Bob Chapek Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

One week after Disney CEO Bob Chapek noted on the company’s quarterly earnings call, “We’re still seeing demand in excess of the reservations that we’re making available to our guests,” Disneyland rolled out new availability — and increased prices — for its year-old Magic Key annual pass offering. The menu includes one new tier, Inspire, which is the most expensive. The old top-tier Dream Key, which was $1399, is no longer available.

In a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, activist investor Daniel Loeb urged the exec to spin off ESPN and integrate Hulu into Disney+, among other changes.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWall Street recently cheered Disney’s fiscal performance, judging by how the stock has performed since the company offered details of its second quarter performance. And yet, there are some investors who still think the owner of ABC, Disney World and Hulu has much further to go.In an Aug.

CNBC reports. The news comes after the outlet obtained a letter to investors announcing Loeb and Third Point’s new position. Following the news, Disney’ share price has risen 1.3%.

Chapek told CNBC that price hikes will likely hit the Mouse House’s popular theme parks next. “We read demand. We have no plans right now in terms of what we’re going to do, but we operate with a surgical knife here,” Chapek said Thursday.

Disney stock rose about 5% Thursday after posting a beat on earnings, profit, streaming subscriber growth and parks for its fiscal third quarter ended in June. It announced a new Disney+ ad-supported tier will launch on Dec. 8 for $7.99 – the current price of the ad-free service, which will jump to $10.99. That’s nice if you can get it.

an ad-supported pricing tier, it will not immediately launch with ads being included in the profiles for children or preschool-aged viewers, the Walt Disney Company CFO Christine McCarthy said on the company’s Wednesday earnings call. “As it relates to the ad experience spread, it’s not all content on Disney+ being treated equally,” McCarthy said. “There will be no ads in kids profiles or preschool, at least at launch.

As sports rights prove the small screen game changer, the ball is in Disney’s court when it comes to the NBA.

The streaming wars are all about strategy and pricing power and were a major emphasis of The Walt Disney Company’s third-quarter earnings report Wednesday. Disney+’s long-awaited ad-supported streaming tier will launch Dec. 8 at $7.99 per month, the same price that Disney+ customers are already paying.

The Festival of Fantasy parade tonight at Disney World is going to have some extra bounce in its step after today’s quarterly earnings report from the House of Mouse.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe Walt Disney Co. powered up a strong June quarter, highlighted by a 14.4 million gain in Disney+ streaming subscribers and a robust rebound in theme park revenue — topping Wall Street expectations on most metrics.Disney+ paid customers stood at 152.1 million as of July 2, the end of the conglomerate’s third quarter of fiscal 2022.

Disney+ added 14..4 million subscribers, smashing past expectations for an add of about 10 million. DTC subs all in totaled 221 million for the company’s fiscal third quarter ended in June. The stock is up 6%.

UPDATED throughout: The Walt Disney Company has announced today that its 100th anniversary celebration, dubbed Disney100, will officially kick off at this fall’s annual D23 Expo fan event. While details about the company’s plans are still sparse, it’s a good bet that every arm of the Disney empire will have special plans in store for the anniversary. There will also be a novel digital offering from the parks division. More on that below.

UPDATED throughout: The Walt Disney Company has announced today that its 100th anniversary celebration, dubbed Disney100, will officially kick off at this fall’s annual D23 Expo fan event. While details about the company’s plans are still sparse, it’s a good bet that every arm of the Disney empire will have special plans in store for the anniversary. There will also be a novel digital offering from the parks division. More on that below.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSUN VALLEY, Idaho — The moguls have arrived.On Tuesday, dozens of titans of the business, media and tech worlds came out to play at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho for the start of Allen & Co.’s annual meeting of movers and shakers.The invitation-only conference will include three days of seminars and meetings that are held away from the prying eyes of the public, which kick off Wednesday morning. So today was all about meeting and greeting each other at the posh retreat in Idaho’s picturesque Sawtooth Mountains.Arrivals began at the Sun Valley Lodge around 11 a.m.

The mountains are as gorgeous as ever, the deal climate not so much as boutique investment bank Allen & Co. prepares to host its annual Sun Valley retreat. After guests arrive on Tuesday, official activities get under way Wednesday.

“It was like a palace of pitching. There’s never been any place like it.”

Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek won praise in many corners in 2020 for ably steering the company through the devastation of Covid after taking the baton from Bob Iger early in that fateful year.

Disney’s public spat with Scarlett Johansson last summer over compensation tied to Marvel’s “Black Window,” which opened day-and-date in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access for a $30 fee. This was followed by Chapek’s uneven handling of Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education Bill.” Chapek initially aimed to avoid taking a public stance on the controversial bill, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” which elicited a backlash from staffers.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has gotten a new long term contract as the the board meets this week. Directors voted unanimously to replace his current deal, which expires in Feb. of 2023, with a new three-year agreement starting July 1.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaEmbattled Walt Disney Company chief Bob Chapek got a critical endorsement after the entertainment giant’s board of directors voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend his contract for three years. “Disney was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, yet with Bob at the helm, our businesses—from parks to streaming—not only weathered the storm, but emerged in a position of strength,” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board.

