ORLANDO, Fla. – Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger admitted the theme park giant’s quest for savings—which resulted in park price increases and job cuts—might have been “a little bit too aggressive,” according to a report from the LA Times.
Iger spoke about the company’s pricing strategies at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Thursday, adding that some of the financial moves made had negative consequences, the LA Times reported.
“In our zeal to grow profits, we may have been a little bit too aggressive about some of our pricing,” Iger told the LA Times. “I think there’s a way to continue to grow that business, but be smarter about how we price so that we maintain that brand value of accessibility.”
According to the LA Times, Iger said on Thursday he would “continue to listen to consumers” and “continue to adjust” as the company realized some financial moves, including price increases at Disney’s parks, backfired.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
This also comes as the company installed an ad-free version of the Disney+ streaming service for $10.99 a month, up by $3 a month from the subscription with ads.
“One of the key things that we have to figure out is a pricing strategy that makes sense,” Iger said to the LA Times. “In our zeal to grow global (subscribers), I think we were off in terms of that pricing strategy. And we’re now starting to learn more about it and to adjust accordingly.”
Since Iger returned at the helm of the company in November 2022, replacing Bob Chapek, Disney earned $1.28 billion, or 70 cents per share, in the three months through Dec. 31 compared to a net income of $1.1 billion, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier.
As of February, Disney reported revenue grew 8% to $23.51 billion and sales at its parks, experiences and products segment grew 21% to $8.74 billion. On the other hand, the company’s direct-to-consumer business, which includes its streaming services, posted a $1.1 billion operating loss amid higher programming and production costs at Disney+ and Hulu, ending the quarter with 161.8 million subscribers, down 1% from since Oct. 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Use the form below to sign up for the ClickOrlando.com In the Loop: Theme Park Scoops newsletter, sent every Friday morning.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: