After guiding Disney through the acquisition of Fox and launching its direct-to-consumer efforts that center around Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, CEO Bob Iger is stepping down from his post. “Effective immediately,” former Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek is taking over and will report to Iger while he serves as executive chairman and leads “creative endeavors” through the end of his contract next year.

In a statement announcing the move, Iger said “”With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO.”

As far as Chapek’s experience, he’s worked there for more than two decades, and the press release notes that he spearheaded the infamous “Disney Vault” strategy for handling its iconic films as they were released for home viewing on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.

Asked on a call with investors about the timing of the move, Iger said that it made sense to turn over day-to-day management of the company to Chapek so that he can use his remaining time to focus on creative aspects of the company. According to him, the move wasn’t accelerated “for any particular reason.”

With Chapek continuing to report to Iger, it doesn’t seem like things materially change at Disney much right now, but the move is announced right after the company revealed Disney+ has already grown to over 26 million subscribers. It’s also preparing to launch widely in Europe, and we’re still months out from the arrival of The Mandalorian season two and tons of Baby Yoda merchandise.

“FX is a producer of high quality content and will become a key content driver for Hulu,” Iger continued. “The Hulu and FX teams have been collaborating to develop an exciting strategy to bring the full breadth of FX’s content and production capabilities to Hulu subscribers.”

The result of that collaboration is dubbed “FX on Hulu” and will include all seasons of more than 40 FX series, with new episodes hitting the streaming service the day after they air on television. FX will also produce a number of original series exclusively for the partnership, starting with four new titles in 2020: the 8-episode miniseries Devs from Alex Garland, Misses America starring Cate Blanchett, The Teacher starring Kate Mara, The Old Man starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow.

The move comes as Hulu adopts a more aggressive stance with regard to original programming as it seeks to better compete with Netflix, Amazon, and to a lesser degree, Disney+.

While Disney leans hard on nostalgia for content from its vast archives to push its upcoming Disney+ package, one downside is that licensing deals signed years ago will mean some movies aren’t always available. In the past, it’s made limited availability of content part of the business model, rotating classics in and out of the Disney vault to encourage purchases while they’re available. As CEO Bob Iger explained during an interview at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2019, that shouldn’t be an issue — as long as people keep subscribing.

Asked about the availability of older movies (around 25 minutes into the video below), he referenced the three-hour “All Your Favorites” sizzle reel Disney released last week, and said that there is “some of it but very very little” that will be removed from the service at times. However, as long as someone is an active Disney+ subscriber, he said, they’ll be able to watch downloaded copies of those movies anyway. It’s not the perfect solution, but it may nudge some people to get — and keep — that annual subscription, even in future years if Disney ever raises the prices. Disney+ launches November 12th, with a $6.99 per month / $69.99 annual price tag.

Iger talked about his friendship with Jobs in the piece, telling the story of how Disney managed to acquire Pixar happened even though Jobs held a “deep-rooted” animosity toward Disney at the time. He also talked about they discussed the future of TV before the iPhone’s release and how he told Jobs that he envisioned an iTunes-like platform for television.

“With every success the company has had since Steve’s death, there’s always a moment in the midst of my excitement when I think, I wish Steve could be here for this… I believe that if Steve were still alive, we would have combined our companies, or at least discussed the possibility very seriously,” he wrote.

Iger didn’t say why he chose to focus on his relationship with Jobs and Apple for his Vanity Fair piece. It may simply be one of the most compelling parts of his book, but it makes one wonder if it’s because he’s currently trying to make a Disney-Apple merger happen. As CNBC notes, though, an acquisition likely wouldn’t get approved now that authorities have become more conscious of how big-tech mergers are being viewed as anti-competitive. The companies are much too large at this point, with Apple valued at $1 trillion and Disney at $300 billion.

This is what Apple CEO Tim Cook said in 2011, when Iger joined as a board member: “His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology and expanding into new markets around the world, which makes him a great fit for Apple.” Fast forward to now and, when you consider that Apple and Disney are about to be competitors in the entertainment space, Iger’s move shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, his departure will be a major loss for the Cupertino company.

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to have served on the Apple board for 8 years, and I have the utmost respect for Tim Cook, his team at Apple and for my fellow board members,” Iger said in a statement today. “Apple is one of the world’s most admired companies, known for the quality and integrity of its products and its people and I am forever grateful to have served as a member of the company’s board.”