Disney feels pretty good about its cable networks, actually

Sorry to those other entertainment conglomerates, but Disney is—as usual—built different. Streaming has disrupted everything so thoroughly that alarms have been sounding about the extinction of linear television, and as such, companies like NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery have been dropping or restructuring their cable networks. But according to Disney boss Bob Iger, the House of Mouse does not have that problem. 

“We actually are at a point where the linear networks at our company are not a burden at all. They’re actually an asset,” he told investors on a post-earnings conference call (via Deadline). “We are programming them, and we are funding them at levels that actually give us the ability to enhance our overall television business that obviously includes and leans into streaming, which, let’s face it, is really the future of the television business."

Streaming often seems to be an unsustainable money pit that requires the sacrifice of all other modes of entertainment in order to stay afloat. But in some cases, linear and streaming have indeed achieved a tentative coexistence. The biggest content success on streaming platforms tends to be licensed content, not originals, so it benefits the streaming business to have alternate sources from which to license. And streaming can help to boost viewership for network shows. "People are coming to these shows in all the places we have them," an NBCU exec said in December of last year. "Some might [watch] on linear or on DVRs, and some people might be seeking them out on Peacock. But it’s great to have the ability to have both and then the audience can find the shows where they are."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger reportedly explored selling some linear assets including the ABC broadcast network and the FX cable channel in 2023. Today, Iger "won’t rule out the possibility some of the smaller networks in some form or another being configured differently in terms of how we bring them to market, maybe even ownership, but we’re not right now," he said. "We actually feel good about the hand that we have and the manner in which we’re managing both the linear and the streaming businesses across the board."