Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger at a conference hosted by Vanity Fair yesterday said that he was "personally involved in the decision not to discipline ESPN’s Jemele Hill after she tweeted that President Donald Trump was a 'white supremacist,'" adding that he felt that recent political events "outweighed the company’s social-media strictures," according to Fritz & Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Iger: "We’ve got to take into account what we’re seeing societally and what people are feeling." Iger said that recent events have "angered many Americans, particularly those who are black." Iger: "A little empathy in that regard would go a long way. I felt we needed to take into account what Jemele and other people at ESPN were feeling at this time. That resulted in us not taking action on the tweet that she put out." Iger addressed criticisms that ESPN has "become too political and should stick to sports and highlights." He said, "They’re covering sports as part of our society, that’s part of ESPN’s charge, we’ve given them license to do that." Iger, who described himself as "pretty patriotic," said that he would "prefer people stood up for the national anthem but that he understood why some of players don’t" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/4). Iger said of Hill, "It's hard for me to understand what it feels like to experience racism. I felt we needed to take into account what other people [at] ESPN were feeling at this time and that resulted in us not taking action" (VANITYFAIR.com, 10/3). More Iger: "We would prefer that our on-air talent in particular not speak out on controversial issues, except maybe as it relates specifically to sports. In this case, it was not adhered to, but we took context into account and decided not to take action on it" ("Fast Money," CNBC, 10/3).
NOT TAKING THE BAIT: In L.A., Meg James notes Vanity Fair staff writer Nick Bilton tried to "coax Iger into a discussion about President Trump, but Iger just smiled." Bilton said that it "took a while before Trump weighed in on sports, which just happens to be one of Disney’s largest businesses." Iger, noting that sports is a huge component of American pop culture, said, "I don’t think Donald Trump touched sports -- I think sports touched Donald Trump" (L.A. TIMES, 10/4). Meanwhile, Iger said athletes "in many cases feel that they have an obligation" to speak on social issues. Iger: "Having earned the voice that they’ve earned as successful athletes, to speak out on various issues that are meaningful to them, so we’ve given ESPN license to do it" (DEADLINE.com, 10/3).
MODERN BUSINESS: Iger yesterday also appeared on CNBC and touched on the recent carriage agreement with Altice. He said there is a "handshake agreement" for a new deal, though the two sides have "not announced officially a deal." CNBC's Julia Boorstin noted Disney has "never had a blackout, unlike some other media companies." However, with the Altice negotiations becoming "contentious" and so drawn out, Boorstin asked, "What does that say about the state of the traditional TV business and what's going to come with the next round of negotiations?" Iger said the agreement "reflects the value of the great channels that we own." He noted much of the “dialogue,” “debate” and “rhetoric is due to the fact that business is feeling the pressure of disruption." Iger: "There's just a lot of change, a lot of uncertainty and tension that exists … among the traditional players as consumers have more choice, as new distributors come into the market, as new producers come into the market. ... I feel great about where we have ended up in this." He said the Altice negotiations are a "harbinger of things to come." Iger: "We were confident going into this that the outcome would be fine for us, and I'm pleased to say so far, so good” ("Fast Money," CNBC, 10/3).
APPILY EVER AFTER? CNN's Sandra Gonzalez reported Iger during the Vanity Fair conference talked about his "plans for ESPN's direct-to-consumer internet service." He said, "It will be very mobile friendly so it will stream under very stable circumstances on mobile devices no matter what mobile device it is pretty much no matter where you are in the world. Eventually, that app can possibly become or may possibly become the only way you watch ESPN, but for the time being, the linear channels of ESPN will continue to be distributed by the partners we have in the distribution space because they still deliver a lot of revenue to us" (RELIABLE SOURCES, 10/3).
