Old school thinking flunks with Disney's Iger
Future means "opportunity"
By Paul Bond
The Hollywood Reporter
Oct 25, 2007
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...41293c37d2a145
Future means "opportunity"
By Paul Bond
The Hollywood Reporter
Oct 25, 2007
In wide-ranging presentation Wednesday, Robert Iger said the best way to fight digital piracy is to go on the offensive and that big media companies are undervalued on Wall Street.
The Disney CEO even took time to swipe at The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety.
While hedge-fund investors seem only to care about individual quarterly results, "critical shareholders" understand the value of long-term success. "Live for today, die tomorrow," he warned during his presentation at the Forbes MEET II conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
And digital technologies, like the sort that disrupt old business models and foment piracy, need not be so scary to investors. "There is a sense on Wall Street "that the future is more of a threat than an opportunity," he said.
The kind of short-term, old-school thinking he was talking about is reflected in the entertainment trade papers that focus undue attention on boxoffice and ratings numbers instead of profitability, Iger said. Such reportage is "rooted in the past," he said.
The Disney CEO even took time to swipe at The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety.
While hedge-fund investors seem only to care about individual quarterly results, "critical shareholders" understand the value of long-term success. "Live for today, die tomorrow," he warned during his presentation at the Forbes MEET II conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
And digital technologies, like the sort that disrupt old business models and foment piracy, need not be so scary to investors. "There is a sense on Wall Street "that the future is more of a threat than an opportunity," he said.
The kind of short-term, old-school thinking he was talking about is reflected in the entertainment trade papers that focus undue attention on boxoffice and ratings numbers instead of profitability, Iger said. Such reportage is "rooted in the past," he said.
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