Who Owns Disney

Disney 🐔🐔🐔

Capitulation Rank: Capitulating
Category: Broadcasting & Entertainment 
Market Cap: $222.9 billion

In December 2024, ABC News paid $15 million to resolve Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the network and its anchor George Stephanopoulos, who had imprecisely said that the president had been found “liable for rape” in a civil trial in New York. (In fact, Mr. Trump had been found liable under New York State’s definition of “sexual abuse.”) According to press reports, ABC executives also asked the hosts of its popular daytime program The View to tone down their criticism of the Trump regime.

Many blasted CEO Bob Iger’s capitulation in the defamation suit as setting a bad precedent just prior to Trump’s second term — as other media firms face similar legal and regulatory threats from Trump and his team. In March 2025, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned the company that ABC’s broadcast licenses could be at risk over Disney efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. The agency’s enforcement bureau will investigate to see if the media giant is “violating FCC equal employment opportunity regulations by promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” according to a letter Carr sent.

Outside of its media work, Disney’s tourism-reliant theme parks are concerned that a significant drop in visitors from Canada and Mexico — as a result of ongoing trade wars and immigrant crackdowns — will have devastating consequences for the hospitality industry. People from these two countries make up a large portion of Disney theme-park visitors.

Sept. 2025 update: Disney suspends and then reinstates Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In the wake of the September murder of Charlie Kirk, many on the right took to social media to weaponize anything involving Kirk that didn’t paint him as a great American crusader for free speech (which is highly questionable). They seized on Kimmel’s somewhat innocuous comments about the political motivations of Kirk’s alleged shooter.

FCC Chairman Carr picked up on the chatter and issued a threat to media companies that either produced or aired Kimmel’s program. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said to the companies, explicitly indicating that the FCC would take up action against the likes of Disney and Nexstar for continuing to produce and air Kimmel’s show.

And like clockwork, Nexstar soon announced it would preempt Kimmel’s program. Soon after, Disney decided to suspend Kimmel’s program. Mega-broadcaster Sinclair jumped on the big-media bandwagon, pulling the program from its ABC affiliates.

Following a firestorm of loud public protests, Disney reversed its decision and brought the program back, but both Nexstar and Sinclair are holding out. Prior to Disney’s reversal of its ban, we were planning to change its chicken rating from three-chicken capitulator (🐔🐔🐔) to four-chicken obedient (🐔🐔🐔🐔). We’re still watching the media giant as the Kimmel episode unfolds, but for now are keeping its original rating.

DEI Doublespeak:

Soon after Trump’s inauguration, ABC’s parent company, Disney, announced significant changes to its DEI initiatives. It renamed its “Diversity and Inclusion” effort as “Talent Strategy” after scrubbing its website of “Imagine Tomorrow” content, which had highlighted underrepresented groups. Disney also removed a content advisory regarding negative depictions and mistreatment of peoples and cultures from the company’s older titles. Instead, a shortened advisory will be placed in the details section. Despite these changes, FCC’s Carr is still proceeding with an investigation into Disney.

What It Owns:

Disney owns eight TV stations in eight markets (including KABC-TV and WABC-TV); websites and online services (including ABC News Live, Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu LLC); and broadcast and cable channels (including ABC, A&E, Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, History, Lifetime, Nat Geo WILD and Vice TV).

Money & Influence Game:

Iger has personally donated to Democratic candidates. Disney paid lobbyists $5,200,000 in 2024, and Disney employees made $3,550,987 in contributions to political candidates (2024 cycle). (SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics)