Disney changes streaming heads; Perlmutter speaks out on firing
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Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) has changed heads at the top of its streaming organization, elevating its Hulu president to take over the group.
Joe Earley, chief of Hulu (DIS) (CMCSA), has taken over as president of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment, replacing Michael Paull, who's exiting the company after a six-year stint.
Earley, a longtime Fox exec who came over in that asset acquisition, will now lead Disney+ as well as Hulu, and report to Disney Entertainment co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden (who took over a reorganized unit as Bob Iger returned to the CEO seat).
It's also a change that will spur a read-through from investors trying to figure out whether Disney will buy the rest of Hulu from Comcast (CMCSA); sell all of Hulu to Comcast; or pursue some third option by next spring.
Meanwhile, Ike Perlmutter (the former chief who sold Marvel to Disney, and Disney's biggest individual shareholder) has issued a statement making it clear he believes he was fired from the company rather than laid off for cost cuts.
Perlmutter had pressed the board to add activist investor and Trian chief Nelson Peltz -- unsuccessfully, before Peltz launched a proxy fight to get a board seat. (Peltz abandoned that push when Iger unveiled a restructuring in February.)
âI have long expected that my working relationship with Disney would end," Perlmutter said. "That it should come as a result of my trying to help Disney improve its business should sadden many shareholders as it does me, the companyâs largest individual shareholder."
"Despite my employment termination, I will continue to hold my shares of Disney and continue to seek improvements at the company for the benefit of all stakeholders," he said.
He pointed to a fixation on fiscal discipline as support for his Peltz push.
"It is that approach to Disney's operations that has formed my support for Trian, in seeking to restore the dividend, fix the company's inflated cost structure, and ensure a successful CEO succession ... Itâs a disappointment for me and I believe many fellow shareholders that [Peltz] wasnât welcomed to the board and that it took the threat of a proxy contest for the board and management to begin to act."
Earlier, BofA took note of positive moves from Iger in raising its Disney estimates.