Disney reportedly expected to name Bob Iger’s successor next month

Round 2 of the battle to succeed Disney CEO Bob Iger is entering the final stages.

Iger, the longtime Disney executive who took the CEO job in 2005 before exiting the top role in February 2020, but then assumed the position again in November 2022 after an ill-fated stint from original successor Bob Chapek, will again exit the storied entertainment company when his contract expires later this year. As such, Disney’s second go-around to find Iger’s successor has been simmering underneath the surface for some time.

The rubber is about to meet the road at the Mouse House.

According to a report by Meg James in the Los Angeles Times, “Disney is expected to name Iger’s successor next month,” with four internal candidates serving as the CEO’s most likely replacements. Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s theme parks business, is seen as the likely successor, though the company has been tight-lipped about the process. Television and streaming executive Dana Walden is another candidate observers “aren’t counting out,” per the report. In addition to the two front-runners, movie studio head Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro are also said to be candidates. Pitaro, it should be noted, publicly thwarted rumors about his candidacy last March, saying he was in his “dream job” as head of ESPN.

Regardless, whoever gets the job will have final say about the direction ESPN takes in the coming years. For example, it’s likely that ESPN will still need to consummate its equity deal with the NFL when Disney’s new CEO takes over. That alone will be a tricky regulatory process for the new leader to navigate.

Then, medium- to long-term, there are always questions about ESPN’s overall fit within the Disney portfolio, and whether the asset would be better served as a separate entity from Disney altogether. As we noted in our year-end write-up on ESPN, the network is at a crossroads, simultaneously nursing its lucrative linear television business while building for a digital future. As ESPN’s linear business continues its inevitable decline, its future becomes more uncertain. Disney’s new CEO will be tasked with making some key decisions regarding ESPN’s future.

In his two decades at Disney’s helm, Iger oversaw ESPN’s ascent into the company’s biggest revenue driver, and its steady decline mirroring the rest of the pay TV business. His successor will face an entirely new set of challenges for the Worldwide Leader in Sports.