(CNN) – Bob Iger tries to calm a troubled branch of the Disney business.
Disney’s CEO met with heads of the company’s television business Tuesday outside the company’s premises, CNN learned. The meeting came just days after Iger made a candid statement to CNBC’s David Faber that Disney’s linear TV business was “may not be critical” for the entertainment giant, a remark that immediately shocked the industry.
The confession to Faber set off alarm bells at Disney General Entertainment Content, the division of Magic Kingdom that houses its linear TV business and manages typical TV and cable networks such as ABC, Disney Channel, National Geographic and FX.
Staff at the key department (there are thousands and thousands of staff working for DGEC) feel “great fear,” the sources told me, adding that Iger “kept the staff in the dark” by not speaking directly to them communicated surprising interview. There were no company-wide memos. No public gatherings. Nothing but silence since Iger shook the organization with the news.
This Tuesday, the CEO attempted to alleviate some of that uneasiness by answering questions from the company’s senior managers, who were meeting outside of the facilities. He told the assembled staff that the content created by the company’s television production teams was “incredibly valuable to our business,” according to a person familiar with his remarks.
Iger stressed the importance of ABC News: “I’m passionate about news,” Iger said, according to a person familiar with his comments. “It’s important to this company. We need to figure out how to switch to streaming. And I think we will make it. It’s too good, too important, and too much fun.”
Of course, these comments probably won’t completely calm the nerves of those who work in the Disney television business. Although Iger did not specifically tell Faber that he intended to sell the network and linear stations, his comments effectively launched that division.
Expressing your passion for the news doesn’t change that. No one ever doubted Iger’s love for the news business. And it’s no surprise that Iger believes content produced by TV production teams is incredibly valuable.
The big question is — and always has been — whether Disney’s linear TV business is critical, especially as Iger positions the company for the future. Iger has already answered this question openly. “Maybe they’re not critical to Disney,” he told Faber candidly.
As a Disney insider told me on Tuesday, Iger’s comments to management were “typical Gem, except we now know he’s selling the Gem.”
“It’s great to say he loves the jewel. It’s great to say that the jewel matters. It’s great to say the gem is fun,” the Disney insider said. “But he exposed the truth: he wants the highest possible price for the jewel because he can no longer afford it.”