Bob Iger admits that ESPN may have went too far with the societal & political issues

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One of the biggest recent criticisms of ESPN has been the line that they’ve been “too political,” something even stated by President Trump at one point (after Jemele Hill’s tweets about him). While there’s substantial debate about if that is a fair criticism and if it has anything to do with the business challenges they’re facing, it’s certainly become part of the narrative, and ESPN has done a whole lot to try and get away from the idea that they’re political in any way. That’s especially true under new president Jimmy Pitaro, who told employees in March “I do not believe that we’re a political organization.”

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It appears that approach is endorsed from the very top. Disney CEO Bob Iger recently took part in a The Hollywood Reporter conversation with THR editorial director Matthew Belloni (after THR named Iger the most powerful person in media), and answered a general question about ESPN by talking about how Pitaro’s “brought back some balance”:

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You’ve had shake-ups at the various businesses this past year. How has ESPN changed specifically, if at all?

I have nothing but praise for the job Jimmy Pitaro has done at ESPN. There’s been a big debate about whether ESPN should be focused more on what happens on the field of sport than what happens in terms of where sports is societally or politically. And Jimmy felt that the pendulum may have swung a little bit too far away from the field. And I happen to believe he was right. And it’s something, by the way, that I think John Skipper had come to recognize as well. But Jimmy coming in fresh has had the ability to address it, I think, far more aggressively and effectively. He has brought back some balance.

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