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The jockeying between Netflix and Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. has prompted some interesting chatter inside The Walt Disney Company, which bears an eerie resemblance to schadenfreude. “I’m loving watching all this unfold,” a senior Disney executive tells Page Six Hollywood.
Recall that Disney is still dealing with a six-year hangover caused in part by its $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets. Disney’s stock price is currently down 36 percent from its 2021 high.
Disney Chairman Bob Iger attends the sneak peek of Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” at El Capitan Theatre on Nov. 18, 2021 in Hollywood. Getty Images for Disney“I can understand why Paramount would want it because they’re world builders. But Netflix? I just don’t get it. Theatrical and streaming are the toughest parts of our business, and we have theme parks to help offset it. Why would [Netflix] want to saddle themselves with all these legacy assets and deal with all that integration and redundancies? Good luck with that,” said the source.
Disney, meanwhile is currently laser-focused on the question of who will succeed Disney CEO Bob Iger.
The Paramount sign in the fore with the Hollywood sign visible on the horizon in Los Angeles, California. REUTERSInsiders still say chairman of Disney experiences Josh D’Amaro remains the odds-on favorite, and some note that one of D’Amaro’s advantages is the fact he oversees Disney’s $1.5 billion move into video games, after it entered into a partnership with Epic Games, the publisher of “Fortnite.” Iger, who is not selecting his successor but is believed to have some say in the matter, sees the Epic Games partnership as a legacy play on his part and has been heavily invested in seeing it succeed.
People have also speculated recently that they could go the co-CEO route, splitting duties between D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden, mirroring the model over at Netflix.
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