The Walt Disney Company has been struggling to regain the trust of fans and shareholders under Bob Iger, and now it seems that the Mouse hopes a new president will help stabilize things.

Bob Iger returned as CEO of the Walt Disney Company in a moment of huge crisis, as former chief executive Bob Chapek triggered a still-ongoing feud with far-right Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and box office grosses for Disney Animation, Pixar, and Marvel Studios simultaneously tanked. The board of directors unceremoniously ousted Chapek and reinstalled Iger, who reportedly had found it difficult to move on from the company and has been accused of sabotaging his successor’s transition to power.
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Things haven’t been going all that great for CEO Bob Iger, however. While he was brought back to the company under the impression that he would be able to right the ship and return Disney to its status as the world’s leading production studio, it has been a mixed bag.

The much-touted Disney+ streaming service has been losing hundreds of millions of dollars (even as Bob Iger insists that the company double-down on it), Marvel is cratering under its lowest critical and commercial results ever, and the CEO currently faces a new battle to get him fired from the company, courtesy of a pair of vengeful billionaires.
In the face of all of this, the Walt Disney Company has formed a new division and announced its president: longtime executive Debra OConnell.

OConnell will head Disney Entertainment News Group and Networks, putting her in charge of a massive segment of the company. The new president is now leading ABC News and ABC Owned Television Stations.
This means she will have authority over a huge slate of programs like ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, Good Morning America, Nightline, Primetime, 20/20, and This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Additionally, OConnell will run some of the most popular local news stations in America, including vitally important markets in California, Chicago, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Debra OConnell will still ultimately report to Bob Iger (via another layer of corporate management), but this new division is a clear sign that Disney has a lack of faith in its current linear television’s ability to compete. Essentially, this new president will consolidate two different branches of traditional television that are both being rapidly damaged by the rise of streaming content. The hope must be that pushing them together under one leadership will somehow allow them to gain market value.

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In a statement, Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden said:
“Debra is an excellent executive who has succeeded in a wide range of leadership roles around our company and knows very well the extraordinary power of ABC News and its world-class journalists. This new role gives her oversight across all our linear operations, where she will be able to optimize our iconic brands and shepherd them into the future. I look forward to having her lead these incredibly talented teams as we build on our success.”
The future of linear television is fading all the time, but maybe this new president can push back against streaming just enough for it to survive.
Do you still watch traditional television over streaming? Tell us in the comments below!