Apparently Disney considered buying Twitter, but Bob Iger found it too nasty. The Disney CEO has been very busy as of late, as the gargantuan family entertainment corporation seems to be growing at an unstoppable rate. Having made moves over the course of the last few years to acquire some pretty hefty hitters in terms of film and television, Iger has somewhat modestly taken on the role of the most powerful person working in entertainment today.
The purchase of Lucasfilm back in 2012 has taken the tales of a galaxy far, far away to another level, complete with a highly successful new franchise and heaps of new Star Wars spin off films and television shows in the works. The acquisition of a large chunk of 21st Century Fox has been another major accomplishment for Iger and Disney, providing new ownership over more very successful media icons such as The Simpsons, as well as the majority of the Marvel Comics catalogue of superheroes and villains. At present time, the world is still awaiting the launch of Disney+, an exclusive paid subscription streaming service that is set to challenge Netflix’s supremacy and people are seriously starting to wonder exactly what is next for Iger and the Disney corporation.
In a new interview with The New York Times, Iger has, curiously enough, made it clear what he isn’t setting his sights on. Despite previously considering the purchase of wildly popular social media platform Twitter, the Mouse House CEO ultimately decided against it, stating that the “nastiness” of Twitter “is extraordinary.” Iger had initially believed the often-controversial platform was a suitable method by which Disney could modernize its distribution. But after careful consideration, he found that Twitter just wasn’t the place for Disney:
“The troubles were greater than I wanted to take on, greater than I thought it was responsible for us to take on. There were Disney brand issues, the whole impact of technology on society. The nastiness is extraordinary. I like looking at my Twitter newsfeed because I want to follow 15, 20 different subjects. Then you turn and look at your notifications and you’re immediately saying, why am I doing this? Why do I endure this pain? Like a lot of these platforms, they have the ability to do a lot of good in our world. They also have an ability to do a lot of bad. I didn’t want to take that on.”
With a reputation in Hollywood and among media moguls for being a very nice guy who worked his way up the ladder from humble beginnings, Iger’s decision not to make a move for Twitter makes sense. The social media platform has all too often been the place where trolls have taken issue with a variety of topics ranging from female-led reboots to racism over John Boyega’s portrayal of a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Disney has always aimed for content and a persona that is positive and family friendly - despite its early years when some of that content didn’t always measure up. Today, however, inclusivity and happiness are a major focus for Disney, as it strives to maintain its number one status.
As good as it is that Disney kept things on the positive side by not making a move to purchase Twitter, however, there are those who feel Disney has already taken on too much. Even Iger himself admits that Disney may have put too much Star Wars into the marketplace too fast, and beyond something as huge as that franchise, it’s troubling for some to see one major media corporation own such a huge percentage of the media that people enjoy. Still, so far Disney appears to be doing a decent job with what they have, and if their end goal is to make people happy, then they do seem to be right on course.
Source: The New York Times