Who Are the Betting Favorites as Disney CEO

Betting sites will take your money on pretty much anything.

Seriously, I was looking at FanDuel on the first day of the NFL Draft, and they were even taking speculative bets about coaches wearing sunglasses.

While gamblers would have won that bet about Deion Sanders, they probably would have lost any bet about his son, Shadeur’s draft position.

That’s the allure of online betting. It’s easy to place bets on even the most ridiculous subjects, which is a dual-edged sword.

I felt pretty confident I could pick the top ten draft picks this time but chose not to gamble since it’s not really my thing. Sure enough, I would have lost.

For Disney fans, there’s a distinct fear of losing when it comes to Bob Iger’s successor.

Someday soon, The Walt Disney Company will name its next CEO based on Chairman of the Board James Gorman’s selection.

Various gambling sites are accepting wagers on the candidates. So, I thought it’d be fun to discuss some of the less heralded candidates today.

Who are the betting favorites to become Disney CEO? Well, there are no surprises at the top, but some of the others will blow your mind.

The Favorites

To the surprise of no one, the betting favorite remains Dana Walden, which is good news for her candidacy.

Alas, Walden had better news a few months ago. Bettors worry about the same factor I previously mentioned.

The Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment developed a close relationship with former Presidential candidate Kamala Harris many years ago.

Harris lost the election to the current President, Donald Trump, who has adopted a heavy-handed approach to media corporations.

With companies like Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery facing unprecedented demands, Disney may be reconsidering Walden.

As a candidate, the executive would be an ideal successor to Iger, but her selection would place the company in the President’s crosshairs through 2028.

How big a concern is that to Gorman? Nobody knows but him, but the matter adds an unprecedented twist to succession discussions.

Oddsmakers still list Walden as a 2/1 favorite, the equivalent of suggesting she holds a one-in-three chance of becoming Disney CEO.

Note that Walden held a two-in-three chance prior to the election. So, oddsmakers believe her odds have dropped by half since then.

The next-most likely candidate is Josh D’Amaro, whom I’m on record as favoring for the job.

The CEO of Disney Experiences possesses current odds of three and a half to 1, which means a bet of $100 would return $350 if successful.

That’s the same as saying that D’Amaro possesses a 22.2 percent chance of becoming Disney CEO.

Disney theme park fans would like to see those numbers a bit higher, but if Walden’s candidacy is fading, D’Amaro is well-positioned in this race.

Other High-Profile Candidates

Interestingly, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who previously dropped out of the CEO race, still holds 4 to 1 odds.

The trendline still gives him a 20 percent chance of becoming Disney CEO despite his public proclamation that he’s uninterested.

That information must frustrate Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, whose CEO odds are just 9 to 2.

So, Bergman is only 18.2 percent likely to win a job he’s actively trying to win, while Pitaro, who has claimed he doesn’t want it, has better odds.

Notably, these two lesser candidates combine their odds for a 38.2 percent chance of becoming CEO.

This statement alone signifies that an upset isn’t just possible here but, in fact, nearly equal in the eyes of the gambling world.

When we combine Walden and D’Amaro’s odds, they’re only at 55.2 percent. Basically, it’s almost a coin flip between these two and the field.

Six months ago, this opinion wouldn’t have been the popular one, as Disney appeared nearly certain to choose one of the two favorites.

While that statement may yet prove true, the gambling community doesn’t perceive much separation between Disney’s four Chairmen.

Still, the odds of Disney picking an internal favorite remain exorbitantly high.

Gambling sites don’t really do a “everything adds up to 100 percent” line, but if they did, the four Disney executives would be 93.4 percent likely to win.

I’m pretty sure the quartet would take those odds, as we’re about to discuss some external candidates.

Unlikely Candidates to Become Disney CEO

Some of them may blow up everything at Disney. So, these are probably the people you don’t want in charge.

Variety published a list of them, and it’s…surprising. Ted Sarandos, who just claimed he’s not interested in Disney, possesses 8 to 1 odds.

Ostensibly, oddsmakers give him an 11.1 percent chance as Iger’s successor anyway.

Similarly, EA CEO Andrew Wilson, whom I previously suggested is no longer a realistic candidate, still holds 12 to 1 odds.

So, while I may have ruled him out, many bettors are still willing to roll the dice. And the list gets sillier from there.

As proof, another current leader of a media company shares the same odds as Wilson, 12 to 1.

The executive is Brian Robbins, who is part of the three-headed monster running Paramount while it awaits new ownership.

A former child actor from Head of the Class, Robbins has earned his reputation via Nickelodeon children’s programming.

More recently, he has had a hand in the success of Paramount+, which makes him a strong candidate on paper.

Realistically, Robbins’ relationship with Dan Schneider calls his candidacy into question, though. Also, Paramount hasn’t exactly been well-run.

If that were the case, Shari Redstone wouldn’t be so desperate to sell.

The betting odds go to plaid at 16 to one. That’s apparently the chance that David Zaslav has of becoming Disney CEO.

I would probably quit my job, exit my home and move into a cave if that happened.

The only hallmark of Zaslav’s tenure as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO is grotesque incompetence.

If you’ve ever listened to my podcast, Streaming into the Void, you know that I hold him in roughly the same esteem as food poisoning.

Honestly, I’d prefer the food poisoning.

The Ridiculous Names You Can Bet On

As ludicrous as the thought would be of Zaslav becoming Disney CEO, there are somehow even worse candidates.

Elon Musk, whose main company, Tesla, just witnessed a 70 percent revenue drop this past quarter, holds 150 to 1 odds.

I presume that these bets are from people who believe Musk may just buy the company to destroy it.

Tying Musk is Tim Burton, who is also 150 to 1 to become CEO. Disney wouldn’t make any money under Burton, but the creative would be…wild.

Gamblers somehow perceive John Lasseter as a likelier candidate, giving him 33 to 1 odds.

This betting line provides an excellent example of the maxim, “Fools and their money…” I guess the people making that bet haven’t read the news lately.

Nestled in between the joke bets, the nonsense, and the Zaslav ridiculousness, there is one candidate who merits mention, though.

The gambling site lists Mark Woodberry with 16 to one odds. You may be wondering who that is.

Woodberry is currently the CEO and Chairman of Universal Destinations & Experiences. Basically, he’s the Josh D’Amaro of Universal Studios.

Comcast, the corporate owner of NBCUniversal, doesn’t have any room at the top, as Chairman Brian L. Roberts replaced his father, Ralph, in 2002.

If someone outside the Roberts family becomes CEO, it’ll almost certainly be current President Michael Cavanagh.

So, Woodberry has neared the glass ceiling on his Universal career, and no matter what he says, all theme park executives dream of Disney.

I don’t envision a realistic scenario where James Gorman chooses Woodberry when he already has D’Amaro at home.

Still, among all the comical names of external candidates for Disney CEO on this list, Woodberry’s the one that makes the most sense.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the gambling community is saying the same thing I have since Iger returned. It’s probably going to be Walden or D’Amaro.

Currently, D’Amaro’s newfound advantage here is that the President of the United States has no idea who he is.

As nonsensical as the whole thing is, that reality has added a bit of oxygen to D’Amaro’s candidacy.

Even then, the Chairman of Disney Experiences is still getting just one in five odds of replacing Iger as CEO. So, the big chair’s still up for grabs.

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Feature Photo: Disney