Disney Chief Defends Mitchell Appointment
March 9, 2004
LOS ANGELES, Mar 09, 2004 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Walt Disney Co. president Robert Iger dismissed criticism Tuesday that new chairman George Mitchell might be too close to management and said the company would focus on improving its networks and animation division.
"The board's reputation is on the line ... shareholders come first before any relationship the board may have with management," Iger said during a media and entertainment conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., that was broadcast on the Internet.
He also opined that cable giant Comcast is likely to sweeten its offer for the Burbank, Calif.-based entertainment giant.
Fielding questions for nearly an hour, Iger touched on the company's health and future amid shareholders' discontent with chief executive Michael Eisner. The board stripped Eisner of the chairman post during its annual stockholders meeting last week.
The panel elected Mitchell, a former U.S. senator, but a quarter of Disney investors withheld their support from the nine-year board member who is seen by some as being too close to Eisner.
Iger said it was "reprehensible" to suggest Mitchell won't be impartial.
"The board felt that it was imperative to split the roles and believed George Mitchell was the best person for that job," Iger said. "He is clearly someone who has demonstrated the ability to act independently."
Iger, who is also chief operating officer, said management is on notice from the board to increase earnings per share by 30 percent in 2004 and fix problems at its ABC television, ABC Family Channel and animation units.
"We know that it's about performance at this point," Iger said. "There are no givens."
Executives at ABC, where prime-time ratings have suffered since 2000, are currently focusing on developing drama and reality programs.
"I do take responsibility for ABC. It's performance in prime time has been disappointing," Iger said.
Disney is also bringing in a new executive to run ABC Family Channel, which has not met the company's expectations since it was acquired in 2001.
Iger acknowledged the animation division became too focused on 2-D animation as Disney looked to Pixar Animation Studios to produce films with 3-D characters.
"We were definitely reliant on Pixar since 'Toy Story' was released," Iger said. "We were focused in our own development and production in 2-D animation. I think that was a mistake."
Pixar recently severed talks aimed at reaching a new agreement with Disney when the negotiations stalled over profit-sharing and copyright disputes.
The Disney division currently has more than 20 projects in development, many done with computer graphics or in 3-D.
Disney's current deal with Pixar includes the release of two more movies and allows Disney to make sequels to films like "Finding Nemo," "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc."
Iger dismissed the need for Disney to partner with a distribution network like cable giant Comcast Corp. to compete in the future.
"A few of us have proven you can go it alone. You don't have to have distribution," he said. "Access really isn't a problem."
Disney has twice rejected an unsolicited buyout offer from Comcast, which has said it won't increase its bid. Still, Iger expects another offer.
"I sense there's an inevitability of another offer being made that is in all likelihood higher than the offer that was made, but that's my opinion," he said.
March 9, 2004
LOS ANGELES, Mar 09, 2004 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Walt Disney Co. president Robert Iger dismissed criticism Tuesday that new chairman George Mitchell might be too close to management and said the company would focus on improving its networks and animation division.
"The board's reputation is on the line ... shareholders come first before any relationship the board may have with management," Iger said during a media and entertainment conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., that was broadcast on the Internet.
He also opined that cable giant Comcast is likely to sweeten its offer for the Burbank, Calif.-based entertainment giant.
Fielding questions for nearly an hour, Iger touched on the company's health and future amid shareholders' discontent with chief executive Michael Eisner. The board stripped Eisner of the chairman post during its annual stockholders meeting last week.
The panel elected Mitchell, a former U.S. senator, but a quarter of Disney investors withheld their support from the nine-year board member who is seen by some as being too close to Eisner.
Iger said it was "reprehensible" to suggest Mitchell won't be impartial.
"The board felt that it was imperative to split the roles and believed George Mitchell was the best person for that job," Iger said. "He is clearly someone who has demonstrated the ability to act independently."
Iger, who is also chief operating officer, said management is on notice from the board to increase earnings per share by 30 percent in 2004 and fix problems at its ABC television, ABC Family Channel and animation units.
"We know that it's about performance at this point," Iger said. "There are no givens."
Executives at ABC, where prime-time ratings have suffered since 2000, are currently focusing on developing drama and reality programs.
"I do take responsibility for ABC. It's performance in prime time has been disappointing," Iger said.
Disney is also bringing in a new executive to run ABC Family Channel, which has not met the company's expectations since it was acquired in 2001.
Iger acknowledged the animation division became too focused on 2-D animation as Disney looked to Pixar Animation Studios to produce films with 3-D characters.
"We were definitely reliant on Pixar since 'Toy Story' was released," Iger said. "We were focused in our own development and production in 2-D animation. I think that was a mistake."
Pixar recently severed talks aimed at reaching a new agreement with Disney when the negotiations stalled over profit-sharing and copyright disputes.
The Disney division currently has more than 20 projects in development, many done with computer graphics or in 3-D.
Disney's current deal with Pixar includes the release of two more movies and allows Disney to make sequels to films like "Finding Nemo," "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc."
Iger dismissed the need for Disney to partner with a distribution network like cable giant Comcast Corp. to compete in the future.
"A few of us have proven you can go it alone. You don't have to have distribution," he said. "Access really isn't a problem."
Disney has twice rejected an unsolicited buyout offer from Comcast, which has said it won't increase its bid. Still, Iger expects another offer.
"I sense there's an inevitability of another offer being made that is in all likelihood higher than the offer that was made, but that's my opinion," he said.
