Bob Iger Says Disney's Okay With Linear Assets

Disney CEO Bob Iger, who once questioned the importance of linear TV, now sees it as beneficial. He explains that funding and programming these networks enhances Disney's broader TV strategy, including streaming.

"We are programming them and funding them at levels that actually enhance our overall television business, which naturally includes and emphasizes streaming, which, let's admit it, is the future of television," he explained. "I'm not ruling out the possibility that some of our smaller networks could be restructured or even see changes in ownership in how we market them, but at this moment, we're content with our current strategy. We feel good about the hand we're playing and how we're managing both our linear and streaming businesses."

Disney has demonstrated openness to discontinuing some of its lesser-known cable networks during carriage discussions with pay TV providers. For instance, in 2023, an agreement with Charter Communications resulted in Spectrum dropping channels like Baby TV, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FXM, FXX, Nat Geo Wild, and Nat Geo Mundo. 

Additionally, Disney struck a deal with DirecTV in September to offer genre-specific channel packages, such as sports, entertainment, and kids & family, which include Disney's linear channels alongside Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.

"I can't predict if these narrower bundles will significantly affect cord-cutting, but we are definitely looking to capitalize on these opportunities, as they provide an excellent distribution channel for ESPN," Iger noted.

In the first quarter of 2025, Disney's entertainment linear networks saw a revenue decrease of 7% to $2.62 billion, with operating profit dropping by 11% to $1.1 billion. However, domestic linear revenue and operating income remained unchanged year over year, both at $2.2 billion and $837 million, respectively.