Iger Faces a Bumpy Magic Kingdom Ride
As incoming chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., Robert Iger will take the reins of a company he knows intimately. But despite years of navigating his way around the Magic Kingdom he will face a few blind spots.
Having risen through the ranks of the television business, Mr. Iger has long experience in Disney's important network and cable operations, which account for more than a third of the company's overall revenue. And since becoming Disney's president and chief operating officer in 2000 he has dealt closely with the company's consumer-products arm, a smaller but meaningful revenue driver. He is less well-versed, however, in the theme-park and movie divisions. Together, those units make up more than half of Disney's revenue.
Mr. Iger, who will assume the CEO title in October, will need to get up to speed fast. Disney's animated film business, long regarded as Hollywood's gold standard, has fallen behind in the new era of computer-generated cartoons and needs to make a comeback. He'll also have to rebuild Disney's operations in the specialty film business once the company completes its expected separation from Harvey and Bob Weinstein, co-chairmen of its Miramax Films unit.
Disney's theme-park business, meanwhile, still faces challenges amid the global travel slump that set in after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. And Mr. Iger must seek to greatly extend the Disney brand overseas. Mr. Iger has already been involved in negotiations, for example, to bring a Disney theme park to mainland China.
Even on his home turf of the TV business Mr. Iger, whom Disney didn't make available for this article, faces rough going. He must expand a nascent turnaround at Disney's ABC broadcast network, which after years of declines is suddenly riding high on the success of new hits "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." In the near term he has to decide whether Disney will renew a National Football League package that has long been a key part of its schedule.
On the management front, Mr. Iger must soon decide who is the best choice to take on his former role as Disney's president. Among the likely candidates: Disney studio chief Dick Cook; Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs; consumer-products chief Andy Mooney; and Anne Sweeney, president of the ABC-Disney Television Group. A Disney spokeswoman said Mr. Iger was not available to comment yesterday.
DISNEY'S SUCCESSION RIDE
? Company statement
? Bios of key officials | Timeline
? Walt Disney Names Iger CEO
03/14/05
? Whitman Gains From Disney Try
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? Disney Dissidents Attack Eisner Role in Search for CEO
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? Disney Aims for Smoother Ride
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Some of the company's longtime critics, notably dissident ex-directors Stanley Gold and Roy E. Disney, have already attacked Mr. Iger's qualifications. Despite the company's financial turnaround in the last year -- a factor the Disney board cited in naming him -- they note that Mr. Iger was also a top executive during the many years of declining earnings in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mr. Iger must now grapple with the question of whether or not to extend an olive branch to Messrs. Gold and Disney.
Many on Wall Street have seemed pleased with Mr. Iger in recent months. With his long experience in the entertainment business, which started in the early 1970s at ABC television, some investors believe he's well suited to the task. "Bob Iger is clearly the right person to succeed Michael Eisner as Disney's CEO, given his background," says Jack Liebau, a Pasadena, Calif., asset manager who owns stock in the company.
But Mr. Liebau cautions that Mr. Iger will "have to wrestle with the new technologies," as well as the question of "how, in a world with consolidating cable and satellite distributors, a content-rich company continues to reach the consumer." Under Mr. Eisner, Disney has mostly remained a content company that is uninterested in owning distribution pipelines beyond its TV and radio stations.
On the television front, ABC has staged one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent broadcast history since the start of the fall season. The over-the-top comedic drama "Desperate Housewives" on Sunday nights is the season's No. 1 new show, and the island mystery "Lost" isn't far behind it. As a result, the network has posted double-digit gains in total viewers and among viewers age 18 to 49, the age demographic advertisers pay a premium to reach. In cable, Disney is the majority owner of the thriving ESPN cable sports-programming franchise, a wildly successful enterprise that, according to analysts, contributes about 15% of the company's bottom line.
That "Lost" has gone on to be a major engine for ABC illustrates Mr. Iger's occasional missteps when it comes to spotting programming that will pop, say producers and studio executives. Insiders say Mr. Iger repeatedly dismissed "Lost" as a concept that would never work as a full-blown series. Indeed, one of his fundamental challenges will be to resist what some see as micromanaging tendencies and trust the judgment of Steve McPherson, who succeeded Susan Lyne as president of entertainment, when it comes to programming decisions.
"Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" have masked other substantial problems on ABC's schedule. It's still not a player on Thursdays, often the most lucrative night on TV due to the preference of movie studios and car manufacturers to advertise before the weekend. With "Nightline" suffering from spiraling ratings, ABC is also absent from the highly profitable late-night period. News programming in general has been problematic this season, with "Primetime Live" seeing double-digit declines from its peak.
