Robart A. Iger's Speech
Robert A. Iger, President & COO
The Walt Disney Company
I am pleased and very proud to be here today in my new role as president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Company.
This is an amazing company, with an array of assets and an ability to create great content, that when coupled with new technology, will provide countless opportunities in this new millennium ... the Disney brand stands strong, as one of the most valued brands in the world ... something I've certainly come to appreciate in the year I've spent running our International Division.
International
Consider an experience I had recently in Beijing: I was walking some narrow back streets
and alleyways of old Beijing to get a different perspective of the city. I started a
conversation with an elderly woman, who to my surprise invited me in for tea. Her home
consisted of two unattached rooms, with only the basic necessities ... and there, on top
of her simple refrigerator, was a stack of Disney books. I asked her about them, and she
said she bought them to read to her grandson, and she was obviously quite proud. Here we
were in a tiny home in the People's Republic of China -- and there was the Disney brand --
a valued possession in this home, in that corner of the world ... and yes, I did tell her
what I did for a living, and have since managed to send her sweatshirts, pajamas, toys and
a set of our newest books -- in Chinese.
Examples like that are abundant, some seemingly small -- a stack of books in a small dwelling, but some are tremendous: like the recent opening of "Toy Story 2" in the United Kingdom, which achieved the biggest three-day opening in UK cinema history. The Disney theatrical beat the previous record set by "Star Wars - The Phantom Menace," grossing 7.8 million pounds!
Those of you who've seen it know that "Toy Story 2" is a great movie, but it was also the power of the Disney brand, and all the company's efforts behind it, that enabled it to achieve this fantastic result.
Earlier, I mentioned technology. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we are seeing and experiencing sweeping technological change ... in the home, at work, here in the United States and worldwide. This change is creating vast new opportunities for The Walt Disney Company, in our ability to design and create new content, in our ability to distribute it to people everywhere ... And of course, in their ability to consume it.
- In Japan, we're working with a major cellular company to distribute Disney branded content to the cell phone.
- In Latin America, we're launching a new Disney Channel via satellite ... the tenth international Disney Channel to launch within 5 years!
- And in the United States, we're distributing Disney product aggressively via new channels including wireless devices like the Palm Pilot.
Technology
And as Michael mentioned, the advent of broadband and wireless technology will enhance our
ability to provide content to consumers in astounding ways. Today, any company developing
distribution paths needs Disney, and the other valuable brands we own, like ABC, and ESPN.
Technology will be a voracious consumer of content.
In one regard, the impact of the technology on our company is really nothing new. Throughout the 76-year history of Disney, technology has been a key driver of our success. Consider "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." It was released as a theatrical film in 1938 and went on to be the most successful movie of the year. In the 1950s, Walt Disney invented the theme park and his development of audio-animatronic technology gave new life to our Snow White property. In the 1980s, video technology arrived and "Snow White" went on to become one of the most successful video releases ever. In this new decade, DVD is taking hold and you can be assured that, when it is released on DVD next year, "Snow White" will be a powerhouse on this new format.
Now on the horizon is the technology of broadband Internet delivery. There is no question that broadband will provide consumers with one more way to enjoy the timeless entertainment of Snow White and will provide yet another strong revenue stream for this eternal classic.
ABC Television
And speaking of strong content, let me report on the growth of our ABC, Inc. assets and in
particular, the "turnaround" of the ABC Television Network.
This turnaround has certainly been helped by the phenomenal success of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," which shows no signs of abating. This program like many of our narrative series is as much about the stories of our contestants as it is about the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat.
ABC is flourishing this year, and is number one in all of the key demographics: adults 18-49, 25-54, kids, teens, and total viewer ... ABC has passed NBC and is in position to win the ratings race among these key sales demographics for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
Also contributing to our success this season is the momentum we gained at the beginning of the new year with the ambitious and unparalleled coverage of the millennium. "ABC2000" was a 24-hour worldwide broadcast celebrating the new millennium in every time zone. 175 million people watched this broadcast, which received viewer and critical acclaim. It was universally agreed that the day belonged to ABC. What a great way to begin a new millennium!
Our momentum this year continued with the Super Bowl, which was one of the best games in Super Bowl history ... with many records falling, but the record we like the most is that advertising sales for the entire day of Super Bowl programming totaled a historically high $158 million.
Just as our network is thriving, so are our broadcast properties. Our ten television stations and our radio division are all benefiting from a great marketplace combined with strong programming with revenues and operating income up sharply over last year.