Disney is making a substantial commitment to the world of streaming entertainment. 

The company revealed on Monday a significant restructuring of its media and entertainment divisions, prioritizing the creation of content designed for initial release on its streaming platforms and broadcast networks. Disney’s media businesses, advertising, distribution, and Disney+ will now function as a unified business segment, according to the company’s announcement.

This major organizational shift arrives shortly after Dan Loeb, a prominent investor in Disney through his Third Point Capital hedge fund, urged the company to suspend its dividend and allocate increased resources to streaming initiatives.

Investors on Wall Street have responded favorably to Disney’s latest move, with the company’s stock price rising almost 6% during after-hours trading.

Disney’s announcement builds upon a notable adjustment to its release schedule, responding to evolving circumstances, including a decline in traditional theatrical performance, challenges in production, and the considerable success of its streaming service—factors all influenced or accelerated by the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously planned theatrical releases of anticipated films, such as “Black Widow,” have been postponed, while other titles, including “Mulan” and the forthcoming Pixar film “Soul,” are debuting directly on Disney’s streaming platform, Disney+.

“This reorganization is designed to accelerate our expansion within the rapidly evolving direct-to-consumer landscape, which is central to the future of our company. By separating content creation from distribution, the new structure will allow us to operate with greater efficiency and agility in delivering the content consumers desire most, and in the formats they prefer,” stated Bob Chapek, Disney’s chief executive officer, in an internal memorandum detailing the reorganization, as reported by TechCrunch. “This new structure will empower our world-renowned creative teams to concentrate entirely on developing and producing exceptional original content.”

The production of new content for Disney’s extensive portfolio of intellectual properties will be managed by three distinct groups—Studios, General Entertainment, and Sports. The leadership of these groups will remain unchanged, with Alan F. Horn and Alan Bergman, Peter Rice, and James Pitaro continuing in their current roles, the company confirmed.

Kareem Daniel, formerly responsible for the company’s consumer products, games, and publishing operations, will oversee the operations of this newly consolidated structure.

All of these executives will report directly to Chapek.

“Considering the remarkable success of Disney+ and our plans to further accelerate our direct-to-consumer business, we are strategically positioning the company to more effectively support our growth strategy and enhance shareholder value,” Chapek said in a public statement. “Separating content creation from distribution will enable us to be more effective and adaptable in delivering the content consumers want most, in the way they prefer to experience it. Our creative teams will focus on their core strength—creating world-class, franchise-based content—while our newly centralized global distribution team will concentrate on delivering and monetizing that content in the most effective manner across all platforms, including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and the upcoming Star international streaming service.”

Studios will oversee all development activities for live-action and animated productions originating from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight Pictures.

General Entertainment will fulfill a similar function for productions from 20th Television, ABC Signature, and Touchstone Television, as well as the company’s news divisions, Disney channels, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic.

Sports will concentrate on ESPN and sports-related productions, encompassing live events and original, non-scripted content for cable channels, ESPN+, and ABC, according to the company.

Daniel will be responsible for overseeing the monetization, distribution, operations, sales, advertising, and data and technology infrastructure for all of these groups. A long-serving Disney executive, he previously led the company’s Imagineering Operations, transforming intellectual property into entertainment experiences for Disney’s resorts and theme parks, before assuming leadership of consumer products, games, and publishing.

“Kareem is an exceptionally gifted, innovative, and forward-thinking leader, with a proven record of developing and implementing successful global content distribution and commercialization strategies,” Chapek noted. “As we focus on rapidly expanding our direct-to-consumer business, a key priority will be delivering and monetizing our exceptional content in the most effective way possible, and I am confident that Kareem is the ideal person to lead this effort. His extensive experience will enable him to effectively integrate the company’s distribution, advertising, marketing, and sales functions, creating a powerful distribution engine to serve all of Disney’s media and entertainment businesses.”

The new organizational structure is effective immediately, and the company anticipates transitioning to financial reporting under this structure in the first quarter of fiscal 2021.

Disney plans to host an investor day on December 10th to provide further details regarding its direct-to-consumer strategies.