Disney executives (l-r) Bob Iger, Ben Sherwood, and Tom Staggs at the 2015 Allen & Co. gathering in ... [+]
Two former top lieutenants to Disney’s once and current CEO, both of them former top candidates to succeed him, are back consulting with Bob Iger about what to do with one of its biggest and most complex questions: finding partners for ESPN as the cable bundle collapses and the sports giant prepares an eventual shift to streaming.
Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer each worked for years under Iger before leaving when their own ambitions to succeed him were stymied. Now, like Iger himself, they’re back, hired to consult with ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro in evaluating strategic partnership proposals for the Worldwide Leader.
Mayer and Staggs’ background, Disney experience, and relationships with dealmakers certainly qualifies both for the work ahead, though inevitably it will stir further questions about whether either or both might again be candidates to succeed Iger, who also just extended his CEO contract in July through 2026.
Certainly, investors seemed to welcome the new consultants’ involvement. Disney shares, which have been generally flat for the year, jumped more than 3% on Monday after the news. Shares closed at $89.02 on Monday, up from $86.26 at market close on Friday.
But it’s also worth asking whether the company needs fewer insider veterans looking at possible transformational deals, and more sets of fresh eyes to consider the possibilities for a streaming-dominated future with far more direct and interactive contact between leagues, teams, athletes, fans and even advertisers.
Admittedly, Iger is walking a difficult path, trying to reset one of the world’s biggest media companies – one where he made his reputation buying big film, broadcast and cable operations – for a future focused on opportunities in streaming, international, parks & resorts. That reshaped company will be far less focused on legacy film, broadcast and cable TV operations.
On the eve of Allen & Co.’s annual “summer camp for billionaires” in mid-July, Iger gave an eye-opening interview to CNBC where he said Disney was committed to sports, but wanted partners who could help with “content or distribution” or both.
Iger also called the broadcast business model “definitely broken,” intimating the company might sell ABC, other linear channels and its station group.
It’s unclear if Mayer and Staggs also will consult on possible deals for ABC and other linear operations, but there likely will be private equity or other investors interested in those operations, which still make money despite those huge secular headwinds.
ESPN has an admirable collection of sports rights, including with the NFL, NBA, NHL, several big college conferences, and Major League Baseball. But the billions of dollars in commitments needed to secure those rights are weighing heavily on ESPN’s bottom line as cord-cutting dramatically erodes both its ad revenue and cable carriage fees.
Just before the July 4 holiday weekend, ESPN underwent another round of layoffs, part of 7,000 across Disney as part of Iger’s initial cost cutting and restructuring after returning as CEO last November. Notably, ESPN’s cuts included for the first time about 20 highly paid on-air personalities.
Now Iger has gotten the band back together, calling in two highly placed former sidemen to figure out what tune Disney and ESPN should be playing next. It’s both a bold move, given that both left in frustration over Iger’s previously reluctance to retire, and one with its own possible issues.
Two years ago, Staggs and Mayer paired up as co-CEOs to launch Candle Media, backed by private equity giant Blackstone
That’s bolstered their relationships, especially with Blackstone’s billions behind them, with a broad range of dealmakers across entertainment, private equity, and beyond. Those relationships, and access to capital, will be useful in evaluating the deal proposals to come.
Just as importantly, they bring long Disney roots, but also experience with other big media companies.
Staggs, who is a board member of Spotify, was Disney COO after stints running its massive parks and resorts division and 12 years as CFO. In all, he spent 26 years with Disney before leaving.
Mayer’s path was slightly different, originally at companies such as Clear Channel Communications and LEK Consulting before becoming Disney’s top dealmaker for 14 years, spearheading a string of major acquisitions, then becoming chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International unit, where he oversaw the launch of Disney+ before departing in 2020.
Among other post-Disney positions, Mayer was briefly CEO of TikTok’s U.S. operations and COO of its parent company, ByteDance, and spent two years as chairman of sports-focused streaming-video company DAZN Group. He left DAZN in March.
The next question is whether, as some have begun to question, reuniting the old band will spur some new tunes for Disney as the stage where it performs is shifting quickly. Or will they just be replaying the old hits, hoping Wall Street will sing along?