12/03/2003
Dear Fellow Cast Member:
I'm writing to you from a plane on my way to Disneyland for tonight's annual
employee Christmas party, having just wrapped up two days of regularly
scheduled meetings with your Company's board of directors. As you might guess,
the board spent a great deal of time reviewing the results of all our hard
work, and it's a privilege for me to tell you that the creativity, innovation
and dedication displayed by each of you are paying off.
Disney was not alone in its struggle to navigate the tough economic and
international waters of late — companies and individuals across America and
around the world have had to work harder and longer. At Disney, the countless
hours our employees put in over the past year were certainly worth the effort,
and I'm happy to report the results are extremely encouraging.
First, congratulations to The Walt Disney Studios on making industry history by
becoming the first studio to surpass $3 billion in global box office receipts
for 2003. With Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding
Nemo, Freaky Friday, Bringing Down the House and a string of other great
Disney/Touchstone films paving the way, the studio has enjoyed a phenomenal
year. In home entertainment, the benefits of increased DVD player penetration
and the tremendous strength of our content have brought us recent
record-breaking sales for The Lion King and Finding Nemo DVD releases. In fact,
the combined current releases of Finding Nemo and The Lion King have already
exceeded 30 million units, and yesterday's Pirates of the Caribbean DVD release
is already off to a tremendous start.
The ABC Television Network team has made solid progress with its prime time
schedule. Over the last 2-1/2 years, the network has successfully added an
unprecedented 10 comedies to its primetime schedule. Versus regular
competition, all 10 of ABC's comedies rank either first or second in their
respective time periods in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic (eight rank #1
and two rank #2). Just as important, these young comedies are building blocks
that will form the groundwork for the future of the network. While there is
clearly more work that needs to be done, we are pleased with the results the
ABC team has shown thus far. In cable, ESPN's ratings were up 13% in 2003, and
ESPN and ESPN2 had their highest viewership ever in October, up 39% over the
same month last year. Disney Channel had its best year ever with ratings up 47%
among Kids 6-11, propelling the network to #1 among Kids 6-14. Disney Channel
has also evolved into a new engine of creative and franchise development with
the introduction of new Company-wide properties such as Kim Possible, That's So
Raven, Stanley and Lizzie McGuire. And we are equally focused on delivering
growth from our other cable assets, including ABC Family, Toon Disney, our
international Disney Channels and SOAPnet.
At Parks and Resorts, we're pleased to see continued signs of the gradual
recovery in attendance that we have been expecting. Having just completed an
extended period of investment, making each location worldwide a multi-day
resort destination, Disney continues to strategically invest with the addition
of new "E-ticket" attractions such as Mission: SPACE, one of our greatest
technological and creative achievements, which had its grand opening in
October.
As we discussed in our last quarter earnings call, the Consumer Products
licensing business has experienced solid growth. One of Consumer Products'
greatest successes has been its Disney Princess line of merchandise, which has
grown from $100 million in worldwide sales in 2000 to $1.3 billion in 2003.
I hope these results will add to your enthusiasm and renew your energy for the
coming year because, as Walt put it, "if any of you start resting on your
laurels, I mean just forget it, because . . . we are just getting started."
We still have a lot of work ahead, but I could not be more confident in the
team we have to meet these challenges. And we will not be distracted from what
has been and must remain our sole focus — delivering growth and shareholder
value.
There's no question that together we've made Disney the worldwide leader in
quality, family entertainment. We've taken the strength of the Disney brand,
nurtured it and built a wonderful array of assets that touch the lives of
people in every corner of the globe. Of course, in creating and growing this
fantastic enterprise, the most important assets of all are the people who make
the magic happen . . . you!
I thank you and keep up the great work!
Michael
Gee, I wonder if the guy cares about money?
