Bob Iger: ESPN's streaming transition will allow Disney to 'strengthen our hand'

Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger is more bullish than ever on ESPN's direct-to-consumer transition.

"ESPN is a very popular, high in-demand product in the United States," the executive said on the company's quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. "We feel leaning into it is the smart thing to do because of its unique quality and how popular it is and how profitable it has been."

"We have an opportunity, as we bring it in the direct-to-consumer direction, to strengthen our hand," he continued. "We do that by partnering with either tech companies that can provide us with marketing, technology support, and customer acquisition help or sports leagues that can provide us with more content. It's that simple. We're actually quite bullish about it."

Earlier on Wednesday, a new report from Font Office Sports alleged talks are heating up between Disney and the NFL and NBA about taking an equity stake in ESPN.

In a new interview with CNBC, Iger would not comment on partner speculation but did confirm ESPN will transition to streaming "no later than 2025."