Walt Disney Restructures Entertainment Businesses to Boost Streaming

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Walt Disney Company is displayed above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the closing bell as the market takes a significant dip in New York, U.S., February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Walt Disney Company is displayed above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the closing bell as the market takes a significant dip in New York, U.S., February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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Walt Disney Restructures Entertainment Businesses to Boost Streaming

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Walt Disney Company is displayed above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the closing bell as the market takes a significant dip in New York, U.S., February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Walt Disney Company is displayed above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the closing bell as the market takes a significant dip in New York, U.S., February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Walt Disney Co DIS.N said on Monday it had restructured its media and entertainment businesses to accelerate growth of Disney+ and other streaming services as consumers increasingly gravitate to digital viewing.

Under the reorganization, Disney will separate the development and production of programming from distribution to be more responsive to consumer demands.

The move came days after activist investor Daniel Loeb of hedge fund Third Point urged Disney to forgo a dividend payment and double its programming investment in streaming.

Disney shares rose nearly 5% in after-hours trading to $130.76.

The media and theme parks company launched the Disney+ streaming service in November 2019. It has exceeded its own targets by drawing more than 100 million streaming customers worldwide to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.

Streaming pioneer Netflix Inc NFLX.O boasts 193 million, but has built that customer base over the 13 years.

Loeb had argued that Disney needed to cut its dividend to increase spending on new TV shows and movies to sign up new customers more quickly.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek, in an interview with CNBC, said the company is planning to increase investments in content but he did not say if it was prepared to cut its dividend to finance the strategy.

“Managing content creation distinct from distribution will allow us to be more effective and nimble in making the content consumers want most, delivered in the way they prefer to consume it,” Chapek, who took the company’s top job in February, said in a separate statement.

In a statement on Monday, Loeb welcomed Disney’s revamp of its media and entertainment structure, Reuters reported.

“We are pleased to see that Disney is focused on the same opportunity that makes us such enthusiastic shareholders: investing heavily in the (direct-to-consumer) business, positioning Disney to thrive in the next era of entertainment,” Loeb said.

Under the changes, Disney’s studios, general entertainment and sports business would come under one division while distribution and commercialization would fall under a separate global unit.

Disney said its creative teams would develop and produce programming for streaming and traditional platforms, and the distribution group would decide where customers would see it.

Chapek told CNBC there would be layoffs as a result of “centralization” of functions but did not say how many.

Kareem Daniel, formerly president of consumer products, games and publishing, will oversee Disney’s new media and entertainment distribution group, the company said.

Alan Horn and Alan Bergman will continue to head Disney’s studio operations, which will manage programming from big franchises including Marvel, Star Wars, Disney animation and Pixar. Peter Rice will run general entertainment programming and Jimmy Pitaro will oversee sports.

AT&T T.N, which debuted the HBO Max streaming service in May, reorganized in August to combine its film and TV operations under one studio head to better compete in the streaming media wars.

Disney said it would hold an investor day on Dec. 10 to provide more information about its strategy.



Fans Greet K-Pop Stars Jimin and Jung Kook of BTS Discharged from Military Service 

BTS members Jung Kook (L) and Jimin salute their fans at a public stadium in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea, 11 June 2025, after completing their 18 months of mandatory military service. (EPA)
BTS members Jung Kook (L) and Jimin salute their fans at a public stadium in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea, 11 June 2025, after completing their 18 months of mandatory military service. (EPA)
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Fans Greet K-Pop Stars Jimin and Jung Kook of BTS Discharged from Military Service 

BTS members Jung Kook (L) and Jimin salute their fans at a public stadium in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea, 11 June 2025, after completing their 18 months of mandatory military service. (EPA)
BTS members Jung Kook (L) and Jimin salute their fans at a public stadium in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea, 11 June 2025, after completing their 18 months of mandatory military service. (EPA)

Hundreds of fans gathered in the early morning hours to catch a glimpse of K-pop superstars Jimin and Jung Kook, the latest and final members of BTS to be discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service.

The pair wore their military uniforms Wednesday, saluted and addressed fans who had assembled to see the pair after their discharge.

Jung Kook thanked the journalists and fans who traveled to see him and Jimin after their discharge and acknowledged how different it was to be back in the spotlight. "Actually, it's been so long since I've been in front of cameras, and I didn't even put on makeup, so I'm a bit embarrassed," he said. "I don't know what to say."

The pair enlisted in December 2023, one day after RM and V did the same. The latter were discharged on Tuesday.

Supporters traveled from around the world to the public sports ground where the meet-and-greet took place. It was moved from the military base's gate for safety reasons. Color-wrapped buses bearing BTS members' faces lined the streets while red and yellow balloons floated above and a decorated food truck provided free coffee and water, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Many supporters wore masks, conscious of potential backlash after the band's label discouraged attendance, citing safety concerns. Despite the challenges, fans like Anaesi from Portugal said the 20-hour journey to Yeoncheon, a town near the tense border with North Korea, was worth it.

"Portugal is a small country, but inside of Portugal, BTS is a king," she said. Anaesi, who discovered BTS on YouTube, said the group "saved" her from depression. "So for me BTS is my angel," she said.

She displayed a colorful upper arm tattoo featuring a golden shield emblazoned with "ARMY" and an eagle above it, complemented by Korean text listing BTS members' names and those of her friends.

V thanked fans Tuesday for their patience in waiting for him and RM's return and teased the band's reunion. "If you can just wait a little bit longer, we will return with a really amazing performance."

The seven singers of the popular K-pop band plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025 after they finish their service.

Six of the group's seven members served in the army, while Suga is fulfilling his duty as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service. He will be discharged later this month.

Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren't subject to such privileges.

However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service until age 30 after South Korea's National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30.

There was heated public debate in 2022 over whether to offer special exemptions of mandatory military service for BTS members, until the group's management agency announced in October 2022 that all seven members would fulfill their duties.