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Disney At Front Of Merging Content, Tech, CEO Iger Says
January 08, 2007: 09:06 PM EST
LAS VEGAS (Dow Jones)-Walt Disney Co. (DIS) Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said his company was on the forefront of merging Hollywood's media content and Silicon Valley's technology, in a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show here this week.
The appearance was the first by Iger and the first by a media industry executive at the Consumer Electronic Show, a testament to the growing importance of media content in the tech industry.
A light-hearted event, the speech was called "Monday Night Keynote," a name invoking ESPN's Monday Night Football. ESPN is owned by Disney. Iger also showed a clip of ABC's show "Lost." In the clip, prepared for the show, two characters talk about hitting Las Vegas and CES if they get off the island on which they're trapped.
Unlike other keynotes, Iger didn't announce any deals with other companies. Instead, he went over Disney's work integrating content and technology over the last year. Iger's message focused on the intersection of technology, content and timeliness of content delivery.
"We are witnessing an explosion of media and Disney is reaping the benefits," Iger told a less-than-full house. "We were the first company to put movies and TV shows on (Apple Computer Corp.'s) iTunes."
Disney, Iger said, both creates and satisfies demand.
That dynamic of offering movies and television shows online has kept the company also at the forefront fighting film piracy.
"At Disney we've taken major steps in that direction," said Iger. "Our TV shows, our movies and Disney animated shorts have been downloaded over 120 million times."
Celebrities were also on hand. Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, both actors on "Lost," held an interview on stage with Iger, talking about how technology allows viewers to come together. Movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer also made an appearance to show off the new installment of his Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Iger showed a clip from "Ratatouille", the upcoming movie from Pixar Animation, which Disney acquired last year.
The Pixar acquisition was one of the "most important" events of 2006, said Iger.
Iger pushed Disney's high-definition product offerings. He invited Mike Tirico, host of ESPN's Monday Night Football HD onstage to talk about interaction between high definition viewers and ESPN through ESPN's Web site.
On the topic of ESPN, Iger went through the different markets where ESPN HD is broadcast, including Mexico, Australia and India.
"Big Georgetown fans there in India," said Iger, in reference to the university in Washington, D.C., to laughs from the crowd.
Turning to the Disney company itself, Iger went over the company's new Web site. "It is both a destination and a portal," said Iger.
Among the features included are clips from Disney content through a video player built into the site. Users will also be able to buy or rent videos online. Another feature allows users to choose a Disney character and allows a user to read about, design and interact with the character. The site also included an online video game based on the "Pirates of the Caribbean movie."
There were several references of praise - including one from Bruckheimer - throughout the keynote to Sony Corp.'s (SNE) Blu-ray, one of two formats competing to be the next-generation format of high definition video discs. The other is the Toshiba supported HD-DVD.
"This afternoon I'm here in support of our powerful partnership," said Iger, referencing the consumer electronics industry as a whole.
-By Andrew Simons, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3874; andrew.simons@ dowjones.com
January 08, 2007: 09:06 PM EST
LAS VEGAS (Dow Jones)-Walt Disney Co. (DIS) Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said his company was on the forefront of merging Hollywood's media content and Silicon Valley's technology, in a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show here this week.
The appearance was the first by Iger and the first by a media industry executive at the Consumer Electronic Show, a testament to the growing importance of media content in the tech industry.
A light-hearted event, the speech was called "Monday Night Keynote," a name invoking ESPN's Monday Night Football. ESPN is owned by Disney. Iger also showed a clip of ABC's show "Lost." In the clip, prepared for the show, two characters talk about hitting Las Vegas and CES if they get off the island on which they're trapped.
Unlike other keynotes, Iger didn't announce any deals with other companies. Instead, he went over Disney's work integrating content and technology over the last year. Iger's message focused on the intersection of technology, content and timeliness of content delivery.
"We are witnessing an explosion of media and Disney is reaping the benefits," Iger told a less-than-full house. "We were the first company to put movies and TV shows on (Apple Computer Corp.'s) iTunes."
Disney, Iger said, both creates and satisfies demand.
That dynamic of offering movies and television shows online has kept the company also at the forefront fighting film piracy.
"At Disney we've taken major steps in that direction," said Iger. "Our TV shows, our movies and Disney animated shorts have been downloaded over 120 million times."
Celebrities were also on hand. Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, both actors on "Lost," held an interview on stage with Iger, talking about how technology allows viewers to come together. Movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer also made an appearance to show off the new installment of his Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Iger showed a clip from "Ratatouille", the upcoming movie from Pixar Animation, which Disney acquired last year.
The Pixar acquisition was one of the "most important" events of 2006, said Iger.
Iger pushed Disney's high-definition product offerings. He invited Mike Tirico, host of ESPN's Monday Night Football HD onstage to talk about interaction between high definition viewers and ESPN through ESPN's Web site.
On the topic of ESPN, Iger went through the different markets where ESPN HD is broadcast, including Mexico, Australia and India.
"Big Georgetown fans there in India," said Iger, in reference to the university in Washington, D.C., to laughs from the crowd.
Turning to the Disney company itself, Iger went over the company's new Web site. "It is both a destination and a portal," said Iger.
Among the features included are clips from Disney content through a video player built into the site. Users will also be able to buy or rent videos online. Another feature allows users to choose a Disney character and allows a user to read about, design and interact with the character. The site also included an online video game based on the "Pirates of the Caribbean movie."
There were several references of praise - including one from Bruckheimer - throughout the keynote to Sony Corp.'s (SNE) Blu-ray, one of two formats competing to be the next-generation format of high definition video discs. The other is the Toshiba supported HD-DVD.
"This afternoon I'm here in support of our powerful partnership," said Iger, referencing the consumer electronics industry as a whole.
-By Andrew Simons, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3874; andrew.simons@ dowjones.com
