How Bob Iger Unchained Disney - Businessweek.com

[OogieBoogie]

Story at : http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...+index_careers

How Bob Iger Unchained Disney

For the past year, the media-entertainment complex (aka Hollywood) has provided riveting theater. Summary firings at Viacom. (VIA ) A quixotic bid to break up Time Warner (TWX ). News Corp.'s (NWS ) O.J. Simpson moment. But one entertainment colossus has been remarkably peaceful--so much so it's easy to forget that not long ago this place was a snake pit of warring egos, board intrigue, and assorted skulduggery.

That institution, of course, is Walt Disney Co. (DIS ). Not only has peace broken out since Robert A. Iger settled into Michael D. Eisner's throne at the pseudo-Tuscan headquarters in Burbank, Calif., but the Mouse House also has been racking up enviable numbers. It's posting record earnings, and the stock price has been defying gravity like Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

So the Oscar for Disney's turnaround goes to...Bob Iger. No, wait, to Michael Eisner. No, both.

We'll explain.
Ignore for the moment the splash Iger made last year when he repaired relations with Steve Jobs and took control of Pixar, the Apple Inc. (AAPL ) founder's animation hit factory. Most of the good news at Disney since Iger's ascension--the resurrection of ABC, the $2 billion Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, rising attendance at Disney's U.S. theme parks--are the payoff of plans laid during the Eisner era. And though Iger was deeply involved in the revival at ABC, he is the first to give his predecessor credit: "It was because of Michael that I was able to hit the ground running," he says.

On the other hand, those record profits deserve a second look. Yes, net income soared 33% in fiscal 2006, to $3.4 billion, while revenues climbed 7%, to $34.3 billion. But Disney had a one-of-a-kind year in 2006, with two box-office smashes in Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest that by themselves gave Disney earnings a huge pop. That sets the bar high for Disney this year. While another Pirates film is due out this summer, along with Pixar's Ratatouille, Thomson Financial (TOC ) projects net income growth in 2007 of 12%, vs. 24% for the media sector as a whole.

To buffer the company against the hit-and-miss vagaries of the movie business, Iger will need to complete an ongoing resuscitation of the Paris and Hong Kong theme parks, keep ABC's momentum going, and encourage the Pixar team to make more than one film a year. He must also make Disney nimbler and capable of moving quickly to seize the digital day.

[Disney Wrassler]

Thanks for sharing Oogie .

[mikeland]

That's a great article. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for a Bob Iger autobiography.

[Cmash95]

not sure about trying to surpass cable or satelite tv, disney has the espn franchise and how many channel? I dont think they will be able to take the content of all those channels and stream them on the web. they would lose viewership.

[nish221]

I think I have somewhat an unique view on this since I've been working with the internet since 1984 and have worked as a technologist at a major Silicon Valley firm.

But I never expected a Disney exec (or any non-hightech exec) to be saying these things (much less the CEO).

BTW. I completely expect video on-demand to become a major conduit eventually.

[barfownz]

What does the title of "Unchained" in the article mean?

[SL Sushi]

This is a very positive article, outlining the very things that seem to have, in the past, upset long-term Disney fans. I will add, however, that I feel to truely bring back some of the long-loyals, Disney should create a new 2-D animated feature.

[TheDude]

I think Bob has done an incredible job so far with Disney and the stock now shows that a lot of people agree with me.

Go Bob! Go Disney!

[Baloo]

What does the title of "Unchained" in the article mean?

The diference that Eisner handled his executives and creative teams as if he kept them in a short leash compared to the way Iger lets them take full reponsibility to do their job without costantly overpowering their decisions.

[barfownz]

The diference that Eisner handled his executives and creative teams as if he kept them in a short leash compared to the way Iger lets them take full reponsibility to do their job without costantly overpowering their decisions.

:claps: Cheers to Iger. He's the best CEO yet.

[themur]

Thanks for posting that Oogie. Great read. It certainly has been an eventful first year plus with Iger.

[WDW1974]

<<If one thing separates Iger from other media moguls like Rupert Murdoch and Sumner M. Redstone, it's his belief that he doesn't need to go out and acquire a MySpace.com (NWS ) or YouTube Inc. (GOOG ). >>

Someone needs to inform the author that there's one HUGE thing that separate Bob from true media titans like Sumner and Rupert ... and it's very simple: THEY OWN THEIR COMPANIES. They aren't simply the highest-level exec EMPLOYEE.

Just a small detail, I know ...