called Disney+ a “lifestyle portal for Disney fandom” and streaming the nexus of a “reengineered” company that would never have survived and thrived for a century if it didn’t take bold swings.
Coming out of Covid, the company had to deal with a lack of new content, which was challenging but also limited expenses, the CEO reasoned. “Now, it’s sort of like the floodgates have opened and all that content is swarming at us. The good news is we’ve got lots of great content and it’s building a lot of subs for us. The bad new is that all that cost that had been greenlit years ago finally came through the gate and it is hitting us all at once.
“It’s no longer about what happens to be coming down the pipeline and where are we gong to put it. That was the first two years. Now it’s what needs to to be made that will come down the pipeline in three years. We haven’t even touched the benefit of that. But it’s coming.” Chapek, who became CEO in early 2020 and has spent more than three decades at the company, had a metaphor for managing the company’s portfolio in the current landscape. “I equate it to a manual car,” he said, going between the gas pedal, brake and clutch.