Disney streaming strategy: CEO Bob Iger tells shareholders Marvel, Star Wars, Disney and Pixar titles will remain exclusive, but others may be “occasionally” licensed to third parties.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said Monday that the company has entered a new phase in its evolution in streaming and will “at times” consider licensing some titles to third parties.

In response to a shareholder question at the company’s annual meeting, which took place virtually this year, Iger acknowledged that there was a time in the late 2010s when the company reclaimed the streaming rights.

“To achieve the goal of successfully entering the streaming industry, we needed to regain control over the content we licensed to third parties,” he said. “At that point, most of it went to Netflix and we actually had a good relationship with them during the time we licensed content to them. But we have licensed a lot of valuable content, content that we absolutely need.”

Iger has made similar comments since rejoining the company, including at a conference hosted by Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley last month. As context for the streaming race, Iger noted that the exclusivity for many tentpoles fueled early demand for Disney+, which reached 100 million subscribers just 16 months after launching in November 2019. “We are proud of our track record, although we recognize that we face challenges that should become profitable,” Iger said. “We do not intend to license our main Marvel, Disney, Pixar or Star Wars product to any third party. We consider licensing other products to third parties from time to time.”

The shareholder meeting was Iger’s first since he joined the board as CEO last November. He opened with a tour of the company’s theme park plans and also shared a clip of Dwayne Johnson performing a live version of Moana. Iger also hit back at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has clashed with the company over control of Disney World land in the Orlando area.