cnbc.com's alex sherman joins us now.this is a big deal from a story standpoint how important is it to disney that avatar 2 succeed? >> i mean, it's super important when it comes to their film business there's no question avatar is right at the top of their list for high budget intellectual property that disney owns. i mean, "avatar 2" cost at least $350 million to make, that is a wildly high number in terms of costs and movie production and remember, this goes beyond box office avatar after gets -- through its theatrical release, then goes to disney plus. it has legs on that side of the business too while the early numbers don't look very good the question will be, what type of lasting power does "avatar 2" have if you look back to the first avatar, it did well in weeks two, three, four, five, we'll have to see if the same things happens with "avatar 2". >> mike santoli, we have a specific catalyst, right, company-specific catalyst for the downside in disney today but there are a whole heck of a lot of macro head winds t

joining me is media reporter alex sherman he spoke to 12 media executives on their predictions >> to be fair, kelly, i didn't call it personally city spoke to someone and then chose to include it. i'll take partial credit these are anonymous predictions from past and present, that hold, you know, i would say fairly significant in the media. >> i assume it wasn't bob iger himself who -- >> i mean, if it was i couldn't tell you, but that would be fantastic. >> so let's stake with iger. of the 12 predictions i listed, i think they rain to somewhat wild on the box to somewhat more feasible simply based on his track record, he decision to extend he contract it's possible that he doesn't choose a successor at all. he simply extends hi contract. he's 71-year-old he's certainly in excellent physical condition he has a famed early morning workout that he's continued to do >> what do we know one, he has had trouble letting go of that job in the past and, two, we know he loves being ceo of disney. why do we know that? he just took the job again those two things indicate that an -- >> let's move

don't know do you think that these valuations will be justified if legacy cable goes away like alex sherman sources have been reporting in five to seven year's time, could we see the value of these sports rights start to fall? and what would that mean for these big acquisitions >> i don't think so. one, you have a scarcity there's only a limited number of premium brands and two, the idea is going to unlock a whole new category of value. and sports is still the only thing that engage big audiences and engage in a big way. i don't think there's any evidence to suggest that's going to happen. it's possible because there will be a change in the way media is consumed but we don't see any evidence of it of course you just saw the nfl, youtube, break a new record in terms of the value of those. this is a question we've had for 15 or 20 years >> i sat next to a fan, a fan of yours, charlie besser. he says hello, by the way. chicago based. >> he's a good man >> that's it he was talking to me about how great pickle ball is i asked that for a reason. it wasn't just random. which is a lot of sports on

consumers will start watching their budgets more closely >> that was one of the predictions from alex sherman as well that netflix -- a couple thought netflix in particular would -- they described it more as a merger. what are you hearing >> oh, yes there's a lot of speculation about the need for m&a i have to say in terms of warner brothers discovery, that company will be launching the combined version. so that combination of streaming services is coming the question is whether we'll see real combination of streaming giants i think the real challenge there, and this is something i've heard a lot about, is concerns about the regulatory environment. netflix is such a massive company, even with its stock down dramatically, that it would be hard to get that kind of deal approved i think going forward over the next couple of years, people are watching paramount, watching to see whether sherry redstone might be willing to split-up some of those assets, or what does happen with netflix and then of course in terms of hulu, that's an asset that is in motion that people are watching because it is stil