Disney
Disney’s Legal Woes Mount As Exec Notes “Pay Equity Nightmare” in Unsealed Court Docs
In 2014, Nancy Dolan — manager of creative music marketing at Disney — was denied a promotion to director over the objections of her supervisor, president of music Mitchell Leib, who said she was “worth her weight in gold.” He urged higher-ups to reconsider the decision. “Nancy back-filled and took over the entire position of […]
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Former Disney Exec Ben Sherwood Sells Youth Sports Tech Startup Mojo to Software Firm In Bid to Scale Up
Mojo, the youth sports technology company founded by former Disney TV chief Ben Sherwood, has been acquired by the youth sports software firm TeamSnap. Mojo was “inspired by kind of the Disney mantra of wanting to surprise and delight families exceed their expectations and most of all, help them make memories to last a lifetime,” […]
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Disney Activist Fight Escalates as Nelson Peltz Nominates Former CFO Jay Rasulo for a Board Seat
Disney’s former CFO is now part of Trian’s proxy fight with the entertainment giant. Jay Rasulo, who was once seen as one of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s heirs apparent at the company, has been nominated for a seat on the company’s board by Trian Partners. As expected, Trian also nominated its founder Nelson Peltz for […]
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Ike’s Revenge? Ousted Marvel Mogul Looms As Disney Proxy Fight Heats Up
The last time Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Partners waged a proxy battle against Disney, less than a year ago, they laid out their concerns in a PowerPoint presentation. Disney needed to cut costs, Trian said. It needed to bring back its dividend and get its free cash flow back on track. Disney was […]
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Disney’s Nine-Figure VFX Headache: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Profits at Stake in Trial
In March 2017, Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast opened to a monstrous $357 million globally. It marked the seventh-largest domestic debut ever and the top start for a PG title, eventually finding its place on the list of the highest-grossing films of all time with lifetime box office earnings of $1.27 billion. […]
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Tracy Underwood Replaces Jonnie Davis as ABC Signature President
Tracy Underwood’s star at Disney continues to rise. The longtime Disney executive has been promoted to president of ABC Signature, filling the void created in July with the departure of Jonnie Davis from the role. Underwood, a Disney studio exec since 2010, will oversee creative affairs, drama, comedy and limited series development, as well as […]
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Charter CFO Says New Disney Carriage Deal Means Consumers No Longer “Pay Twice” for Content
After Charter Communications and Disney created a new industry template for traditional pay TV with their new Spectrum carriage deal, expect more streaming content to be included in the traditional cable bundle and less popular linear TV channels to be dropped. “We’re not willing to make our customers pay twice for content,” Jessica Fischer, CFO […]
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Pixar’s Pandemic-Era Movies ‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red’ and ‘Luca’ to Get 2024 Theatrical Releases
Pixar’s Soul, Luca and Turning Red — which bypassed the big screen and went straight to Disney+ because of the pandemic — will play in theaters for the first time, Disney announced Wednesday. Soul, Pete Docter’s Oscar-winning 2020 animated film about a middle-school band teacher who is transported to the “Great Before,” will be released […]
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Nexstar CEO Says The CW Will Be at Breakeven by “End of 2025”
The CW-parent Nexstar Media Group has applauded the recently-struck new carriage agreement between the Walt Disney Co. and Charter Communications as a positive for future content deals for Disney and other entertainment giants. Nexstar president Michael Biard told the UBS Annual Global TMT Conference the new Charter bundle after the carriage deal with Walt Disney […]
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Disney Brings Back Its Dividend After Three Year Suspension
The Disney dividend is back. After a suspension of more than three years, The Walt Disney Co. will bring back its dividend payments to shareholders. The company announced Thursday that it will pay a dividend of $0.30 per share for shareholders of record as of Dec. 11. The payments will be made in January. “This […]
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Disney Claims Proxy Fight Driven by Vendetta From Ousted Marvel Mogul
Disney will have to deal with a new proxy fight, as activist investor Nelson Peltz will seek board seats at the company. Peltz’s Trian Partners said Thursday morning that, having not received a warm welcome from Disney’s board of directors or from CEO Bob Iger, “Trian intends to take our case for change directly to […]
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Disney+ Unveils New Subscriber-Only Perks for Holiday Season: Here’s How to Sign Up (Exclusive)
Disney+ is one of the most popular streaming services on the market right now, with access to hit originals like Ahsoka, Ms. Marvel, The Mandalorian and others, in addition to a host of on-demand movies and shows. And while there are ways to score an occasional Disney+ discount or deal, the streamer is upping the […]
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