As a publicly traded company, Disney has to keep the public in the loop about major business decisions and its financial health.
On April 9th, a bombshell dropped that sent shockwaves through Hollywood!
Disney and Dunn Studios announced a massive strategic partnership, covering six major areas and a slew of smaller industry-related initiatives:
1. Dunn Studios would transfer the rights to the remaining six films in the Chronicles of Narnia series—titles more aligned with Disney's values—to Disney.
2. Disney would remake a series of its classic animated films into live-action movies, with Dunn Studios obligated to assist in investment, filming, and production.
3. Since Dunn Studios had already acquired Pixar, Disney graciously stepped aside, relinquishing some of its Pixar rights.
4. Both companies would deepen their collaboration on animated films, fostering a closer bond between Siliwood Animation Studios and Disney Animation Studios.
5. Disney's ABC network would team up with Dunn Studios' Dick Clark Television Productions for reality TV broadcasting deals.
6. Marvel-branded products and related merchandise from Dunn Studios would hit Disney stores, kicking off retail operations.
Dunn Studios didn't need to spill the details, so Disney took the lead with the announcement, naturally framing it in a way that made them look good. According to Disney, they'd smoothly ended their Pixar partnership and scored a bunch of perks for free—a total win!
The day the news broke, Disney's stock shot up 3.3% in a flash, boosting its market cap by a whopping $1.45 billion! Based on the real-time financial data as of April 9, 2025, Disney's current stock price sits at $81.735 USD, reflecting the excitement around this deal. It was the biggest single-day jump in Disney's stock since they bought ABC Group—a seriously good day for the company!
Michael Eisner, Disney's big boss, had deftly dodged the Pixar breakup crisis and, with some slick moves, sent the stock soaring. Feeling on top of the world, he fired off an enthusiastic letter to shareholders:
"When I joined Disney in 1984, the company's market value was just over $2 billion. Eighteen years later, it's grown 22 times over! But we can't get complacent—we've got to keep pushing. Our management team will keep charging ahead to make this magical kingdom even better and stronger."
"With the economy in a slump and the fallout from terrorist attacks, Disney's stock has been dragging these past couple of years. Lucky for us, I firmly shot down Mr. Case's merger idea with AOL. I'm grateful for our shareholders' patience and trust, letting me and the team steer this magical kingdom forward."
"But let's be real—Disney's old frame-by-frame animation style? It's outdated, pricey, and doesn't sell. Those sugary, naive female-led comedies? The market's over them. We hit a rough patch, a creative crisis, but now we've turned it around."
"Dunn Studios has a killer content team but lacks distribution muscle. Lucky for them, Disney's got the best channels in the world. Fear Factor—a fresh reality show—will help ABC take on CBS, and live-action remakes of our animated classics will bring Disney's golden days back to Hollywood!"
"Our animation library is Walt Disney's heart and soul, his mission. We owe it to him to keep them alive, not let them gather dust as some nostalgic memory. With this new partnership with Dunn Studios, those hidden gems are coming back into the spotlight!"
"Today, we announced the deal, and the stock's climbing fast. But I'm telling you, this is just the start—bigger things are coming. We're jumping right into Narnia 2, teaming up with Siliwood Animation to push computer animation forward. We've got the most talented, driven, creative, and groundbreaking people around—Disney Studios is about to shine again…"
The letter went on, giving shoutouts to his deputy Robert Iger, co-chair of the management committee George Mitchell, big-time shareholder the Bass family, and board members Judith Estrin and John Bryson, thanking them for their hard work. Roy Disney and his crew? Didn't even get a mention!
With the stock buzzing, Michael Eisner was feeling untouchable!
But Roy Disney wasn't backing down. Eisner had handed over adaptation rights for those animated classics to Dunn—and a hefty 55% share at that! Sure, it might juice the stock short-term, but to Roy, it was like chugging poison to quench thirst.
Roy was furious. He couldn't sway the board or rein in Eisner's power. All he had was sentiment and the people's support. So, he made a bold, decisive move—he quit!