Sun Valley, colloquially known as “summer camp for billionaires,” kicks off right after the July 4 holiday. But the moguls who flock to the Allen & Co. retreat may not be as relaxed as usual when they touch down in Idaho: From darkening economic clouds to choppy leadership transitions at some of the most storied media companies, there are plenty of reasons for the 1% of the 1% to be breaking a sweat these days.

by the end of 2022 or early 2023, had been vigorously opposed by staffers, including the legendary Imagineers team behind theme parks, attractions, cruise ships and retail outposts. In March, that team had asked embattled CEO Bob Chapek to reverse a decision, calling the move unreasonable given what they called the state’s “hateful legislation.” The 2,000 employees were expected to join over 60,000 Disney employees already in central Florida as the company built a new campus in the planned community of Lake Nona, Florida — a location approximately 20 miles from the Disney World Resort in Orlando.In an open letter to Disney leadership in March, LGBTQ+ activists inside the company announced plans for a number of walk-outs and also demanded that the company stand down from the planned move after the state passed legislation barring schools from discussing “sexual orientation or gender identity.” The letter demanded that Disney cease “any efforts to move employees to Florida office locations… Guaranteeing no employee will be terminated when denying relocation to Florida.”The requirement to move, retire or quit decimated the ranks of Disney’s storied creatives.

UPDATED: Just about a year ago, the Walt Disney Co. announced plans to move most Southern California-based jobs not fully dedicated to Disneyland in its Parks, Experiences and Products Division to a new regional facility in central Florida.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeDana Walden is ready for this moment. On the heels of a shocking Hollywood management shake-up at Disney, the newly promoted chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content now oversees a massive portfolio that includes the programming arms of Hulu, FX, ABC, Freeform, Nat Geo, 20th Century Television, ABC Signature and more.Walden’s ascent at Disney is not a surprise, but the sudden departure of her predecessor and longtime boss, Peter Rice, surely was when the news surfaced on June 9 that Disney CEO Bob Chapek had fired him.Walden has the respect of the Hollywood community, the chops of having run (or co-run) two broadcast networks and multiple studios, plus deep relationships with towering creatives like a certain superstar producer (ahem, Ryan Murphy) who is, by all accounts, itching to reunite with her after a rocky run at Netflix.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefThe abruptness and timing of Peter Rice’s firing last week by Disney CEO Bob Chapek remains a complete mystery to many, including Rice, I’m told. The move came as a total shock to the industry and to the well-respected media executive, who is unusual in having spent his entire industry career at one studio, 20th Century Fox, and then its successor company, Disney.As everyone now knows, Rice had absolutely no idea what was about to happen when his boss called him into a meeting on June 8, and I hear he was told that Chapek wanted to discuss the Disney board meeting taking place in Orlando later this month, at which Rice was scheduled to make a presentation.Instead, in a conversation that lasted all of seven minutes, Chapek informed Rice that he was letting him go because he wasn’t a good fit for him or the “new culture” at Disney.

Lightyear is facing some backlash.

In her first public comments since she was elevated to Chairman of Disney General Entertainment, Dana Walden sent a memo to staff Monday morning. In it, she expressed her “immense appreciation to Bob Chapek for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime,” noting that “is enormously proud of what we do.” She also praised Peter Rice, “a gifted executive,” for his mentorship and friendship and highlighted the achievements of each division in the content group’s portfolio.

William Earl Dana Walden, newly promoted to Disney’s top TV post, addressed the shocking management shakeup that saw her elevation and the ouster of her longtime boss, Peter Rice.Walden sent a note to Disney General Entertainment staffers detailing the vast unit’s many recent success stories across ABC, FX, Hulu, Freeform, National Geographic and the production units that Walden now oversees. She noted the surprising transition that was unveiled June 9.

Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear begins offshore rollout this week, but won’t be hitting cinemas in such Middle East markets as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Nor will it go to theaters in Malaysia or Indonesia. Deadline understands the film has not received distribution certificates in these markets. As with other recent Hollywood films, the issue is believed to be related to LGBTQ content.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPixar’s “Lightyear” will not be playing in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Kuwait, among other West Asia territories, due to the inclusion of a same sex kiss in the “Toy Story” spinoff.The scene, involving a new lesbian space ranger character named Alisha and her partner starting a family together and greeting each other with a kiss on the lips had been originally cut from the film by Disney.But it was reinstated when Pixar animators spoke out against Disney in an open letter obtained by Variety, saying that Disney had demanded cuts, censoring “overtly gay affection” and in protest against Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIt’s that time of year again. That post-July 4th period when media barons and billionaires break out the Brooks Brothers casual and don their sweater vests to hit an idyllic Idaho resort town of Sun Valley for another edition of “lets make a deal.”Many of the names expected to rub elbows next month are familiar ones. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Liberty Media’s John Malone, Comcast chairman Brian Roberts, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple pasha Tim Cook and Berkshire Hathaway guru Warren Buffett are among those who have once again made the cut for Allen & Co.’s annual media conference.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund on Friday said it will continue its yearlong centennial celebration with “100 Years of Hollywood: A Celebration of Service,” an event June 18 in West Hollywood that will feature musical performances and tributes. Jodie Foster, Harry Northup, Yvette Nicole Brown and more are set to appear at the event at The Lot at Formosa, along with musical guests set to include Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Tori Kelly, and Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies.

In 2004, Disney’s cable networks executive Anne Sweeney was named co-chair, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney/ABC Television Group. The promotion, announced by then-Disney CEO Bob Iger, to whom Sweeney reported, set off a decade-long reign of Sweeney as one of the most powerful women in entertainment, with a vast TV portfolio encompassing a broadcast network and cable networks, Disney’s TV studio and news.

The Walt Disney Company today announced today that its 100th anniversary celebration, dubbed Disney100, will officially kick off at this fall’s annual D23 fan event. While details about the company’s plans are still sparse, it’s a good bet that every arm of the Disney empire will have special plans in store for the anniversary.

UPDATED: Disney has confirmed the exit of Peter Rice and the ascension of Dana Walden. Release is below.