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Trian Partners co-founder Nelson Peltz is launching his proxy fight against Disney in a bid to keep the pressure on the media giant to get its Magic Kingdom in order. 

Why it matters: If Disney shareholders back Peltz's move to join the board, it could lead to even more board and leadership changes at the company, Tim writes.

Of note: Peltz is not arguing for Iger to be replaced — though in comments this morning, the veteran agitator does not seem to be a fan, and he threw shade on the CEO's total shareholder return record. Peltz is also not pushing for a strategic move, such as selling ESPN or other TV assets. 

"They have to buy Hulu or they have to get out of the streaming business," he said during an interview on CNBC this morning. 

Disney is on the hook to buy out Comcast's 33% stake in Hulu by next year for at least $9 billion. 

The big picture: Trian Partners bought more than $800 million worth of Disney shares shortly after Disney's clunker of a fourth quarter last fall.

Peltz made clear today that, in addition to keeping pressure on Iger, Trian plans to keep the heat on Disney's new chairman, Mark Parker, who was on the board when the company bought Fox's media assets — a deal Peltz says put Disney's balance sheet in shambles. 

“Think of all the positive impacts we’ve had in such a short period of time. Think of how much more we can help,” he said, referring to Trian's track record at company's such as P&G. 

Catch up quick: Disney named Nike executive Parker as chairman of its board yesterday afternoon, replacing Susan Arnold, who leaves after a little more than a year atop Disney's board.

Arnold had been on Disney's board since 2007 and thus was facing the 15-year term limit under the company's board policy. Under her direction, the board gave former CEO Bob Chapek a three-year contract extension last summer, only to replace him with Bob Iger five months later.

Parker will also head up a new succession planning committee to help with Iger's two-year goal of finding a permanent successor as CEO.

Disney's stock price has been cut in half over the last two years under Chapek, Iger's hand-picked successor.

1 big thing: Peltz's Disney fix

Illustration of two cartoon hands: one making a thumbs-up, the other making a thumbs-down.

Netflix's deal to televise the SAG Awards could be a look into the future for the award show industry amid dwindling TV audiences. 

Why it's the BFD: Major award shows like the Oscars and Emmys have long been big business for broadcast TV networks that have been able to use giant audiences to charge premium ad rates, Tim writes. 

Even with its shrinking audience, ABC still bags north of $100 million in ad revenue for the Academy Awards, which remain among the most expensive TV buys for advertisers at nearly $2 million for a 30-second spot. 

The big picture: The SAG Awards' move away from linear TV to streaming is not the first, and probably won't be the last.

The SAG Awards had aired on TNT and TBS for the last 25 years. It will stream on Netflix's YouTube channel this year before moving to Netflix proper next year.

In 2021, the Academy of Country Music Awards left its longtime home of CBS, where it aired for 23 years, for Amazon after CBS balked at the price to keep the show on its airwaves.

The latest: The Golden Globes, which have no TV deal after Tuesday's comeback show, will serve as a major bellwether for that industry's future. 

The Tuesday night show drew 6.25 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The only Globes-related broadcast to do worse was the 2008 show, which was replaced by a press conference announcing the winners amid the 2008-08 writers strike. 

The Globes came back after a year off amid a scandal at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. That scandal allowed NBC to get out of its contract to air the Globes after this year. 

The Los Angeles Times reports ABC and CBS could be interested if NBC decides not to cut a new deal. 

What's next: The Emmys, Grammys and Tonys contracts all run through 2026, while the Oscars' current deal expires in 2028. 

The bottom line: Hollywood needs to ask itself if we're past the point of no return for award shows being major TV events.

The BFD: And the winner is... 

Allen Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Kakao Entertainment, the entertainment unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao, raised $966m from sovereign wealth funds like Saudi PIF and Singapore’s PWARP Investment. https://axios.link/3W1NqjL

Dr. Dre is selling a collection of music assets in separate transactions to Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group for about $200m, per Billboard. https://axios.link/3IJFtgi

Telkom, a listed South African telco, ended talks to acquire local data network provider Rain. https://axios.link/3CGwEQh

T-Mobile US is considering a takeover of Mint Mobile, the Fountain Valley, California-based budget wireless provider owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3IHULSI

Sports & Health Tech Acquisition, a sports and health SPAC whose board includes Tiger Woods and Caroline Wozniacki, withdrew registration for a $150m IPO. https://axios.link/3H0jUqz

Warner Bros. Discovery partnered with Prime Video to offer "Warner Pass," a new content package with its own subscription, in France. https://axios.link/3vUIC58

MoviePass has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round led by Animoca Brands, Variety reports. https://axios.link/3XHZZ5h

3. Deal flow

NBCUniversal appointed Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy managing editor at The New York Times, as president of editorial for NBC News. Noah Oppenheim has stepped down to focus on his NBCU production deal. These moves are part of a larger restructuring, Sara Fischer writes.  https://axios.link/3Zr8OBX

Banijay hired former HBO Europe executive Steve Mathews as a content partnerships executive in its scripted division. https://axios.link/3QAyKHl

CNN announced a new 9. a.m to noon weekday show to be anchored by John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. Another new 1 to 4 p.m. show will be anchored by Brianna Keilar, Boris Sanchez and Jim Sciutto. https://axios.link/3IItWxv

Hoorae Media, Issa Rae's production company, hired UTA alum Monique Francis as head of marketing. https://axios.link/3CEdcUo

John Smedley stepped down as head of Amazon Games' San Diego studio. Principal publishing producer Andrew Sites will step in. https://axios.link/3IIGLrH

Moelis & Co. has hired Marcus Lollie as a managing director in its media group.

4. Movin' on up (or out)

Twitter's efforts to court advertisers turns them off (The Information)

"Clients of WPP-owned GroupM, the world’s largest ad-buying firm, have cut their spending on Twitter by between 40% and 50% since Elon Musk took control of the company in late October," Sahil Patel and Erin Woo report.

DirecTV lays off hundreds of managers as cord cutting accelerates (CNBC)

"DirecTV is laying off hundreds of employees — roughly 10% of its upper ranks — as the company looks to reduce costs amid the heightened pain of cord cutting for pay-TV providers," Lillian Rizzo reports.

The Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones is laying off staff as it faces an economic downturn (Insider)

"[T]he cuts amounted to less than 2% of staff. The cuts impacted a handful of people at MarketWatch, according to insiders; the Journal newsroom wasn't impacted, said the source familiar," Lucia Moses reports.

5. Channel surfing

Illustration of a TV color test screen in the shape of a wave.

📺 Situational awareness: Apple is searching for a head of ad sales, looking for a senior executive with TV and streaming experience, per Insider.

@tim_bays: "The Last of Us" on HBO. Hopefully savoring a comfy win by my 49ers on Saturday while watching Sunday's premiere of what should be among the biggest new shows of 2023. 

@kerrymflynn: "Spare" on Audible. Glad to have Prince Harry along for the long drive back to Brooklyn from Florida this weekend.

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Jay Bennett for copy editing this newsletter.

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January 12, 2023

1 big thing: Peltz's Disney fix