Disney Reshuffles Business Units to Prioritize Streaming

October 12, 2020

Brew writer Neal Freyman

Neal Freyman

Managing Editor

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Neal Freyman/Disney

Every new boss knows they have to make that Signature Move early in their tenure. For Disney's fresh-faced CEO Bob Chapek, that means reorganizing the company's media and entertainment biz to prioritize streaming products, including Disney+.

The announcement yesterday carves out three divisions for content and one for monetizing and distributing that content. The monetization division will be run by Kareem Daniel, a 14-year Disney vet and rising star in the company. 

Why now? When the pandemic took a wrecking ball to Disney's film and theme park divisions, new streaming service Disney+ was able to save the company from an even worse fate—and in the process, successfully auditioned for a bigger role going forward. 

  • Disney was also facing external pressure to invest more in streaming. Last week, activist investor Dan Loeb called on Disney to end its dividend and sink more funds into Disney+.  

Zoom out: Separating content production from distribution decisions is the trend du jour among entertainment giants. Both Comcast's NBCUniversal and AT&T's WarnerMedia made similar moves recently.