Other television-related questions loom large. A big one: How to handle Disney's soon-to-expire contracts with the National Football League. ABC's "Monday Night Football" deal with the NFL, which is up at the end of the coming football season, creates losses for the network of about $150 million a year. But it's a key promotional platform for ABC's other programming, and as a result the network may face potential competition from General Electric Co.'s NBC for the contract.
Mr. Iger has barely been involved in Disney's movie operations. Now, he takes over at a time when the company faces challenges in both the live-action and animation businesses.
After a strong 2003 in the live-action category, Disney stumbled badly last year with misses like "The Alamo" and "Hidalgo." It's hoping to get back in gear with some big bets in the next couple of years, including two "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels that will together cost in the neighborhood of $300 million. The company is also ramping up "The Chronicles of Narnia," a hoped-for franchise in the family/fantasy genre.
Disney later this year will test its chops in the popular computer-animation genre with "Chicken Little," which is intended to show that the studio can compete with stalwarts Pixar and DreamWorks Animation SKG.
Mr. Iger hasn't articulated what he would like to do about Disney's ruptured relationship with Pixar Animation Studios, which provided lucrative hits like "Finding Nemo" over the past decade. Pixar and Disney have co-financed Pixar's films for the past 10 years, but Pixar last year said it was ending the lucrative partnership amid tensions between Pixar chief Steve Jobs and Disney's Mr. Eisner. Pixar has not yet made plans to distribute its future films yet, leaving some to believe there was still hope something could be worked out with Mr. Eisner's successor.
伊格尔的“魔幻王国”之路并非坦途
作为沃尔特-迪斯尼(Walt Disney Co., DIS)即将上任的首席执行长，现任总裁罗伯特?伊格尔(Robert Iger)将执掌一家他再熟悉不过的公司。不过，尽管多年来一直徜徉于这个“魔幻王国”，他仍将面临几个盲点。
从电视业务干起并一路平步青云，伊格尔长期涉足迪斯尼重要的网络和有线电视业务，这部分业务占据迪斯尼总收入的三分之一以上。自2000年担任迪斯尼的总裁兼首席营运长以来，伊格尔便密切关注迪斯尼的消费品子公司－一个规模较小、却是收入重要推动力的部门。但他对主题公园和电影业务则不那么精通。而消费品、主题公园和电影业务这三个子公司共占迪斯尼收入的一半以上。
伊格尔将于10月份正式出任首席执行长，他必须尽快适应其新角色。迪斯尼长期以来被奉为好莱坞金科玉律的动画片业务已经落后于电脑制作卡通片的新时代，现在必须重振旗鼓。他还必须在其子公司Miramax Films联系董事长哈维(Harvey)和鲍伯?温斯汀(Bob Weinstein)离开后重新打造迪斯尼的专业电影业务。
