Disney might be the most valuable brand in the world. But are its best days behind it?
Founded 100 years ago as a cartoon studio, the business has grown into a conglomerate that includes movie studios, sports broadcasters, theme parks, and now a streaming service. As Ben says, “Running Disney is almost like running a small country.” Today, the ≈ $200B entertainment giant faces unique challenges and opportunities caused by the decline of cable and the rise of streaming.
To explain how the business fits together, I’m joined once again by Ben Weiss, the Chief Investment Officer of 8th & Jackson. We talk about Disney’s famous flywheel, its push into streaming, and why it’s such a difficult business to manage. Please enjoy this business breakdown of Disney.
Show Notes
(00:00:00) – Introduction
(00:02:23) – (First question) – Overview of Disney and their size and scale today
(00:05:15) – Major milestones across Disney’s one-hundred-year history
(00:07:17)- What lead to their decision to buy ABC and subsequently ESPN
(00:08:00) – Disney’s Original Flywheel; How Disney’s flywheel compounds on top of itself
(00:10:11) – Characterizing their competitors and the markets they play in
(00:12:58) – Overview of Disney’s theme park business
(00:15:07) – Fixed costs, growth, and thoughts about volume for their theme parks
(00:17:40) – Their cable business and the drivers of growth and success for it
(00:21:33) – Netflix: The Original; What’s different about Disney+ compared to Netflix and why they’re losing money
(00:23:14) – Disney+ versus Netflix in the competitive landscape
(00:24:45) – How far can Disney extend their content offering without degrading their brand
(00:27:42) – Overview of Disney’s movie business and its growth levers
(00:29:04) – Creativity, Inc.; A revenue case study of the Cars franchise
(00:33:08) – Company culture in running an effective enterprise as big as Disney
(00:35:43) – The recent leadership transition and his thoughts on it as an investor
(00:37:24) – Reasons behind the Marvel acquisition in 2009
(00:40:05) – What will have to go right if Disney became the next trillion-dollar company
(00:43:32) – Possible reasons why Disney could fail over the coming decade
(00:45:56) – Lessons for builders and investors when studying Disney’s story
(00:48:54) – Learn more about Disney; Creativity, Inc., The Ride of a Lifetime