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LONDON (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. President Bob Iger said on Wednesday that a new deal with Pixar Animation Studios was "unlikely," and that the media conglomerate had been approached to buy UK media assets.
Iger said partnerships such as the one Disney had with Pixar to distribute its films often "outgrow one another."
"If it's not Pixar, it will be someone else," Iger told an audience at the Royal Television Society's international conference in London. He said he would not rule out some kind of continuing relationship with Pixar, however.
Earlier this year, Pixar called off talks with Disney to extend its distribution deal, although there has been widespread speculation that the two sides might return to the bargaining table.
"We are not in any discussions with Pixar right now," Iger told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.
Iger, who has been tagged as a possible successor to Chief Executive Michael Eisner when he steps down in two years, said Disney had been approached to buy UK television channel ITV as well as some assets of the BBC .
He did not specify when the requests were made or if they came from the companies themselves or investment bankers.
The BBC said earlier this month that it had held talks with media companies about its commercial subsidiary BBC Worldwide, but said it had not yet solicited bids for the unit.
"We're professional tire-kickers, we look at everything," Iger told the conference.
Iger said Disney, which historically has extended its brand into Europe rather than buy assets there, did not pursue a possible acquisition of Germany's ProSieben because the deal came up at the wrong time.
He said he thought ProSieben was a strong asset but that Disney at the time was still absorbing its $3 billion acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide.
Disney earlier this week launched its female-targeted, daytime channel ABC1 on UK's Freeview, a digital television service without subscription fees. Iger said there would be no advertising on ABC1 for the first six months as it runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The channel is broadcasting older ABC shows such as "Moonlighting," "Home Improvement" and "Sports Night," as well as more recent programs such as the long-running soap opera "General Hospital" and the sit-com "8 Simple Rules."
Iger said partnerships such as the one Disney had with Pixar to distribute its films often "outgrow one another."
"If it's not Pixar, it will be someone else," Iger told an audience at the Royal Television Society's international conference in London. He said he would not rule out some kind of continuing relationship with Pixar, however.
Earlier this year, Pixar called off talks with Disney to extend its distribution deal, although there has been widespread speculation that the two sides might return to the bargaining table.
"We are not in any discussions with Pixar right now," Iger told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.
Iger, who has been tagged as a possible successor to Chief Executive Michael Eisner when he steps down in two years, said Disney had been approached to buy UK television channel ITV as well as some assets of the BBC .
He did not specify when the requests were made or if they came from the companies themselves or investment bankers.
The BBC said earlier this month that it had held talks with media companies about its commercial subsidiary BBC Worldwide, but said it had not yet solicited bids for the unit.
"We're professional tire-kickers, we look at everything," Iger told the conference.
Iger said Disney, which historically has extended its brand into Europe rather than buy assets there, did not pursue a possible acquisition of Germany's ProSieben because the deal came up at the wrong time.
He said he thought ProSieben was a strong asset but that Disney at the time was still absorbing its $3 billion acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide.
Disney earlier this week launched its female-targeted, daytime channel ABC1 on UK's Freeview, a digital television service without subscription fees. Iger said there would be no advertising on ABC1 for the first six months as it runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The channel is broadcasting older ABC shows such as "Moonlighting," "Home Improvement" and "Sports Night," as well as more recent programs such as the long-running soap opera "General Hospital" and the sit-com "8 Simple Rules."
