Nuptials nebulous
Eisner plays down ABC News-CNN combo
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"We have had conversations for years about more efficient ways to present news," Eisner told investors at the Goldman Sachs media conference in Gotham. "I think Ted Turner has done a fantastic job building that business and has a keen spirit of what it should be. … I'd be happy if it happens with us, but I just don't know."
Teams on block
He reaffirmed the Mouse is trying, reluctantly, to sell the Anaheim Angels and Mighty Ducks and said it would consider unloading its large radio group if an opportunity arises that's "really, really to our advantage.
"That's all I've got for sale," he joked.
He said theme parks, hit by a sluggish economy and terrorism fears, are bound to buck up eventually and that meanwhile he was cautiously upbeat about early indicators at ABC this season. He predicted strong, double-digit earnings-per-share growth in Disney's current 2003 fiscal year that started on Tuesday.
Disney knocked out a box office home run with "Sweet Home Alabama" over the weekend and a DVD hit with "Monsters, Inc." last week.
"I'm as bullish about the company's prospects as I've ever been since I've been at Disney," he said "… Our jobs are clear, our sights are set. We know what we have to do, and we are going to do it.
"Disney's best days are yet to come," promised the embattled CEO. Eisner even thanked Goldman analyst Richard Greenfield, who welcomed him to the podium, for avoiding the words "embattled," "micromanaging," "difficult to work with" or "quixotic, my favorite."
Eisner said he thinks Disney's Pixar connection is secure in some form. Pixar's technology isn't key, he said; what is key is its creative force "John Lassiter and some disciples of Lassiter (whom) we would like to stay in business with."
Disney shares on Tuesday rose 3.70% to $3.70.
