Disney CEO Optimistic on ESPN Livestream, Netflix Relations

despite pulling some movies from the streaming service. The $1 billion investment Disney made a year ago to buy 33 percent of BAMTech gave the company “a good perspective on just how strong and high quality” an ESPN livestreaming service offering can be, said Iger. Amid “trends we're seeing,” including the “dramatic” increase in “app-based media consumption,” Disney seized the “opportunity," he said. Paying $1.58 billion more to now have 75 percent of BAMTech, as Disney announced Tuesday it will do (see 1708080065), “gives us immediate access to the team and the technology we need to deliver the highest-quality direct-to-consumer experience, which ultimately gives us much greater control of our own destiny in a rapidly changing market,” said Iger later that day. He wouldn’t comment directly on the ESPN brand’s “potential pricing power going forward,” when asked whether there’s an opportunity with the new livestreaming service to show linear ESPN is undervalued within MVPD bundles. Iger conceded ESPN “suffered a bit from the overall impact of digital technology and new forms of media consumption.” On pulling films from Netflix starting in 2019 to feed content to the Disney-branded service debuting that year, it applies for now to Disney and Pixar titles, said Iger, not Marvel and Lucasfilm. There has been “talk” inside Disney about launching “proprietary” Marvel or Star Wars over-the-top offerings, “but we're mindful of the volume of product that would go into those services, and we want to be careful,” he said. Disney has “had a great relationship" with Netflix, and he hopes that continues. Netflix licensed a "number" of ABC shows, and "we hope they'll continue to,” he said. That company didn’t comment Wednesday. Disney shares closed down 3.9 percent Wednesday at $102.83.