Ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek Has Spoken Out for the First Time Since Leaving the Company

Since being fired from The Walt Disney Company in late 2022, former CEO Bob Chapek has largely kept quiet.

©Disney

Aside from announcing his new position on Masimo’s Board of Directors, Chapek has been silent — especially when it comes to Disney. But, that has officially changed. In a new interview, Chapek revealed his thoughts on the future of Disney-owned ESPN, and it sounds like he doesn’t fully agree with Iger’s choices.

Bob Chapek has made his first public comments since leaving Disney in 2022 in a new interview with CNBC. He didn’t directly comment on Disney itself, but he did share his thoughts on ESPN.

©Disney

As part of a CNBC documentary on ESPN’s digital strategy — called ESPN’s Fight for Dominance — Chapek was asked whether or not he thought ESPN should add minority partners. He responded by saying, “Strategically, I don’t really see a benefit in bringing on yet another minority partner into ESPN.”

Bob Chapek and Bob Iger ©CNBC

He’s likely referring to current Disney CEO Bob Iger’s previous comments on the potential to sell a minority stake in ESPN. Iger’s position is that he’s looking to strengthen ESPN one way or another before the launch of the new ESPN direct-to-consumer service. The subscription-based platform is slated to launch in the fall of 2025 unless the Department of Justice and FuboTV have anything to say about it.

©Disney

For now, though, Disney hasn’t announced any deals to sell any of the 80% stake it owns in ESPN. Disney hopes to enhance the content, distribution, and marketing for direct-to-consumer ESPN, but it’s unclear whether selling equity in ESPN is needed to strike a partnership with one of the professional sports leagues.

Doing so could help secure future rights for live sporting events, and a partner like Verizon or Apple would increase distribution options. ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro dismissed the need for ESPN to sell a stake in its business to build a partnership with another company or sports league.

©ESPN

Pitaro was also interviewed as part of the new doc, and said, “It’s not about equity. It’s not about these partners taking an ownership interest in ESPN. That is something, as Bob [Iger] has said, that we are very much open to, but this is about partnership and accelerating the launch or the adoption of ESPN flagship.”

Ultimately, Chapek says that although he disagrees with a new ESPN partnership, the deal may be necessary to give Disney an influx of cash for a separate streaming deal with Comcast. As a refresher, Disney previously agreed to purchase the one-third Comcast stake in Hulu for at least $8.6 billion. Chapek thinks “It’s possible that maybe that cash itself is what they’re after.”

©Hulu

In addition, Chapek shared his thoughts on switching up the structure of ESPN. He thinks that a “centralized hub” where viewers can search and locate any ESPN game “no matter which company owns the rights to air it,” is more along the lines of the direction the company should go. Similar to how folks can search for content on the homepage of their smart TV and be taken directly to it, Chapek thinks ESPN should be “a central clearinghouse.”

He told CNBC, “How do you make yourself indispensable to the sports viewer so that they stay on with you as you evolve over to a streaming world? I think solving that problem would be one big way to do it.” It’s clear that Chapek still has strong opinions on what he thinks is best for Disney, despite not directly commenting on the company.

©Disney

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for the latest Walt Disney Company news, so stay tuned to DFB for more!

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