Fired Disney CEO Bob Chapek Publicly Emerges, Attacks Bob Iger

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who was dismissed from his position as leader of the most iconic media company in the world in 2022, is finally publicly speaking out. More specifically, he’s speaking out to say that he thinks Bob Iger, both his predecessor and successor as chief executive officer, is making a mistake with his ESPN strategy.

Bob Chapek took over the Walt Disney Company from Bob Iger in 2020, when the longtime CEO stepped down after a solid 15 years of expanding Disney Parks, purchasing 20th Century Fox, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm, and generally being considered one of the most important media figures of the era. In other words, Chapek had some big shoes to fill, and, reportedly, Iger was not especially gracious about stepping down.

Related: Bob Chapek Says Working at Disney Was “Hell” in New Bombshell Report

Notoriously, the Disney board of directors ousted Bob Chapek mid-contract and brought Bob Iger back as CEO. After several difficult years, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing political tensions with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Chapek’s push into unfamiliar areas like sports betting, the board apparently wanted the safety of Iger once more.

Since then, Bob Chapek has largely remained out of the public eye, only recently taking a new position on the board of directors of health technology company Masimo. Now, the former Disney CEO is being featured in the CNBC documentary ESPN’s Fight for Dominance, and he is actively attacking Iger’s new tactic of potentially taking on minority partners in the sports network. According to Chapek, “Strategically, I don’t really see a benefit in bringing on yet another minority partner into ESPN.”

Currently, the Walt Disney Company owns 80% of ESPN, with the remaining 20% belonging to Hearst Communications. The network is one of the most valuable assets that Disney owns, comprising the majority of the company’s interests in the massively popular sports broadcast field.

Last year, Bob Iger told CNBC’s David Faber that Disney was open to selling off more of ESPN if it meant that it could strengthen the network’s direct-to-consumer ties. It appears that, at the moment, Iger’s plan is to merge Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ into a single (very expensive) app that can handle all of the company’s streaming content, even if that means selling off more of its ownership.

According to Bob Chapek, this is a mistake almost certainly motivated by Disney’s need for liquid cash. He says, “There’s already one minority strategic partner in Hearst. So, this would be bringing on a second minority strategic partner. Obviously, the benefit of doing that is that you make available some cash. And given some of the conversation that’s been happening between Comcast and Disney in terms of needing to buy the final share of Hulu to make it wholly owned by the Disney company, it’s possible that maybe that cash itself is what they’re after.”

Related: Bob Iger Disagrees with Bob Chapek’s Decisions, Loses Trust at Disney

While Chapek might not be directly attacking Iger’s ESPN plan, it is notable when a former CEO will publicly contradict his successor, particularly in a well-publicized documentary. In the same documentary, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro (one of Iger’s most likely successors as CEO) downplayed the idea of selling off a minority interest, saying, “It’s not about equity. It’s not about these partners taking an ownership interest in ESPN. That is something, as Bob [Iger] has said, that we are very much open to, but this is about partnership and accelerating the launch or the adoption of ESPN flagship.”

However, all that ultimately does is confirm that Disney is ready to push forward with Bob Iger’s strategy, even if that means selling off pieces of itself. While Bob Chapek can express his opinion about that tactic, it’s clearly up to Iger now.

What do you think about Bob Chapek publicly criticizing ESPN plans? Let’s hear it in the comments below!