By Erich Schwartzel and Joe Flint
LOS ANGELES -- The departure of Kevin Mayer -- just six months
after overseeing the launch of Walt Disney Co.'s streaming service,
Disney+ -- leaves a big hole at what has become a bright spot for a
company widely hit by the pandemic.
While the rest of Disney, including its movie studio, ESPN
sports empire and especially its theme parks, has been rocked by
the coronavirus, Disney+ has flourished, picking up more than 54
million subscribers since it launched late last year.
Still, the streaming platform faces speed bumps. The shutdown of
most television and movie production has hampered plans to increase
its original content, and new rivals, including AT&T Inc.'s HBO
Max and Comcast Corp.'s Peacock, are coming on the scene.
After more than two decades climbing the ranks at Disney, Mr.
Mayer is leaving his role as head of direct-to-consumer and
international operations to become chief executive of short-video
app TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant Bytedance Ltd. Disney
tapped Rebecca Campbell, who has held several senior posts at the
company and is one of its highest-ranking female executives, to
succeed him.
Mr. Mayer was put in charge of Disney's streaming strategy after
years of crafting the company's biggest deals. Being appointed to
oversee the company's priority was seen as a vote of confidence in
the executive, whom many considered a candidate for the CEO job
that eventually went to Bob Chapek.
He has instead become the latest top-ranking lieutenant of
Robert Iger, the company's longtime CEO-turned-executive chairman,
to leave after a succession battle and as the company faces the
challenges posed by the pandemic.
In an interview Monday, Mr. Mayer said he left not because he
lost out on the CEO job, but that the TikTok role was too good to
pass up. "The only reason I'm leaving is for what I think of as a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said.
Several shows being produced by Disney's Marvel Studios for
debuts this year and in 2021 have been delayed by the production
shutdown. Disney has also pushed would-be theatrical releases to
Disney+ in the coming months, including the children's book
adaptation "Artemis Fowl" and a filmed version of the blockbuster
musical "Hamilton."
Mr. Mayer said he wasn't concerned by new streaming competitors
entering the fray. "The marketplace is a big growing pie," he
said.
Mr. Mayer had little creative experience before taking on
Disney+. Some shows the service ordered ended up being shifted to
sister platform Hulu, including "High Fidelity," because they were
deemed too adult. A reboot of the Disney Channel show "Lizzie
McGuire" for Disney+ has also had creative issues, and its future
is in limbo as Disney and show star Hilary Duff try to get on the
same page, according to people familiar with the matter.
Since the pandemic forced all employees to work from home, Mr.
Mayer has been managing the rollout of Disney+ in several new
international markets. The success of those launches, he said, had
persuaded him that the service could continue without him. "I am
convinced that this team can replicate these launches and continue
to grow the service in my absence," he said.
Mr. Mayer's portfolio at Disney includes more than just Disney+.
He oversees other streaming efforts at Hulu and ESPN+, along with
global advertising sales and international distribution for the
Disney Channel and other networks.
Ms. Campbell, the new head of Disney+, rose through Disney's ABC
television-stations division. She started as a programming
executive and then general manager at WPVI-TV Philadelphia before
running the flagship WABC-TV New York station and then the whole
group.
She is charismatic and well liked within the company, people who
have worked with her said, and is seen as a loyal soldier. She is
also close to Mr. Iger, Disney insiders said.
In 2017, Ms. Campbell was named to a senior position with the
corporate division that includes Disney+, heading operations in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After being replaced last year
in that role by an executive who came over in Disney's acquisition
of Twentieth Century Fox film and TV studios, she was named
president of Disneyland Resort.
Like Mr. Mayer, Ms. Campbell isn't seen as a creative executive,
although ABC's daytime-programming division reported to her when
she ran the station group. While she has limited experience in the
streaming world, she has more operational experience than her
predecessor did when he started at the service. A Disney
spokeswoman said Ms. Campbell wasn't available to comment.
Mr. Mayer is joining TikTok as usage of the short-video app is
surging, drawing scrutiny from some lawmakers worried about Chinese
tech intrusions in the U.S. "This is a natural next step for me,"
Mr. Mayer said. "It's a new way for me to have one more go at
it."
He isn't the first would-be Disney CEO to leave the company
after getting passed over for the top job.
In early 2015, longtime Disney executive Tom Staggs was named
chief operating officer of the company, beating out finance chief
Jay Rasulo, who left the company in the following months. Mr.
Staggs was widely seen as Mr. Iger's heir apparent, but in April
2016 he announced his departure after being told the Disney board
wanted to broaden its search for the next CEO.
The next bake-off came in March 2018, when Mr. Iger reorganized
the company and placed Mr. Mayer in charge of the
direct-to-consumer and international divisions, which included the
company's burgeoning streaming efforts. Mr. Chapek, another
longtime Disney executive who was at the time in charge of parks,
added consumer products to his portfolio.
Both were considered possible CEOs, but Mr. Mayer had been seen
inside Disney and on Wall Street as the favorite, given his role in
major Disney deals and his stewardship of the important streaming
strategy.
--Shan Li contributed to this article.
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com and Joe
Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 19, 2020 09:20 ET (13:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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