Everything you need to know about Disney, ESPN, and Bob Iger’s return as CEO – The Verge

OpenAI’s billion-dollar Disney deal puts Mickey Mouse and Marvel in Sora

2025-12-11T10:54:37-05:00

A new three-year licensing agreement announced between Disney and ChatGPT operator OpenAI will allow the Sora video generator to create "user-prompted social videos" that feature more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. "The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works," said Disney CEO Bob Iger.

According to OpenAI's blog post announcing the deal:

Sora will be able to genera …

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Netflix signs a three-year deal to stream MLB live events and games

2025-11-20T05:31:51-05:00

Today, Major League Baseball announced new media rights deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Netflix that run for the next three seasons. The Netflix deal brings live MLB games to its platform and continues to grow its library of sports programming in an arrangement that Front Office Sports reports is worth about $50 million per year.

Netflix will stream a single game on Opening Night of each season, the Home Run Derby, and one "special event game" each year. In 2026, that will cover the "Field of Dreams" game broadcast from Dyersville, Iowa, on August 13th, 2026, between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies.

The games signed up by …

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ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV

2025-11-03T19:26:16-05:00

More than 20 Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, ABC, and Nat Geo, have been pulled from YouTube TV after Google and Disney failed to reach a new content distribution agreement. The previous contract expired at 11:59 PM ET on October 30th, and it's unclear when, or if, the two companies will reach a new deal.

The blackout was prompted by disagreements over carriage fees, with Google saying in a blog post published last week that Disney was "proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers." That same post was updated at 11:15PM on Thursday, claiming that Disney had followed through on threats to pull its ch …

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Disney is suing YouTube for poaching a key media and sports executive

2025-05-22T19:54:54-04:00

As YouTube prepares to air an exclusive NFL opening week game for free on September 5th, it's hiring former Disney exec Justin Connolly. The move has caused Disney to respond by suing both YouTube and Connolly, saying he was in the middle of leading the team negotiating Disney's license renewal with YouTube.

He'd most recently been running the streaming services and linear media networks at Disney, and will take over as YouTube's new global head of media and sports, as first reported by Bloomberg. After spending more than 20 years at Disney and ESPN, he'll be managing YouTube's relationship with the media companies that distribute content o …

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ESPN’s standalone streaming app launches this fall for $30 a month

2025-06-09T20:18:56-04:00

Disney is launching its direct-to-consumer ESPN streaming service this fall. The service, which will simply be called "ESPN," will cost $29.99 per month for the "unlimited" plan, which will include all of ESPN's linear channels.

Disney will also offer ESPN's unlimited plan annually for $299.99, which saves you about $60 compared to paying monthly.

For those who prefer to stick with the offerings included in the existing ESPN Plus service, the network will still offer the same programming in a new "select" plan that starts at $11.99 per month (current ESPN Plus subscribers will automatically be moved to ESPN select). You'll also be able to …

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ESPN is testing a generative AI avatar called ‘FACTS’

2024-11-15T16:51:39-05:00

ESPN is testing an AI-generated avatar with the Saturday college football show SEC Nation. Dubbed FACTS, it's going to be "…promoting education and fun around sports analytics" with information drawn from ESPN Analytics, which includes data like the Football Power Index (FPI), player and team statistics, and game schedules. We haven't seen the avatar in action, but it sounds like a bot-ified version of stats encyclopedia Howie Schwab, who was ESPN's first statistician and eventually the star of a mid-2000s game show, Stump the Schwab.

ESPN has already brought generative AI to its website with AI-written game recaps. FACTS is still in develo …

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Disney’s streaming business is finally finding its footing

2024-11-14T09:20:10-05:00

Disney made money off its streaming business for the second time in a row. During Q4 2024, profit from Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus soared to $321 million, up from $47 million last quarter.

During an earnings call on Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said around 60 percent of all new subscribers are choosing Disney Plus' ad-supported plan. Meanwhile, 37 percent of total subscribers in the US are currently subscribed to the option, which has become a major revenue driver for streaming services.

"It's not just about raising pricing," Iger said. "It's about moving consumers to the advertiser-supported side of the streaming platform… the prici …

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Disney’s still looking for a new CEO — but not this year or next year

2024-10-21T09:12:04-04:00

Disney will announce a replacement for CEO Bob Iger in "early 2026," according to an update from the company on Monday.

The entertainment giant has been on the hunt for a new leader since Iger's return to Disney in 2022. Last year Iger extended his contract with Disney until December 31st, 2026, and, as The New York Times notes, delayed retirement four times during his previous run as the company's CEO before eventually handing control over to Bob Chapek in 2020.

Even though we're still years away from hearing who will replace Iger, CNBC reports that Disney has interviewed several potential candidates in "recent weeks," including ESPN chai …

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A Disney, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle is on the way

2024-05-08T18:33:48-04:00

There's a new streaming bundle coming to town. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to offer Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max in a bundle that will become available in the US this summer.

The new bundle will include both ad-supported and ad-free options, but there's still no word on how much it will cost. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery say they will share "additional details" about the bundle in the "coming months." Once available, you'll be able to purchase the bundle from Disney Plus, Hulu, or Max's website.

This fall, the Disney-owned ESPN will also offer a live sports streaming service with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox.

The …

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Disney’s streaming business gets closer to becoming profitable

2024-05-07T09:12:40-04:00

Disney Plus and Hulu posted a profit for the first time today. In Disney's earnings report released on Tuesday, the company revealed that both streaming services made $47 million combined this past quarter - a huge turnaround from the $587 million loss reported at the same time last year.

But Disney's streaming business wasn't entirely profitable. ESPN Plus still lost $65 million, dragging its combined streaming earnings $18 million in the red. Despite this, the narrowing losses mark a huge milestone for Disney as it continues to invest more in streaming. The entertainment company says it expects its streaming business to become profitable …

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