Josh D’Amaro Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images for Disney In his first public comments as CEO of The Walt Disney Co., Josh D’Amaro threw a little bit of shade at the competition.
“Simply put, while others in our industry are consolidating just to compete, or struggling to be relevant in a fragmented and disrupted world, Disney is in a category of one poised to accelerate into our next era of innovation and growth,” D’Amaro told Disney shareholders Wednesday. “And this next chapter will be driven by staying focused on world-class creativity, enhanced by technology, bringing unforgettable stories to audiences wherever they are.”
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The comments surely resonated. After all, Paramount is seeking to subsume the much larger Warner Bros., while NBCUniversal is still figuring out its path forward in streaming and TV. Netflix is a streaming giant, of course, but it lacks the franchises and intellectual property that define Disney.
And so D’Amaro gave a little preview of what to expect during his time as CEO, with Disney+ becoming a critical piece of that puzzle.
“Disney+ will continue to evolve beyond a traditional streaming service to become the digital centerpiece of our company – a portal that connects our stories, experiences, games, films, and more in entirely new ways,” D’Amaro said, adding that the company intends to continue investing internationally to make it. truly global platform. “And we’re working quickly to bring Disney+ and Hulu into a unified experience later this year that will drive even more value for subscribers and for our business.”
Disney+ has already been trending slightly in that direction, of course. It added vertical video earlier this month (leaving open the possibility of bringing on creator-led content), and the company says it will eventually bring AI-created videos from Sora to the platform. But being a “portal” to the company’s massive experiences business, and bringing games into the fold (Peacock and Netflix already have some interactive titles) is nonetheless a major shift, whether they live on the platform or not.
He framed the move as a growth play, building on what Bob Iger did since his return in 2022.
“When Bob returned to the company a few years ago, his goal was to fortify our business and lay the groundwork for long-term growth, by reigniting creativity and improving performance at our studios, building a robust and profitable streaming business, transforming ESPN for a digital future, and turbocharging our parks and experiences,” D’Amaro said.” We’ve accomplished all of those things, and we’re operating from a place of strength, with ample opportunity for growth.”
But that growth is predicated on D’Amaro’s “One Disney” framing of the company, in which every division “reinforce and amplify one another.”
“At the center of The Walt Disney Company is the extraordinary connection we have with our fans – a relationship built over generations through the stories and characters that people carry with them throughout their lives,” he said. “There is nothing quite like it, and all these years later, that connection has never been more relevant – or more powerful – than it is today. It remains our greatest competitive advantage. No one else has the ability to do this at the scale, quality, and global reach that Disney can.
“Today – when you consider all the ways that people interact with Disney through all our platforms on a daily basis – the power of those connections is astonishing,” he added. “Looking at our hand, it is an extraordinary one. Take all of this together, and Disney has never been more accessible to more people, in more places, than we are today. And as we look ahead, we will capitalize on our strengths by focusing on coming together as one Disney to deliver a more connected, personalized, and immersive experience to our consumers – wherever they are and whenever they would like to engage with us. The heart of that relationship is – and it will always be – our storytelling.”
For D’Amaro, a theme park veteran, he quickly used the opportunity to highlight Disney’s storytelling prowess.
“There’s no better example than Toy Story. Thirty years ago, Pixar changed movie going forever with the first CG-animated feature,” he said. “Today, ‘To infinity and beyond’ is more than just a catchphrase – it’s an instant association, no matter where you are in the world. These characters now live everywhere our audiences do – in homes across the globe through Disney+ and consumer products, in our hotels, and in every one of our theme parks and cruise ships. And we’re expanding that world with a brand-new story that is just as exciting, fun, and relevant as the films that came before it, when Toy Story 5 hits theaters in June.”
He also announced two new theatrical film dates: The Incredibles 3, which will debut June 16, 2028, and Lilo & Stitch 2 (the live action version), which will debut May 26, 2028.
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