Mr. A spokesman for Iker said he was not available for an interview.
In recent months, as Disney’s problems have mounted, senior executives have privately warned Mr. In his statement Wednesday, the Disney board was the one pushing for the extension, and Mr. Igar pointed out that it was not. Due to his series of contract renewals, a narrative has developed in Hollywood, rightly or wrongly, that he is reluctant to step down. “The board determined it was in the best interest of shareholders to extend his tenure, and he accepted our request,” Disney chairman Mark G. Parker said in the statement, Mr. Iger has already “set Disney on the right strategic path for current value creation.
Disney shares are trading at around $90, down 3 percent from a year ago and down 54 percent from a peak in March 2021. Mr. Shares were largely flat in after-hours trading following the news of Iger’s extension.
The challenge is that Disney is dealing with problems in nearly every area, including new questions about its movie studios, which have seen summer box office disappointments with “Elemental,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” and, to a lesser extent, “The Little Mermaid.” Disney has been maneuvering to buy full control of Hulu, but such a purchase would be expensive, and Disney is about $45 billion in debt, partly because of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Disney’s revenue engine over the past 30 years — including traditional television, ESPN — has become a shadow of its former self, the result of cord-cutting, advertising weakness and sports programming spending. Streaming services will bring the company back to growth, Mr. Igar makes a bet. But Disney+ has been shedding subscribers, and a broader streaming division remains unprofitable, losing nearly $2 billion since the start of the fiscal year.
Disney is also struggling with a prolonged screenwriters’ strike; And contract negotiations between the studios and SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors, are going badly and could lead to a strike as early as Thursday.
