Analysts have been pitching the idea of Apple buying Disney for many years, and to most of us it has seemed a rather ridiculous one. The supposed reasoning for it has always been absurdly weak.
Personally, I remain extremely skeptical. But the idea is now getting new traction, and being taken seriously in some unlikely quarters – and even I have to admit that there is some merit to the latest incarnation of the idea-that-will-not-die …
Speculation dates back to 2006
The idea kicked off when Disney bought Pixar back in 2006.
The “logic” then was: Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs was both chairman and majority owner of Pixar; the acquisition got him a seat at the table at Disney; he’d long been friends with Disney CEO Bob Iger. So … something something … Apple should buy Disney.
Iger himself rekindled talk of an acquisition in his 2019 autobiography, The Ride of a Lifetime. In it, he said that perhaps it would have happened, in an alternate universe.
I believe that if Steve were still alive, we would have combined our companies, or at least discussed the possibility very seriously.
Analysts ignored the alternate reality part, as well as Iger confirming that he and Steve had never actually discussed the possibility, and ran with a “might have happened, so should happen” theme.
Rebirth of the Apple buying Disney narrative
The launch of Apple TV+ again got analysts talking. Apple is moving into an area that has some overlap with Disney, therefore Apple should buy Disney.
Vision Pro again saw the rekindling of the idea, with similar logic. Apple has a device in need of exciting 3D content; Disney can produce that kind of content; therefore Apple should buy Disney.
By that reasoning, of course, Apple should also buy TSMC, Foxconn, Sony, and a few thousand other companies.
But, more recently, two things have changed.
Disney may sell off its TV business
Apple acquiring Disney as a whole never made sense. Why would the company want theme parks, licensing deals for soft toys, and cruise liners? (Hmm… floating Apple Store that you can’t leave for two weeks – okay, maybe that one.)
But after Iger’s return to the CEO role last year, he’s been engaged in a large-scale cost-cutting operation. He cut 7,000 jobs, and is planning further measures intended to put the company on a more solid financial footing. Altogether, Iger wants to cut literally billions of dollars in costs.
More importantly, he indicated that the company may well get rid of loss-making and less profitable parts of the business, and that could well include some or all of its TV business. In that light, Apple picking up at least part of Disney would be a much more credible prospect.
The streaming video sector is in trouble
We’ve seen streaming video companies struggling to make money, and hefty price rises being introduced across the industry as they seek to survive.
A report earlier this week pointed to a popular basket of streaming video services now costing more than the average cable TV package.
If Disney does indeed sell off its TV business, might that include Disney+? Some think so, as Hollywood Reporter notes.
Some Hollywood executives have been anticipating a future in which the studio herd will continue to thin — dramatically. “There will end up being three or four platforms and everybody else gets hollowed out and acquired,” says one industry veteran. “There will be Apple, Amazon, Netflix and one other.”
Even my fellow long-term skeptic Jason Snell over at Macworld may now be ready to #believe.
That speculation was always ridiculous to me. But these are different times, and Disney and Apple are very different companies than they were a couple of decades ago. This is why, when The Hollywood Reporter took the possibility of an Apple purchase of Disney seriously, I realized that the speculation I used to roll my eyes at when I was the editor of Macworld now seems…not that implausible, actually.
Apple buying Disney is no longer a bat-sh*t crazy idea
Top comment by Zaire Sophian Bradley
I dont… understand where this is coming from. These companies have radically different products and strategies. To even assume Apple would buy Disney requires ignoring key facts about both companies just to make market noise.
Apple & Disney market differently, develop video content for different reasons, even their pricing strategies are different. Apple created Apply TV+ as a way to get you locked into the Apple ecosystem to buy devices. Disney creates shows as a marketing strategy with toys, rides, cruise ships etc.
Apple in the past has purchased companies that add to its already existing product line up. They needed help with AR so they purchased an AR company. They needed help with maps so they purchased a map company.
The only large purchase Apple has made to push into a new product line was Beats and there have been no similar purchases since.
There is literally 0 reason to do this. The regulatory processes and integration would be a nightmare alone. Analyst are just bored.
To be clear, I remain skeptical. I still think there is zero chance of Apple buying Disney as a whole.
As for buying parts of the business, I still don’t expect this to happen. But… I do have to admit that the idea isn’t as dumb as it once was. I don’t think it will happen, but I do now acknowledge that it could (though regulators might have something to say about that).
What about you? Do you think it’s now a serious possibility? Do you expect it to happen? Please take our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments.
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