Even though Disney’s CEO Bob Iger previously suggested that the impending launches of Apple TV+ and Disney+ wouldn’t mean he’d have to leave Apple’s board of directors, we’ve learned today that he has resigned that position.
Spotted by CNBC, Iger’s resignation from Apple’s board was announced in an SEC filing and was effective as of September 10th, the same day as Apple’s iPhone 11 event where the company announced its Apple TV+ launch date and $4.99/month price.
A Bloomberg report back in March brought up the idea that Disney and Apple’s upcoming streaming services could be a conflict of interest for Iger and his role on Apple’s board of directors.
However, in April Iger suggested to Bloomberg it wouldn’t be a problem and noted he was careful to excuse himself when Apple TV+ was a focus at board meetings.
He gave a further statement at the time to CNBC:
However, things must have changed enough in the last few months for Iger to reconsider. CNBC shared Iger’s official statement on the news of his resignation from Apple’s board:
Bob Iger had a personal relationship with Steve Jobs in addition to their business dealings. Disney bought Pixar back in 2006, which was co-founded by Jobs. Jobs served on Disney’s board of directors until he passed in 2011 and he asked Iger to join Apple’s board before he died.
Tim Cook and Iger were also friendly. From the Sun Valley Conference this year, Bloomberg reported that the two were complimentary of one another:
Apple TV+ is set to launch on November 1 at just $4.99/month. Meanwhile, Disney+ has seen a lot of interest with early offers bringing the service down to $4/month and is launching on November 12.
