Disney CEO Bob Iger is focusing on making Disney+ more profitable.
In a town hall meeting on Monday in Burbank, California, Iger reportedly shared his plans to boost the streaming platform’s bottom line.
“Instead of chasing (subscribers) with aggressive marketing and aggressive spend on content, we have to start chasing profitability,” Iger said, according to Reuters.
Iger also shared that he will uphold the hiring freeze that former CEO Bob Chapek instituted while he assesses Disney’s cost structure. The CEO also shut down speculation that Disney would seek to merge with Apple.
Iger was reinstated as CEO on Nov. 20, replacing Chapek. The former CEO’s departure came in the wake of a disappointing earnings announcement, where the company’s direct-to-consumer segment lost $1.5 billion. Chapek had a rocky tenure, which included a public dispute with Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson over the decision to release the movie both in theaters and online.
In the company’s final quarter report of 2022, Disney+ reported a total of 164.2 million subscribers, up from 152.1 million in the third quarter. To help reduce its profit loss, Disney+ will launch a ad-supported tier subscription on Dec. 8 for $7.99 and $10.99 for ad-free.