Bob Iger’s first year back at Disney was anything but smooth

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Nov. 21. I’m Laura Blasey, assistant editor on The Times’ newsletters team and editor of Essential California. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Bob Iger’s first year back at Disney was anything but smooth
• Newsom faces scrutiny despite swift I-10 response
• How a dog became a town’s mayor
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

An unhappy 100th birthday for Disney

This was supposed to be Disney’s year. CEO Bob Iger was back to stabilize the ship heading into its 100th birthday in October. Instead, twin strikes, Marvel fatigue and a bumpy streaming market have left the company lurching into its second century.

Disney faces a gantlet of unique challenges

Industry insiders hoped that Iger would bring the magic touch he’d become known for during his first stint as CEO. But fixing Disney’s problems isn’t that simple, my colleague Meg James reported this week. Here’s why.

• Audiences haven’t responded well to the content. Insiders point to an overproduction of programming intended to feed streaming demand. But both the quantity and quality have turned off fans. Recent releases from Marvel, Star Wars and other Disney properties have performed poorly.
• Parks, cruises and hotels have struggled to rebound amid missteps. Extended pandemic closures shut off a major income source for the company; park pricing changes that Iger later acknowledged were “too aggressive” upset visitors; and courts handed workers a victory in a long-running class-action lawsuit over low worker pay.
• An ongoing federal corruption investigation has brought an unwelcome spotlight. The investigation into the influence of powerful business interests in Anaheim includes Disney. My colleague Adam Elmahrek detailed the cozy relationship between city officials and company employees earlier this year.

Strikes and streaming drama (industry-wide woes) have changed the company’s trajectory

Though the Writers Guild of America’s 11,500 members reached an agreement to resume work in September and SAG-AFTRA is following closely behind with a tentative agreement (union members still need to ratify it), this summer’s strikes cost the industry months of work.

And even more workers took steps to organize. Walt Disney Pictures visual effects workers voted to unionize in October and production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios unionized this month.

Streaming and the rise of Netflix have also shaken traditional media companies. Disney has lost more than $10 billion in streaming over the last four years, Meg reports. Warner Bros., NBCUniversal and Paramount Global followed Disney’s lead, and all now face an increasingly volatile market.

Streaming has led viewership for traditional TV to collapse, but it still isn’t profitable, my colleagues Wendy Lee and Thomas Suh Lauder reported. And consumers are limiting their subscriptions as they tighten household spending.

Some insiders wonder if Bob Iger is still Disney’s best hope

“There used to be a day when Bob Iger and Disney could stabilize the ground beneath them,” one analyst told Meg. “But that day has come and gone — for the whole industry. Technology has altered the foundation, and he can’t stabilize it the way he used to.”

Iger, who plans to remain CEO until 2026, declined to comment for the piece, but has said he’s committed to addressing the company’s problems and setting higher standards for Disney’s offerings.

“We’re all rolling up our sleeves, including myself, to do just that,” he said in a Nov. 8 earnings call. “We have obviously great assets [and] great stories to tell.”

Still, insiders and industry experts remain uncertain about the company’s direction. Will Iger’s second stint as CEO preserve his reputation for a magic touch, or tarnish it? That might depend on how Iger and the company navigate 2024.

More on Disney

• Bob Iger was brought back to fix Disney. No one said it would be easy.
• Seven ways Walt’s company forever changed entertainment.
• Inside the Burbank entertainment giant’s pivot to streaming.

Today’s top stories

Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, speaks alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday about the reopening of the 10 Freeway.

(Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)

I-10 fire

• Gov. Gavin Newsom responded quickly, and very publicly, to the L.A. freeway fire but still faces scrutiny.
• The 10 Freeway reopens ahead of schedule, but it’s still not clear when repairs will finish.
• The underpass lot below Interstate 10 failed inspection months before the fire.

Crime and courts

• The California Supreme Court says PG&E can’t be sued over safety-related power shutoffs.
• A lawsuit alleges a close advisor to L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón purposefully delayed the release of information on an excessive force case.
• Video appears to show a California Highway Patrol officer fatally shoot a man on the 105 Freeway.
• Two more Los Angeles police officers have come forward to allege they were sexually assaulted by fellow members of the LAPD’s amateur football team.

Business and labor

• A fifth Southern California hotel has reached a tentative agreement with striking workers.
• The video game industry boomed during the pandemic. Now thousands are being laid off.

Politics

• Rep. Tony Cárdenas won’t seek reelection in 2024, setting up race for San Fernando Valley seat.
• Can Kamala Harris bail out Biden with young voters? Democrats hope so.

More big stories

• For the first time since record keeping began, Earth has surpassed a critical temperature threshold that scientists have long warned could unleash the worst effects of climate change.
• Pro-Palestinian marches are far more frequent than pro-Israeli ones. How U.S. reaction to the Israel-Hamas war has changed.
• A hiker has been found dead in Grand Canyon, the second in two months.
• Three people were hurt at Disneyland as Santa Anas topple a light pole and blast the region with wind.
• The Rolling Stones announce 2024 North American tour that features a stop in L.A.

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Commentary and opinions

• Gustavo Arellano: A failed recall heralds a new era for Latino politics in Orange County.
• Opinion: California’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising — and we’re not even counting them all.
• Editorial: Are pandas headed back to California to work their diplomatic magic?
• Editorial: Martin Luther King Hospital is in jeopardy. This critical medical facility must get the funding it needs.
• Suzy Exposito: They tried to Eurowash the Latin Grammys. Voters said otherwise.
• Harry Litman: Trump called the latest 14th Amendment ruling a ‘victory.’ He couldn’t be more wrong.
• Opinion: Gaza’s devastation and Palestine’s future will require a new Marshall plan.
  

Today’s great reads

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

The unusual story of how a dog became a town’s mayor. Most politicians caught with their tail between their legs are voted out of office or run out of town, but not the mayor of Idyllwild. Here the top dog is an actual dog.

Other great reads

• What can you build on L.A.’s steep, narrow lots? How about this surprisingly roomy home.
• How one UCLA alumnus persevered amid the Maui wildfire.
• How a beloved L.A. record store unearthed a long-lost Gram Parsons recording.
• A Mexican American professor who struggled with impostor phenomenon helps others overcome it.
• Travis Kelce’s old tweets resurfaced amid his high-profile romance with singer Taylor Swift and he’s praising her in a new interview: ‘I’m learning every day.’

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

The entryway at the historic Mission Inn shows off some of its extravagant holiday lights.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• 🎄SoCal’s most overlooked holiday escape is a place you’ve probably driven past.
• 🔥There’s a vintage matchbook for everything — especially at this collector’s paradise in L.A.
• 🌮 Beef bourguignon tortas, duck birria tacos and more to eat in Downtown L.A. right now.

Staying in

• 🎤 TikTok star or respected stand-up? Trevor Wallace shows us it’s cool to be both in his debut special on Amazon Prime Video.
• 📺 A Christmas tree contest and a hunt to uncover Mel’s father: The holidays come to ‘Virgin River.’
• 🦃 Here’s a recipe for salt and Sichuan pepper dry-brined turkey.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas passes by Sphere during practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Myung J. Chun during a Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix practice session. For the first time in more than 40 years, Formula One is back in Las Vegas.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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