The Walt Disney Company has acquired a significant streaming company for $900M to boost its own streaming platform, Disney+.
Amid a series of changes across The Walt Disney Company, including different price increases for Disney Parks’ admission and experiences, fluctuating pricing for Disney’s Genie+ system, and most recently, the return of Disney’s CEO Robert Iger, the company has paid $900M to buy a significant streaming tech company to boost Disney+, the company’s streaming platform.
The Walt Disney Company reportedly paid $900M to Major League Baseball for the remaining 15% stake in BAMTech, a streaming video tech company that powers Disney+. This jaw-dropping financial movement comes just days before Disney+ is set to launch its ad-supported subscription tier and ahead of planned corporate restructuring under reinstated CEO Bob Iger.
MLB developed BAMTech as an in-house advanced media business before later spinning out as an independent company in 2015. The Walt Disney Company initially acquired a 33% stake in 2016 and then upped its position to 75% upon announcing its Disney+ plans in 2017, gaining majority ownership of BAMTech. The Walt Disney Company subsequently bought out a 10% stake from the National Hockey League and now has acquired the remaining 15%, formerly owned by MLB, to gain full ownership of the company.
Considering all the financial movements involved in BAMTech’s transition, The Walt Disney Company paid $3.48B to gain full ownership over the streaming tech company, per Forbes.
BAMTech, which was officially renamed “Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution” when Disney gained majority ownership of the company, states the following regarding the company:
Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED) brings together the Company’s best-in-class product, technology, and commercialization teams into one global organization. DMED is responsible for the P&L management and all distribution, network and engineering operations, sales, advertising, data, and certain key technology functions worldwide for the Company’s content engines. DMED also manages operations of the Company’s streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ Hotstar; and domestic broadcast and cable television networks.
As stated above, this recent acquisition comes in preparation for the launch of the ad-based subscription tier to Disney+, which will bring a series of changes to the platform, Hulu and ESPN+, Disney’s sister platforms. You can click here to read more about the changes coming to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
The former Disney CEO Bob Chapek is out, and Bob Iger has returned to take charge of The Walt Disney Company as the new/returning CEO of the business. Iger’s Chief Executive Officer predecessor, Michael Eisner, has taken to social media to reveal his honest thoughts on The Walt Disney Company.
With Disney CEO Bob Iger back, there is a strong sense of optimism returning to Disney fans and Cast Members that had slowly been diminishing during Chapek’s time in office.
While Iger has already diagnosed Disney’s issue as the company was losing its “soul” under Chapek, now the well-liked former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, is speaking up.
@Michael_Eisner took to social media to share, “The Walt Disney Company has suffered in recent years. This is a good time for us to remember the words of Walt Disney who said, “Everybody falls down. Getting back up is how you learn to walk.”
The Walt Disney Company has suffered in recent years. This is a good time for us to remember the words of Walt Disney who said, “Everybody falls down. Getting back up is how you learn to walk.”
The tweet comes a few days after Eisner tweeted a welcomed return for Bob Iger. The first tweet caused a slew of Disney fans begging for Eisner to join Iger… to become the Walt and Roy Disney duo that the company so desperately needs right now.
Why is it important to listen to what Eisner has to say? Michael Eisner was with The Walt Disney Company as CEO from September 1984 to September 2005. The duration of Eisner’s career still upholds his strong reputation among Disney fans and stockholders.
Much of what Bob Chapek dissolved was actually what Michael Eisner fought to establish for the company, particularly in the Disney Guest experience platform.
Eisner is credited with the complimentary FastPass+ system (now the upcharge Disney Genie+ service), Disney’s Magical Express complimentary airport transportation (now completely gone), and much more.
Eisner was also credited for his hand in additions to the Disney Parks platform, including MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park at Disney World, and more.
Unlike Bob Chapek’s run as Disney CEO, both Michael Eisner and Bob Iger have continued to be well-liked and well-respected for their contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
With Eisner tweeting his support for the Disney company as it gets back on its feet, the tweet is once again sending Disney fans hoping and dreaming that Eisner will return to join the company.
While neither Bob Iger nor Michael Eisner have said anything further about the possible CEO duo working for the company jointly again, we understand why Disney fans think they would make a great team.
Disney’s new design for theme parks roller coaster with the ability to jump tracks has coaster junkies enthused, excited, shocked, and stunned, all at the same time.
Though fans of Disney Parks don’t always relish the idea of change in the parks, most can eventually find a way to roll with those changes once they realize that change is the predecessor to any new theme park addition, whether it’s a new take on an old ride or a brand-new attraction altogether.
A Disney Parks fan, I am. A coaster junkie, I am not.
Line the inside of a Disney Parks coaster car with velvet and fur, craft the lap belts from cashmere, and forge the safety bar from pure gold if you want. I’m happy as a clam standing in the “watch zones,” applauding you for your bravery.
So when reports about Walt Disney Imagineering’s design for a roller coaster with the ability to jump tracks surfaced, I paid little to no attention–at least as a lover of coasters. However, the wow factor of the prospect of such an attraction did create within me a curiosity that would have put Alice to shame in Wonderland–curiosity that begged two questions: how did they do that, and why would anyone be so stupid as to attempt such an experience?
(There was one more question, but that will spoil this whole piece, so I’ll wait.)
