IP Democracy: Recap of Disney-Pixar Analyst Call

Disney CEO Bob Iger and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs shared their views on today’s announcement of Disney’s $7.4 billion buy of Pixar in an analyst call held this afternoon (January 24). (Webcast here.)

As Disney CFO Tom Staggs pointed out, Pixar comes with $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet, so the net price Disney will pay is, in effect, $6.4 billion.

Iger summed up Disney’s motivation for the deal right off the bat — Pixar makes great animated films and that fits right in with Disney’s strengths. “Nothing has created as much value as great animation,” Iger said. “We’ve watched Pixar create some of the most memorable, highest quality films in this genre.”

Moreoever, Pixar was about to slip through Disney’s grasp, with the long-term deal between the two companies about to end, and Disney didn’t want to see that happen.

Jobs said that Pixar had explored various kinds of “Lucas Films” arrangements with other studios, with Pixar aligning itself, but not merging, with other production and distribution houses. “The more we thought about becoming part of Disney…with everybody focused on the films, the stories and the characters..we came to the conclusion that this looked to be the most exciting path for Pixar’s future.” Having a single company, with a single board and a single vision is what Pixar wanted.

When asked about the deal’s implication for Disney to sell more content via Apple’s iTunes (Jobs is also CEO of Apple), Iger seemed to embrace the concept of even more experimentation along these lines. “There are so many new ways you can create products..or so many ways that consumers can consume product,” he said.

Jobs was very enthusiastic about Pixar’s content being exploited across multiple new platforms. “You may watch your favorite live action film three or four or five times in your life. But for a great animated film, your kids may watch it dozens of times,” he said. “The opportunities to watch these films are huge…There is a going to be a strong demand for family members to watch them many, many times on many different devices.”

Iger stressed several times how important it is to Disney to not mess up the highly creative, and highly successful, atmosphere at Pixar. Having been through two mergers himself, “I’m very sensitive to what can happen when a company is bought,” he said. “I’m deeply committed to allowing Pixar to exist in the way it’s existed.”

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on January 24, 2006 11:41 PM to IP Democracy