Not long after, his old pal Stanley Gold—head of Shamrock Holdings, Disney board member, and co-chair of the management committee—walked out too. Their mission was crystal clear: topple Eisner and save Disney!
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Meanwhile, Comcast dropped its own bombshell, naming Steve Burke as their new president and COO.
Who's Steve Burke? Roy Disney's buddy, Michael Eisner's former right-hand man, and Disney's ex-COO!
Outsiders might not connect the dots, but Dunn saw it coming a mile away. Comcast wasn't giving up! Bringing in a Disney veteran like Burke screamed ambition—they were eyeing Disney, or at least gearing up to muscle into the content game.
A new wave was brewing in Hollywood, and thanks to Dunn's moves, the whole industry's landscape was shifting big-time.
Comcast's CEO, Brian Roberts, called Dunn up, and he wasn't happy. "This Disney deal of yours—it's like a conspiracy."
Dunn fired back, "What's that supposed to mean? The market's already spoken—Disney's stock is climbing!"
Roberts growled, "Eisner's lost it. He'll do anything to cling to power. This partnership? It's gonna strip Disney of control!"
Dunn's tone turned sharp. "Brian, if I'm not mistaken, you run Comcast, right? What's Disney to you?"
Roberts paused, caught off guard.
Comcast had maxed out its TV operations growth. To keep expanding, they needed new revenue streams—content was the next frontier. In Roberts' mind, even if Comcast couldn't snag Disney outright, they could've teamed up on projects instead of letting Dunn Studios swoop in.
Dunn kept it cool. "Brian, don't forget—Comcast and Dunn Studios are partners too. STA's user numbers have been tanking these past few months, and you still haven't given me a straight answer why."
Roberts snapped, "That's because STA's got no steady stream of good content!"
Dunn didn't hold back. "Content's one thing, distribution's another. If the pipeline's weak, the content team's screwed!"
"Are you saying Comcast's deliberately choking STA's growth?" Roberts huffed coldly. "You're wrong, Dunn. I'd never make a move that hurts the company."
"Maybe," Dunn replied, unbothered.
Truth is, cable TV's always been at the mercy of operators. Back in the '80s, cable popped off thanks to new tech, but barriers like patents and licenses kept operators in the driver's seat. Right now, Dunn's STA network was getting squeezed by Comcast.
But Dunn wasn't sweating it. For one, even with a dip in users, STA still crushed HBO and Showtime—it's the top premium cable network in the U.S., with 4.8 million more subscribers than HBO. Two, Dunn was about to double down on TV, pouring cash into blockbuster shows—content drives traffic, and operators can't choke that forever. And three, Comcast's exclusive deal with Dunn expires next year. Plus, federal policies are shifting!
Back in the '90s, the FCC ditched bans on financial mergers and monopoly rules, clearing the way for movie studios and TV networks to team up. Fox Films and Fox TV merged into 20th Century Fox, Disney nabbed ABC, Paramount hooked up with CBS. Before that, a monopoly rule capped how much primetime content networks could self-produce—outside of talk shows and news, they had to buy everything else. That birthed the syndication market.
But since '94, those bans lifted, and media giants started consolidating. TV operations reform was next on deck. The feds realized giant operators were stifling cable's growth, so they lowered the bar for entry, letting broadband players jump in.
Broadband companies had laid tons of fiber in cities for internet—way better signal carriers than cable! Suddenly, TV operators weren't so sacred anymore. The power flipped—content creators took the throne, and operators were left scrambling for scraps.
The whole film and TV game was shifting from a channel-driven world to one ruled by content.
Right now, Dunn's chilling. He's got no interest in Disney's internal drama or Comcast's lurking threat. He's already locked down the adaptation rights he wanted—let them duke it out!
His focus? One thing only: how's the market reacting to "singer" Dunn?
After "stock guru" two years ago and "writer" last year, 2025's slapping "musician" and "singer" on his resume. His duet with Natalie, Just Want It Like This, drops via Universal Records on April 15th across North America—a single for $0.99!