and handing the reins over to former parks chairman Bob Chapek comes during a time of massive change at the company.
For much of its existence, Disney's media business thrived by selling its channels, movies and TV shows through cable networks and other distributors., Disney is now making a grand pivot from a B2B business to a B2C business. Over time, that means Disney will become less reliant on the money it collects based on the dwindling pool of cable subscribers and more reliant on selling directly to consumers.
Chapek will be in charge of navigating one of the biggest shifts in media at one of the world's largest entertainment conglomerates. Iger is sticking around as executive chairman of Disney, and Chapek will report to him during a transition period that will last through the end of 2021 when Iger retires the company. During that time, Iger will focus on creative projects — bringing you more Baby Yodas and Disney princesses — while Chapek focuses on the day-to-day operations of the company.
Hulu will also get a boost now that it's fully part of Disney. For example, Hulu start seeing more content from FX, following Disney's acquisition of Fox, which was completed last year. IgerDisney said in its last earnings report that Hulu has 30.7 million subscribers.Disney's standalone streaming option for ESPN hasn't seen as much success as Hulu or Disney+. Disney in January said ESPN+ has 7.6 million subscribers.