#Disney taps Alan Bergman as film chairman amid focus on streaming

Twenty-four year Disney executive Alan Bergman has been named sole chairman of Walt Disney Studios as the company restructures its media and entertainment divisions to focus more heavily on video streaming.

Bergman’s former co-chair Alan Horn will continue to work as Disney’s chief creative officer. Both execs will continue to report to Disney chief executive officer Bob Chapek.

The changes, which will take effect Jan. 1, come less than two months after the Mouse House announced that it planned to centralize its media business into a single organization that will be responsible for content distribution, ad sales and streaming provider Disney+.

Horn, 77, and Bergman, 54, have jointly led Disney’s studios division as co-chairmen since May 2019. The duo presided over the integration of Lucasfilm and the Fox film studios into the Disney family and have helped usher in a new era of streaming content for Disney+, the company said.

During their run, the studios division has set a number of box office records with the release of blockbusters like “Frozen,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Endgame,” which is currently the highest-grossing film of all time.

“The Walt Disney Studios’ achievements under the leadership of Alan Horn and Alan Bergman have been nothing short of extraordinary,” said Chapek.

As chairman, Bergman will oversee creative, production, marketing and operations for Disney’s studios content, which includes Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios. He will also oversee Disney’s theatrical productions.

“I am grateful to take on the role of chairman of the studios as I believe deeply in our people, culture, and the work we do,” Bergman said.

Meanwhile, as creative officer, Horn will focus on creative aspects of the studios’ content pipeline.

“It has been an honor to lead The Walt Disney Studios over the past eight-plus years,” Horn said. “It has been an amazing run, and the time feels right to shift my focus solely to our enormous creative slate.”

During its annual investor day on Dec. 10, Disney announced around 100 film and TV projects, with about 80 percent of that slate earmarked to go directly to streaming service, Disney+.