Disney Headlines for January 23rd, 2024
This week: I talk about the word you don’t want to hear, the name you wish you’d never heard, and Bob Iger’s salary.
We’ve got a weird combination of clickbait and anti-clickbait in the latest batch of Disney Headlines.
In Your Face, Shohei Otani!
Photo: Robert Hanashiro/USA Today
On an ill-fated morning in 2023, Bob Iger went on national television and proclaimed that underpaid talent was being unrealistic.
Hold that thought as I tell you how much money the CEO of The Walt Disney Company earned last year.
As part of a requested filing, Disney revealed that Iger made $31.6 million in 2023.
Photo: skillastics.com
Remarkably, that’s not anywhere close to being Iger’s best year. In 2016, he cashed a check for a cool $65.6 million.
Still, enemies of Disney capitalized on this reveal as an indication that Iger was overpaid and underperforming.
In fact, you shouldn’t ignore the timing of what Nelson Peltz did this week.
Photo: Washington Post
The activist billionaire waited until after Iger’s salary filing before Peltz went on the offensive against Disney.
In reality, none of this is new or surprising, but I have to laugh when a billionaire bemoans the salary of a multi-millionaire.
Romain Maurice/Getty Images for Carbone Beach | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Peltz doesn’t even appreciate the irony of the fact that he cashed $150 million in profit-taking from Disney last year…and he doesn’t work at Disney.
Still, Disney’s salary filing shined a light on some fascinating details.
Photo: Getty
Specifically, Christine McCarthy, the CFO who retired from Disney last year, earned $18.1 million last year.
That’s actually down slightly from her $20.2 million in 2022…but she left Disney on July 1st!
Disney paid her for the full year, but she worked only half of it.
Source: Disney
I’ll leave the blind speculation as to why to others, but it’s…interesting.
As for Iger, his recent contract extension sets him up for even greater gains if/when Disney stock finally pops.
Should we care about how much he makes? Obviously, a lot of people do, or I wouldn’t be mentioning it.
Speaking of Bob Chapek…
Photo: AP Photo/Disney, HO
A couple of months ago, the Disney RNG did the unlikeliest thing. It randomly brought Jay Rasulo out of hibernation.
For nearly a decade now, Rasulo had been a punchline about what happens to Disney executives who displease Bob Iger.
Now, Rasulo has an opportunity to enjoy the last laugh due to his connection to Peltz and Isaac Perlmutter.
Photo: University of Chicago
I’ve thought about that a lot as I’ve read about the unexpected return of Bob Chapek.
In November 2022, Disney’s Board of Directors flat-out assassinated Chapek in the most treacherous way possible.
Dude was about to go on stage and relish his victory lap.
Photo: Walt Disney Company
He would present Elton John’s final concert, which was streaming on Disney+.
That moment would have been the capstone achievement of Chapek’s career.
But I’m saying “would have been” because it never happened.
Photo: CNBC
Disney’s Board fired Chapek and rehired Iger moments before Elton John took the stage.
Since then, Chapek has been a ghost. We’ve had more reports of Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster sightings than Bob Chapek.
Source: CNBC.com
I recently joked that I needed proof of life on Jay Rasulo. The same thing applies to Chapek. Dude just vanished.
Well, despite Iger’s best efforts, Chapek is apparently alive. He recently joined Masimo’s Board of Directors.
Image Credit: Disney
That company is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Apple over its technology, and if anyone knows legal disputes…
Wait, does Masimo think Bob Chapek will solve the problem rather than making it worse?
Anyway, the question becomes whether we’ll see Christine McCarthy again one day soon.
(Photo by Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
Lately, Disney executives are like zombies. Unless you put two in the noggin, they’ll come back to life.
We’re in 2024 and still talking about Bob Chapek and Jay Rasulo!
Don’t Call It the Metaverse
PHOTO: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
One of the greatest challenges in discussing Disney over the past few years is acknowledging its metaverse fans.
People do NOT want to hear about it, which is challenging since the wealthiest corporations in the world want it to be a thing.
Photo: apple
To wit, Apple is about two weeks away from releasing a device called the Apple Vision Pro.
This piece of hardware is what Apple hopes will become the next iPhone/iPad.
Early reviews are decidedly mixed, but a multi-trillion corporation supports this headset. So, it may yet succeed.
Photo: Disney
Disney has hitched itself to the Apple Vision Pro bandwagon, something I discussed last June.
Now we have Justin Hermes’ more recent reporting, which details all the enhancements Disney will have on this device.
Photo: Disney
Effectively, when you wear this headset, you enter a kind of virtual drive-in theater with the most breathtaking background imaginable.
Then, you can watch your favorite Disney programs in three dimensions, an aspect of this not being discussed enough.
Photo: Also Disney
I have a vivid memory of the first time I showed my family The Lion King on a 3-D television.
Sure, nobody liked wearing the cheap plastic glasses, but the movie looked absolutely breathtaking.
Manufacturers don’t even make 3-D televisions now because the consumer demand wasn’t there.
Photo: LinkedIn
That statement may not apply to a headset.
Once you’re surrounded by an open-world environment, you expect three dimensions, not two. It’s a vital distinction.
What’s at Stake for Disney (and Apple)
Photo: Netflix
Notably, several major services like Netflix have passed on the opportunity to support the Apple Vision Pro this year.
Disney has taken the entirely opposite approach by wholly embracing the concept.
This subtle tactic could reap massive rewards if Apple single-handedly wills this device into ubiquity.
Photo: NFL
Also, I don’t want to put the cart before the horse here, but if live sports prove successful on the Apple Vision Pro, look out!
Apple would have a financial incentive to invest in ESPN the way that Disney desires.
A lot is in play with this absurdly overpriced virtual reality headset that Apple doesn’t want anybody to call a virtual reality headset.
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Feature (Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
