Bob Iger has resigned from Apple’s board of directors. The Disney CEO stepped down on September 10, but the news became public in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Friday.
Bob Iger Steps Away from Disney+ vs Apple TV+ Conflict
Mr. Iger joined Apple’s board in November 2011. His resignation happened on the same day that Apple announced details of its video streaming service – Apple TV+. Disney’s rival offering, Disney+, will launch November 12, 2019 costing $6.99 per month. Apple TV+ will launch just days earlier, November 1, at a cost of $4.99 a month. As recently as April 2019 Mr. Iger indicated that he planned to stay on the Apple board. However, it appears that the two services going head-to-head has made that impossible. Disney+ is though going to be available on Apple TV.
Leaving on Good Terms
In statements both parties praised one another (via Hollywood Reporter). Mr. Iger said:
I have the utmost respect for Tim Cook, his team at Apple and for my fellow board members. Apple is one of the world’s most admired companies, known for the quality and integrity of its products and its people, and I am forever grateful to have served as a member of the company’s board.
In its statement, Apple said it intended to continue to work with Mr. Iger and Disney:
Bob has been an exemplary board member for nearly eight years, and for as long as he has led Disney he has been one of Apple’s most trusted business partners. He is a dedicated, visionary CEO and a role model for an entire generation of business leaders. More than anything, Bob is our friend. He leads with his heart and he has always been generous with his time and advice. While we will greatly miss his contributions as a board member, we respect his decision and we have every expectation that our relationship with both Bob and Disney will continue far into the future.
They lost me at “exemplary”. Sometimes the more you try to head off criticism, the more you confirm it. Too little too late. Maybe before first talk of Apple considering a streaming service, but that was years ago. There was no chance Apple could have a deal for Disney content on tv+, so I can’t see any reason for keeping him around. iTunes movie deals are probably longterm, extending past the expected demise of buy or rent. And I can’t imagine Cook allowing this rooster in the hen house, unless he naively thought he could pick Iger’s brains over video and streaming. This is poor judgement trying to make the optics good for the future and failing spectacularly. Maybe it’s sufficient for Wall St or near-enough-for-government, but nobody seriously believes Iger wasn’t across all of Apple’s planning on tv+. Maybe it’s rich-people’s-morality. They can afford better.