Iger will remain executive chairman through
the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021. Besides
leading the board, Iger said he will spend more
time on Disney’s creative endeavors, including
the ESPN sports network, the newly acquired
Fox studios and the Hulu and Disney Plus
streaming services. He said he could not do that
while running Disney on a day-to-day basis.
“It was not accelerated for any particular reason
other than I felt the need was now to make
this change,” Iger said on a conference call with
reporters and analysts.
Iger’s most recent coup was orchestrating a
$71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment
assets in March and launching the Disney Plus
streaming service in November. That service
gained nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less
than three months. In a statement, Iger said it
was the “optimal time” for a transition.
Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey
Wlodarczak said Iger had implied he would stay
until his contract ended in 2021.
“On the other hand, they just successfully
closed the Fox deal and had an unquestionably
successful launch of Disney Plus so maybe he felt
earlier was better to hand off the reins,” he said.
Colin Gillis, director of research at Chatham Road
Partners, said the choice of Chapek seems solid
because his parks division has had success.
Chapek said that while he has not led television
networks or streaming services, his background
in consumer-oriented businesses should help.
Chapek and Iger both stressed that Disney
would continue to follow the direction it had
already been taking.