Disney CEO Bob Iger has tapped two former executives who were once viewed as his potential successors to help right the struggling company, according to a report.
The executives, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, have been brought on to advise Iger on how to steer the company’s legacy television businesses, including sports network ESPN and ABC, Puck News reported Monday.
The move comes just weeks after the Mouse House’s board extended Iger’s contract another two years, reigniting chatter over the succession planning process at the Burbank, Calif.-based company.
According to the Financial Times, in addition to advising Iger, Mayer and Staggs will work with ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro to “examine strategic options for the sports channel.”
Disney did not immediately return requests for comment.
Bringing back Mayer and Staggs is another interesting development for the Mouse House, which is dealing with figuring out what to do with its struggling TV assets.
It also comes after another big-budget film, “Haunted Mansion,” bombed, giving Disney its lowest opening weekend for a movie adapted from a theme park attraction in two decades with about $24 million.
Despite being well-liked by Wall Street, Staggs and Mayer were both passed over by Iger to succeed him when he chose Bob Chapek in 2020.
During his tenure at Disney, Staggs held a slew of roles, including chief financial officer, chief operating officer and head of theme parks. He left the company in 2016.
Meanwhile, Mayer, who worked closely with Iger on a host of acquisitions, was a key architect in building Disney’s streaming strategy, including streamer Disney+. Mayer was in a foot race with theme parks boss Chapek for Iger’s job.
Chapek ultimately won and Mayer exited Disney. Chapek’s two-year tenure was marred by issues related to the pandemic, as well as the new boss’s own missteps — which caused the board to bring back Iger for a two-year stint.
Mayer and Staggs went on to form Candle Media, a Blackstone-backed investment firm whose deals include the $900 million acquisition of Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine and kids entertainment company Moonbug for nearly $3 billion.
Iger delayed his retirement several times during his original 15-year tenure as CEO. Under his new contract, the exec will step down in 2026 at the age of 75.
The search for Iger’s successor has become a priority for the company. Disney’s board tapped a four-person committee for the task, led by Mark Parker, the ex-Nike chief who took over as chair of the company’s board in April.
Potential internal candidates for the CEO gig include Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, film chief Alan Bergman and theme parks head Josh D’Amaro.
Sources told The Post that the trio all need more time and that there is no heir apparent at the moment.
ESPN, which once raked in profits for Disney, is declining along with the rest of US cable networks. Iger made ESPN a standalone unit as part of a recent restructuring.
He also indicated he would like to find a strategic partner for the group, and noted that he would entertain selling Disney’s other networks, such as ABC, which jolted the company’s TV employees.
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