When activist investor Dan Loeb announced a new stake in Walt Disney Co. last month, its list of proposed changes included a big one: the sale or spin-off of ESPN.
Lobb, through his company Third Point, told Disney CEO Bob Chapek in a letter that the spin-off of ESPN would give the sports media giant “more flexibility to undertake business initiatives that may be more difficult as part of Disney.” , such as sports betting”.
However, now that Disney is coming out of a successful D23 Expo in Anaheim, Loeb is backing that particular proposal.
“We better understand ESPN’s potential as an independent business and another vertical for Disney to reach a global audience to generate advertising and subscriber revenue,” Loeb said in a tweet Sunday. “We hope to see you [ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro] Implement growth and innovation plans, generating important synergies as part of The Walt Disney Company.
It remains unclear whether Loeb is changing his stance on other proposals, which include new board members and an accelerated acquisition of Hulu to turn it into Disney+.
In interviews linked to D23 over the weekend (you can read THRKim Masters interview here), Chapek said the company was in talks with Comcast about an early purchase of Hulu, though a deal doesn’t seem imminent. He also argued that ESPN works best as part of Disney’s larger portfolio, saying about a hundred different potential buyers or partners have approached Disney about ESPN since Loeb’s letter.
“If you have a house that’s going to sell and you have a hundred buyers, you probably have a great house,” he told Bloomberg.
Loeb now seems to agree.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
