mistakes while painting a picture of a brighter, more focused future during the company's recent investor call. Iger returned to Disney in November 2022, taking over from Bob Chapek, who had previously been his replacement. Iger was fiery in his messages to investors, taking shots across the bow at Disney's competitors, including Warner Bros. Discovery.
While Iger did not mention Warner Bros. by name, he did make a pointed comment that seemed directed at its practice of licensing content out to Netflix. In comments on the topic of Netflix licensing, as recorded by Deadline, Iger said, "Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, for instance, they are all doing very, very well on our platform, and I don't see why — just to basically chase bucks — we should do that when they are really, really important building blocks to the current and future of our streaming business."
Recently, Warner Bros. has made the decision to let movies from its defunct DCEU be streamed on Netflix alongside its own platform, Max, including titles like "Man of Steel," "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," and "Justice League." Iger's comments seem like a pointed rebuttal of that strategy. But Iger did preface his remarks by acknowledging that Disney is licensing some content to Netflix, just not the biggest moneymakers. "We've actually been licensing content to Netflix," he said, "and are going to continue to ... but I wouldn't expect that we will license our core brands to them."
Iger says Disney won't 'chase bucks' with Netflix licensing
While Iger's new comments on Netflix licensing seem harsh, they represent a softening of his position. In January 2022, before returning as CEO, Iger told The New York Times that licensing Disney content to Netflix was akin to "selling nuclear weapons technology to a third-world country." In the latest investor call, though, he was clear that only "core brands" are off the table for such arrangements.
Disney's streaming efforts with Disney+, which launched in November 2019, have been a mixed bag. Former CEO Bob Chapek was bullish on streaming, ramping up production across Disney's brands to produce content for the fledgling platform. MCU and Star Wars series, among other brands, proliferated under his tenure. But achieving profitability has been an uphill battle for Disney as well as other entertainment companies. Streaming platforms generate the bulk of revenue through subscriptions, and that market has hit a ceiling, leading Disney and other studios to reevaluate their approaches.
Disney finds itself in ownership of more content than ever before, and several of those brands led the company to dominance during the 2010s. Brands like Star Wars and Marvel proved to be money printers, while Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019 means that "Family Guy" now lives alongside Mickey Mouse under its umbrella. Additionally, Disney is a majority owner of Hulu. Together, these factors should have allowed it to ride roughshod over the streaming market, but its streaming division has lost a staggering $10 billion since Disney+ launched.