Why Disney CEO Bob Iger dumped Twitter deal
Disneyland bills itself as “the happiest place on Earth" but users of Twitter don't necessarily have the same view, in part, due to vitriolic memes and endless arguments.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 111.56 | -2.38 | -2.09% |
| TWTR | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
That's one of the main reasons why Disney CEO Bob Iger passed on buying the social media platform because it just didn't feel right.
“There were Disney brand issues, the whole impact of technology on society,” Iger told The New York Times. “The nastiness is extraordinary" he noted as part of an interview related to his new memoir "The Ride of a Lifetime.”
Iger said Twitter had more troubles than he wanted to take on, according to the report.
“I like looking at my Twitter newsfeed because I want to follow 15, 20 different subjects,” he said. “Then you turn and look at your notifications and you’re immediately saying, ‘Why am I doing this? Why do I endure this pain?’”
Disney had emerged as a potential buyer for Twitter in 2016 as it sought ways to help modernize the distribution of its media. It had recently invested in Hulu, as well as some other tech companies that didn’t fare as well as the streaming platform.
But when Iger decided Twitter wasn’t a good fit for Disney, he called Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey at the last minute to let him down, according to the report.
“Like a lot of these platforms, they have the ability to do a lot of good in our world,” Iger told the Times. “They also have an ability to do a lot of bad. I didn’t want to take that on.”
