Thinking Outside of the Batter's Box: Disney's Bob Iger As Next Baseball Commissioner?
The New York Post reports that Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger is a leading choice to become the next commissioner of baseball when Bud Selig retires in January 2015. According to the NY Post, Iger "is a favorite of the league's succession committee." Selecting Iger, who has no prior experience running a sports league or directly in sports programming, would be a major deviation from recent hires by the other major sports leagues, who have hired from within the Commissioner's Office.
Iger's Credentials Are In Programming, Not Sports
Because sports are one of the few television programs that are not susceptible to DVR time-shifting, the broadcast and streaming rights for sports have skyrocketed in the past ten years. The most recent round of baseball television contracts doubled annual fees, from $717 million to $1.5 billion per year. Local television revenues have increased even more dramatically. Time Warner Cable is paying the Dodgers $330 million per year, but is having trouble getting the Dodgers' station onto competing cable systems and Direct TV.
If Major League Baseball is looking for a leader on programming and media strategy, there is no available candidate with more experience. As Disney Chair and CEO, Iger presided over the ESPN/ABC sports empire. Major League Baseball had begun preliminary inquiries into the availability of ESPN's Executive Chairman, George Bodenheimer, but he quickly removed his name from consideration.
The Other Reported Candidates Come From Within Baseball
The five candidates that Sports Illustrated reported were the leading contenders all come from within baseball. This would follow the conventional wisdom. Earlier this year, the NBA elevated Adam Silver to replace David Stern as commissioner, after Silver spent more than 15 years working in the NBA league office. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell rose from an intern in 1983 to commissioner in 2006. Baseball's analogs, like Bob Bowman (President and CEO of MLB Advanced Media), Tim Brosnan (EVP Business of Major League Baseball) and Rob Manfred (COO of Major League Baseball) have a lifetime of experience within the commissioner's office. Or, MLB might reach out to a team executive like Stan Kasten (President & Co-owner of the Dodgers, previously with the Braves and Nationals).
Could Selig Stay On An Extra Year To Bring In Iger?
According to the New York Post, Iger's biggest impediment is that he is under contract to stay at Disney until 2016, while Bud Selig is scheduled to retire in January 2015. Selig is 79 years old, and he cited his age as the reason that he is finally retiring. But Bud Selig's retirement has been like the KISS farewell tour. Since the day Selig became acting commissioner 22 years ago, he has publicly stated that he was not long for the job. Each time his retirement date has neared, he has signed on for "one" final contract. The NY Post quotes an insider as saying "maybe Bud might agree to stay on."