Disney head defends choice of chairman

LOS ANGELES – Walt Disney Co. president Robert Iger dismissed criticism Tuesday that new chairman George Mitchell might be too close to management and said the company would focus on improving its networks and animation division.

“The board’s reputation is on the line … shareholders come first before any relationship the board may have with management,” Iger said during a media and entertainment conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., that was broadcast on the Internet.

He also opined that cable giant Comcast is likely to sweeten its offer for the Burbank, Calif.-based entertainment giant.

Fielding questions for nearly an hour, Iger touched on the company’s health and future amid shareholders’ discontent with chief executive Michael Eisner. The board stripped Eisner of the chairman post during its annual stockholders meeting last week.

The panel elected Mitchell, a former U.S. senator, but a quarter of Disney investors withheld their support from the nine-year board member who is seen by some as being too close to Eisner.

Iger said it was “reprehensible” to suggest Mitchell won’t be impartial.

“The board felt that it was imperative to split the roles and believed George Mitchell was the best person for that job,” Iger said. “He is clearly someone who has demonstrated the ability to act independently.”

Iger, who is also chief operating officer, said management is on notice from the board to increase earnings per share by 30 percent in 2004 and fix problems at its ABC television, ABC Family Channel and animation units.

“We know that it’s about performance at this point,” Iger said. “There are no givens.”

Executives at ABC, where prime-time ratings have suffered since 2000, are currently focusing on developing drama and reality programs.

“I do take responsibility for ABC. It’s performance in prime time has been disappointing,” Iger said.

Disney is also bringing in a new executive to run ABC Family Channel, which has not met the company’s expectations since it was acquired in 2001.

Iger acknowledged the animation division became too focused on 2-D animation as Disney looked to Pixar Animation Studios to produce films with 3-D characters.