The Walt Disney Company: Its Diversification Strategy in 2020

The Walt Disney Company was a broadly diversified media and entertainment company with a business lineup that included theme parks and resorts, motion picture production and distribution, cable television networks, the ABC broadcast television network, eight local television stations, and a variety of other businesses that exploited the company's intellectual property. The company's revenues had increased from approximately $52.5 billion in fiscal 2015 to approximately $62.6 billion in fiscal 2019 and its share price had regularly outperformed the S&P 500. While struggling somewhat in the mid-1980s, the company's performance had been commendable in almost every year since Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in 1928.

Before completing these exercises, be sure to read the Walt Disney Company case.

What actions do you recommend that The Walt Disney Company's management take to improve the company and increase shareholder value? Are there specific actions that you recommend to successfully integrate the 21st Century Fox or improve the likelihood of success for Disney's direct-to-consumer and over-the-top media services? Do you have recommendations for lessening the impact of COVID-19 on financial performance?

Select "yes" for those statements below that are accurate and choose "no" for those that are not.

Provide the company's DTC and International division with a high investment priority to expand DTC and OTT programming to minimize the impact of future declines in U.S. cable subscriptions.

Disney management should integrate theme attractions based on 21st Century Fox films to existing parks.

Divest the company's Parks, Experiences, and Products business unit because of the impact of COVID-19 on travel and social distancing requirements.

Reduce investment in the company's Studio Entertainment division since it has such achieved dominant business strength.

Deemphasize efforts to capture strategic fit opportunities within its DTC and International division as the viewing interests of consumers vary significantly by country.

Begin seeking buyers for the company's Media Networks division as industry attractiveness has declined substantially in recent years.

Commit sufficient focus to integrating 21st Century Fox into Walt Disney's Studio Entertainment division to achieve strategic fit opportunities.