the the giant ratings agency said in a note Tuesday.
Iger recently brought on former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer to consult on optionsfor ESPN.
The two are founders and co-CEOs of Candle Media.
Bob Iger at Disney’s virtual meeting of shareholders earlier this year
(Leverage is a ratio of debt to equity.)
It may reach the conclusion that those networks are no longer core.
As a result, Disney is looking at potential options including selling noncore networks, said S&P.
Alternate paths for ESPN include operating it on a standalone basis and bringing in additional strategic partners.
Hearst Corp. owns 20%.
Private equity firms, already invested in stations, could see an opportunity in linear TV.
On the content side, he thinks overproduction has diluted focus and led to misses at Star Wars andMarvel.
Disney+ may see price hikes and shift in markets.
It could consider licensing Disney content to rival streamers.
Then, earlier this summer, it boosted the rating back to A-.
Iger, who recently extended his contract through 2026, made lots of news on the interview.
