A spokeswoman for Mr. Iger said he was not available for an interview.
In recent months, as Disney’s troubles have grown, senior executives have privately pressed Mr. Iger for renewal. In its statement on Wednesday, Disney was at pains to point out that it was the board, not Mr. Iger, that pressed for the extension. Given his successive contract renewals, there has been a narrative in Hollywood, rightly or wrongly, that he is reluctant to step away from power. “The board determined that it is in the best interests of shareholders to extend his term, and has agreed to our request,” Disney board chairman Mark G. Parker said in the statement. He said Mr. Iger has already “set Disney on the right strategic path for continued value creation.”
Disney shares are trading at about $90, down 3 percent from a year ago and down 54 percent from their peak in March 2021. Following news of Mr. Iger’s expansion, shares remained largely flat in after-hours trading.
The challenge is that, apart from succession, Disney is grappling with problems on nearly every front, including the dismal summer box office results of “Elemental,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and much more about its movie studios. Also includes new questions. and, to a lesser extent, “The Little Mermaid.” Disney is looking to buy full control of Hulu, but such a purchase would be expensive, and Disney has about $45 billion in debt, partly due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Disney’s earnings engine for the past 30 years — traditional television, including ESPN — has become a shadow of its former self, a result of cord cutting, advertising weakness and rising sports programming costs. Mr. Iger is betting that streaming services will get the company back on the path to growth. But Disney+ subscribers are dwindling, and the broader streaming division remains unprofitable, having lost nearly $2 billion since the start of the fiscal year.
Disney is also battling a long-running screenwriters strike; And contract talks between the studio and SAG-AFTRA, the guild that represents about 160,000 actors, are running poorly and could result in a strike as early as Thursday.
