Word: disneyed
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Comcast's gibes sound a lot like the criticisms flowing from shareholders who have grown irate over Eisner's stewardship. He has been contending with a shareholder uprising led by ex-board members Roy Disney and his partner, Stanley Gold. The duo quit the company last fall, fed up with Eisner's alleged mismanagement, and are trying to persuade shareholders not to re-elect him at the company's annual meeting on March 3. Eisner suffered a body blow when Steve Jobs, Pixar Animation Studio's boss, decided not to renew a co-production and distribution agreement after 10 months...
Perhaps the most stinging charge is that Eisner has repelled corporate talent, particularly anyone with CEO potential. Disney has suffered an exodus of executives during his tenure. Its cast members no longer include execs like Paul Pressler, now at Gap; Geraldine Laybourne, who quit to co-found Oxygen Media; and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the man behind The Lion King, who co-founded DreamWorks. Comcast's No. 2 executive, Burke, is a fast-track escapee. He spent 12 years at Disney and proved himself a skilled executive by recharging Disney's consumer-products division (it faltered after he left) and reviving Euro...
ESPN is certainly an MVP at Disney. The company turned the sports network into a 300-lb. fullback that relentlessly pounded cable-system operators with price increases--some 20% annually over the past five years. Because the inclusion of ESPN in the basic package is essential to any self-respecting cable operator, cable companies have been furious over the beating they have been taking from Eisner & Co. but helpless against it. "Disney is trying to use the leverage they have with ESPN to make up for all the other businesses that may be troubled at this time," complained Pat Esser...
With estimated annual profits of $1 billion and a market value of $15 billion to $20 billion, ESPN, launched in 1979 with a lineup that included Australian Rules Football and gocart racing, became Disney's go-to asset as its theme parks and ABC faltered. Comcast Cable president Stephen Burke leaves no doubt that acquiring ESPN is a prime motivation for his bid. "Warren Buffett has said he likes businesses that are like a castle with a big moat around it," says Burke. "ESPN is a great castle with a very big moat." ESPN's Sunday Night Football...
ESPN employees are counting on Comcast to be less synergy minded than the Mouse. They bristle at promoting Disney movies on their jock network, even though cross promotion is standard operating procedure at media conglomerates (and ESPN certainly isn't shy about endlessly pushing its programs, such as the X Games). But there is one part of Disney they want to retain, says an ESPN worker: "I just hope they keep our free theme-park passes...