More Cuts Expected At Disney Including ABC Platforms

Walt Disney Co. is planning a fresh round of job cuts in its TV division, part of an effort to reduce costs in a shrinking part of its business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Bloomberg reports the company is eliminating about 140 jobs, or about 2% of staff at Disney Entertainment Television, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information. The cuts will fall hardest on networks like NatGeo and Freeform, which are scaling back their programming, as well as the company’s ABC stations.

Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has cut billions of dollars in costs at Disney and eliminated over 8,000 positions since returning to the top job there in November 2022. The company is trying to balance the need for investments in streaming with the rapid decline of its cable networks, which still generate billions of dollars in profit.

As part of the cuts, NatGeo will lose about 13% of its staff, the people said. The network, named after the iconic magazine, has already pared back its scripted programming to a handful of shows such as Genius: MLK/X.

ABC News staffers are bracing for major cuts as the Disney-owned network slashes budgets — with even those at top-rated “Good Morning America” on the chopping block, The Post has learned.

The Mouse House has demanded that “GMA” reduce its bottom line by a whopping $19 million, up from previous projections of $17 million, before the end of Disney’s fiscal year on Sept. 30, an insider with knowledge told The NY Post.

Sources told The Post that the “GMA” cuts won’t be coming from the eight-figure salaries of the show’s top talent — Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos. “They all have contracts, so there will be no cut at that level,” a former ABC News exec said of the hosts, who are estimated to make between $17 million and $18 million each. “But they will have to cut jobs.”

Freeform, formerly known as ABC Family, has historically programmed shows like Grown-ish and Pretty Little Liars for a teen audience. But teens have largely abandoned cable for streaming.

Disney is also eliminating jobs in its marketing and publicity teams.

Disney’s entertainment-oriented TV networks contributed about 12% of total revenue in the most recently reported second quarter, a sum that doesn’t include sports operations like ESPN.

The company reports fiscal third-quarter results next week.