与此同时，迪斯尼的主题公园业务在全球旅游业因911恐怖袭击后持续下滑的情况下面临诸多挑战。伊格尔必须努力在海外市场大举拓展迪斯尼的品牌。比如说，伊格尔已经介入有关谈判，将在中国大陆建设一个迪斯尼主题公园。
即便在他的老本行－电视业务方面，伊格尔面临的形势也不容乐观。他必须延续迪斯尼旗下美国广播公司(ABC)网络刚刚起步的复苏。经历数年的业绩下滑后，ABC突然因《欲乱绝情妻》(Desperate Housewives)和《迷失》(Lost)等新剧大获成功而高奏凯歌。短期内，伊格尔还得就迪斯尼是否与全国橄榄球联盟(National Football League, NFL)续约作出决定。长期以来，双方的合作一直是ABC节目安排的核心部分。
在管理层方面，伊格尔必须尽快决定谁来接任他担任迪斯尼的总裁。可能的候选人包括：迪斯尼工作室负责人迪克?库克(Dick Cook)；首席财务长汤姆?斯泰格斯(Tom Staggs)；消费品业务负责人安迪?穆尼(Andy Mooney)；ABC-Disney Television Group总裁安纳?斯维尼(Anne Sweeney)。
迪斯尼内部一些批评人士、尤其是长期以来持反对意见的前董事史坦利?格德(Stanley Gold)和罗伊?迪斯尼(Roy E. Disney)已经对伊格尔的胜任能力发起攻击。尽管公司去年的财务状况有所好转－这也是迪斯尼董事会在任命伊格尔时提到的一点，但他们指出，在公司20世纪90年代末和21世纪初收益持续下滑的多年里，伊格尔也是高级管理人士之一。伊格尔现在必须应付是否向史坦利?格德和罗伊?迪斯尼递出橄榄枝的问题。
近几个月来，许多华尔街人士似乎对伊格尔甚为满意。由于多年来投身于娱乐业，一些投资者认为他很适合首席执行长的位置。伊格尔的职业生涯从70年初在ABC电视供职开始。一位持有迪斯尼股票的基金经理杰克?列普(Jack Liebau)称，考虑到他的背景，伊格尔显然是接替麦可?埃森内(Michael Eisner)出任首席执行长的最佳人选。
但列普警告称，伊格尔将不得不与新技术展开较量，同时他还将应对这样的问题：在一个有线电视和卫星电视分销商日益整合的时代，一家内容丰富的公司怎样才能继续吸引消费者的眼球？在埃森内的时代，迪斯尼基本上仍是一家以内容为主的公司，对拥有电视和广播电台之外的分销渠道没什么兴趣。
在电视业务方面，自秋季档期开始后，ABC上演了近来传播业最为引人注目的转折。周日晚间播出的喜剧片《欲乱绝情妻》成为当季最热门的新剧，而荒岛求生剧《迷失》的收视率也不甘落后。因此，ABC电视网络的观众总数和关键的18-49岁的观众人数出现了两位数的增长。在有线电视方面，迪斯尼是有线体育节目企业ESPN的大股东，据分析师表示，这家异常成功的企业为迪斯尼贡献的利润约为15%。
制片人和工作室管理人士称，《迷失》继续成为ABC收视率的主要推动力说明伊格尔在洞悉流行节目趋势方面不时会出现失误。内部人士称，伊格尔多次将《迷失》贬为一个概念，称其永远都不会成为一个完整的系列剧。确实，他面临的一个基本挑战将是在节目决策上抵制一些人所认为的微管倾向并充分信任斯蒂夫?马克弗森(Steve McPherson)的判断力。马克弗森已接替苏珊?莱纳(Susan Lyne)成为娱乐部门的总裁。
《欲乱绝情妻》和《迷失》掩盖了ABC节目安排的其他重大问题。ABC依然未能成为周四晚间时段的主要竞争者。由于电影公司和汽车制造商青睐于在周末前播放广告，周四晚间通常是最为有利可图的时段。随著《夜线》(Nightline)的收视率不断下滑，ABC也无缘于极为诱人的深夜时段。这一季的新闻节目也一直存在问题，《黄金时间实况》(Primetime Live)较其最高收视率出现了两位数的降幅。
其他与电视有关的问题也日益突显。一大问题是：如何处理迪斯尼与NFL即将到期的合约？与NFL达成的Monday Night Football交易每年给ABC带来约1.5亿美元的亏损，但它是ABC其他节目一个关键的宣传平台，因此可能面临来自通用电气公司(General Electric Co.)旗下美国全国广播公司(NBC)为争夺此项合约的竞争。
伊格尔几乎没有涉足过迪斯尼的电影业务。而今，他的上任正值公司在动作片和动画片面临双重挑战之际。
继2003年动作片表现强劲后，去年迪斯尼却因《边城英烈传》(The Alamo)和《沙漠骑兵》(Hidalgo)的失败而大伤元气。迪斯尼希望未来几年凭藉总共耗资3亿美元左右的两部《加勒比海盗》(Pirates of the Caribbean)续集卷土重来。公司还在筹拍《纳尼亚传奇》(The Chronicles of Narnia)，以期在家庭/科幻类影片中有所作为。
今年晚些时候，迪斯尼将推出《四眼天鸡》(Chicken Little)，以在广受欢迎的电脑动画片领域小试牛刀。《四眼天鸡》的推出旨在显示迪斯尼完全可以与Pixar和DreamWorks Animation SKG.相抗衡。
伊格尔尚未说明他将如何处理迪斯尼与Pixar Animation Studios业已中断的关系。Pixar制作了诸如《海底总动员》(Finding Nemo)等过去10年来最赚钱的影片。Pixar和迪斯尼在过去10年一直共同为Pixar制作的电影提供资金，但Pixar去年称，由于其首席执行长斯蒂文?乔伯斯(Steve Jobs)和迪斯尼的埃森内之间关系紧张，Pixar终止了双方有利可图的合作关系。Pixar尚未制定分销其未来影片的计划，这使得一些人士认为其与埃森内的继任者达成某种协议的希望尚存。
