By Sam Boughedda
Activist investor Daniel Loeb has eased off on calls for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) to spin off sports network ESPN on Sunday evening.
Loeb had previously suggested Disney should spin off ESPN to pursue business initiatives that may be more difficult as part of Disney, such as sports betting.
However, Disney pushed back on the calls, with CEO Bob Chapek, in an interview with Deadline, stating the company loves ESPN, and there are "so many dimensions of sports and we're passionate about it, and we have a plan."
Chapek added that when it was believed ESPN was up for grabs, they received many inquiries asking if they were willing to sell.
He continued: "That says something about the power of sport and the advertising business when you've got that large of an audience that has to watch it at that moment."
It seems Loeb may agree with the investor tweeting on Sunday that they better understand the potential of ESPN.
"We have a better understanding of @espn's potential as a standalone business and another vertical for $DIS to reach a global audience to generate ad and subscriber revenues," wrote Loeb, who also stated they look forward to seeing network chief Jimmy Pitaro execute on "growth and innovation plans, generating considerable synergies as part of The Walt Disney company."