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Jimmy Pitaro does not want to go from leading Bristol to Burbank at this time.
That’s according to a report from Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg, who wrote earlier this week that the ESPN chairman “has communicated to both friends and the board that he’s not interested in the role” of succeeding Bob Iger as Disney’s CEO.
Iger’s contract is up at the end of next year, and he has emphasized that he will be gone for good this time.
Several media insiders with a keen understanding of ESPN and Disney spoke to Front Office Sports after the Bloomberg story came out. They did not claim to have communicated with Pitaro about why he apparently pulled his hat out of the ring to be Iger’s successor, but one pointed out that replacing Iger has already proved to be hazardous.
Bob Chapek became Disney’s CEO in February 2020, and he was ousted when Iger came roaring back in November 2022. Iger joined ABC in 1974 and rose up the ranks by the time Disney acquired it in 1995. He became CEO of Disney in 2005 and has held the job ever since except for his brief first retirement.
While on the job, he gobbled up assets like Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and Fox’s entertainment properties for inclusion in Disney’s empire.
To borrow a sports analogy, it’s like succeeding Bill Belichick in New England. As the saying goes: “You don’t want to replace the guy—you want to replace the guy who replaces the guy.”
Last year, Disney’s board appointed former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman to find Iger’s successor. The Bloomberg report said parks boss Josh D’Amaro and entertainment co-chair Dana Walden were the likeliest candidates to become the next CEO.
During ESPN’s media day event last year, Pitaro told the audience of reporters how excited he was about his current role.
“I’ll tell you without any hesitation that I’m sitting at my dream job,” Pitaro said. “I literally love going to work here, even the years that I was competing against this place [while at Yahoo Sports] I wanted to work here. I’m very fortunate and blessed to be surrounded by the best executives in the industry, starting with my direct reports, and every day I get out of my bed and say to myself one thing … I have to earn this today. I feel fortunate to be here.”
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