Earlier this week, the report was shared by an Instagrammer who simply calls himself, Wealth. After perusing his profile, we can only assume it’s because he asserts himself as a wealth of information. Be that as it may, the user shared a post with a few grainy photos all about Disney’s patent for a roller coaster that jumps across an open space in the tracks.
It continues as follows:
Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) just filed a patent for a roller coaster that jumps the track. This means the rollercoaster will fly through the air during part of the ride, with no track under it. It is rumored to be completed by 2030! Would you get on this ride?!
Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) just filed a patent for a roller coaster that jumps the track. This means the rollercoaster will fly through the air during part of the ride, with no track under it. The classic video game Thrillville: Off the Rails had a roller coaster that jumps the track on the cover of the game. This was a crazy idea that no one actually thought could work, but now Disney is trying to make that dream a reality.
The Instagram post even includes some sketches of the coaster cars and tracks–some more detailed than others.
The sketches feature words and phrases like “drive assembly,” “onboard energy storage,” “charging element,” and “track-mounted capacitor charge plate,” lending themselves to describing the components of the tracks and the coaster cars.
The post struck fear in some who viewed it, as evidenced by the many comments posted in response to it.
“How?? Wind gust variations, body weight variations, miss the track by 1/4 inch and everybody on that ride is dead!” posted one user.
“Imagine the wrong weight distribution,” began another comment. “Disney trying to crash their stock price further than it already has.”
In another post, a user commented, “A good amount of the rides at Disneyland kept breaking down this week; please fix your current rides before you focus on a new one.”
As of the time of this post, the Instagram offering has amassed more than 172,000 likes. The post also caught the attention of the fact-checker extraordinaires over at Snopes.com on Thursday, who went to work immediately to prove, debunk, or label otherwise, the post about Disney’s newest “flying” roller coaster design.
Ultimately, Snopes determined the story to be one that originated as satire on the site MouseSteps.com, though many who choose to get their news only from online social media platforms found the post very believable indeed–which goes along with that third question I had but didn’t share so as not to spoil the post. And that is, after all, who would believe such a tale, even if it is about the expert storytellers at Disney Parks?
November 20 was certainly a shocking day to be a Disney fan. In a stunning turn of late-night events, it was reported that Bob Chapek was OUT as CEO of The Walt Disney Company and former CEO Bob Iger would be taking over once again, effective immediately.
The Walt Disney Company CEO, Robert Iger arrives for the World premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame” at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Chapek didn’t even make it 3 years as CEO, but the news was welcomed by many. Upon his return, Iger penned a heartfelt email to Disney employees. The email reads:
Dear Fellow Employees and Cast Members,
It is with an incredible sense of gratitude and humility—and, I must admit, a bit of amazement—that I write to you this evening with the news that I am returning to The Walt Disney Company as Chief Executive Officer.
When I look at the creative success of our teams across our Studios, Disney General Entertainment, ESPN and International, the rapid growth of our streaming services, the phenomenal reimagining and rebound of our Parks, the continued great work of ABC News, and so many other achievements across our businesses, I am in awe of your accomplishments and I am excited to embark with you on many new endeavors.
I know this company has asked so much of you during the past three years, and these times certainly remain quite challenging, but as you have heard me say before, I am an optimist, and if I learned one thing from my years at Disney, it is that even in the face of uncertainty—perhaps especially in the face of uncertainty—our employees and Cast Members achieve the impossible.
You will be hearing more from me and your leaders tomorrow and in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, allow me to express my deep gratitude for all that you do. Disney holds a special place in the hearts of people around the globe thanks to you, and your dedication to this company and its mission to bring joy to people through great storytelling is an inspiration to me every single day.
Bob Iger
The news of Iger’s return will most likely be welcomed by many Disney fans who never got used to Bob Chapek and the changes he made. Fans turned against Chapek, as he constantly seemed to focus more on profit and less on Guests and that special “Disney magic.”
Guests were vocal during Chapek’s entire tenure, voicing their dissatisfaction with the theme park reservation system, Disney Genie+, cost of admission, rising costs of food, shrinking portion sizes, and more.
While the immediate future is uncertain, it will certainly be interesting to see how Iger tries to bring the company back to its former glory.
We have some stunning breaking news, Disney Family!! In a shocking report from The Hollywood Reporter, we are learning that BOB CHAPEK IS OUT AS CEO! And, effective immediately, former CEO Bob Iger will be taking over The Walt Disney Company once again.
“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”
Bob Chapek took over as CEO of Disney in February 2020 and his tenure has been anything but easy. Aside from dealing with Covid at the start, Chapek made many controversial decisions, and in the less than three years since his tenure began, more than 70% of people have said that Disney has “lost its magic”.
Some of Chapek’s most controversial moves include, his weeks-long silence on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, getting rid of the popular FastPass system and instituting the paid Genie+ system, and requiring all Guests to make a theme park reservation to visit.
Chapek’s tenure also hasn’t been great for Disney stock, which is down more than 35% this year.
While Chapek has not been popular with fans, it also appears he wasn’t popular with Bob Iger either. In an earlier report, those close to Iger revealed that appointing Chapek as his successor was one of ”his “worst business decisions.”
With the beloved Iger back in as CEOc it will certainly be interesting to see how Disney pivots, what changes Iger might make at the Parks and at Disney+, and what the future holds.
![Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 - SKY Track : Off The Track - Jumping Coaster [Trailer] - YouTube](https://i0.wp.com/i.ytimg.com/vi/gZTCQdd7Bh8/maxresdefault.jpg?w=700&ssl=1)
