“The merger of high tech and entertainment seems to have arrived. At an all-day meeting on Jan. 23, Walt Disney’s board of directors agreed to buy Steve Jobs’s Pixar Animation powerhouse for about $7 billion, BusinessWeek Online has learned. Jobs, who’s also chief executive of Apple Computer, would become Disney’s largest shareholder and take a seat on the Disney board, according to sources with knowledge of the deal,” Ronald Grover reports for BusinessWeek.
“The acquisition will usher in a new era in which Disney, with Jobs and Disney CEO Bob Iger allied, could rewrite the rules of how entertainment is distributed digitally via new consumer technologies,” Grover reports. “Additional specifics about the deal aren’t yet clear. And it still must be approved by Pixar’s board of directors, the sources say. Disney’s board approved the transaction with the expectation that it could be announced on Jan. 24. The terms include giving Jobs an estimated 7% stake in Disney and letting Pixar’s top creative executive, John Lasseter, have a key role in advising Disney in creative matters.”
“Whether or how quickly Jobs can push Disney further into digital distribution for films is unclear. But analysts have long predicted that Apple will eventually introduce living room gear to make that more feasible. Many Apple rumor sites have suggested that Jobs & Co. are working on a version of the Mac Mini that would be designed to connect to the TV and could be operated via Apple’s Front Row software and Apple Remote, which are already available on the iMac desktop PC. Such a machine would let customers who download movies via Apple’s iTunes Music Store watch them on their TVs,” Grover reports.
Full article here.
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Fact now? Excellent.
Denny CRANE
First, it’s gonna be interesting to watch this. Can imagine Jobs having a lot of idea’s to materialize this deal to the benefit of Apple.
Content distribution is the cashcow to chase after, and having the right tools to deliver, view and manage this content is the key that Apple has been working on very hard and managed to get right so far.
Everyone in both industries should fear this deal.
Fantastic
Let’s party!
*dances*
“when you wish upon a jobs, makes no difference who you are”
“anything your heart desires will come to you”
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/wishstar.htm
so it finally happens … wow, another remarkable day for Steve & maybe hope if true this will further put Mac in the high light / center of entertainment at home and industry. One more significant event to mark down guys…
You read it here first: Microsoft will buy Disney/Pixar/Apple in 2008.
ahh goood, more Mac welfare, the iPod was due to run out by spring.
this can’t be real, I’ll keep my fingers crossed in hoping that pixar’s board doesn’t allow this! how can jobs be so stupid? why would he want to be part of someone esle’s company, when his whole life he has been controlling his own decisions and making his own companies. now he wants to join a bunch of chimps in the jungle gym? makes no sense to me, maybe it will be clearer for me much later @ least I hope so.
mw-keep. As in keep Disney monkey hands off pixar jobs!!!
Steve will be a Disney iBoard Member. You know what happens after that!
I would have said NO way. Wonder what will result from this?
the other steve has a fun idea. can’t wait to see what’s NeXT.
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Does this mean now that video iPods will come stocked with episodes of “The Wonderful World of Color?” Hope so….
This might sound like a simple question, albeit important…
Do we keep the Pixar name?
Maybe he can get Disney to be the 1st Fortune 500 to take the plunge and adopt Macs on a wide-scale basis in corporate America. Someone has to be 1st and why not Disney?
It’s a huge company with ESPN Nets, ABC Family, Disney Channel, ABC Television, partial ownership in Lifetime Nets, partial ownership of A & E Nets, Disney/Miramax/Beuna Vista Studios, Theme Parks, Disney Stores, ABC Radio & Disney Radio Networks, ABC News Productions and a chain of Broadcast TV and Radio stations.
If Apple could roll out OS X on the secretaries, sales staff, accountants and others at Disney, maybe OS X can get out of it’s (highly profitable) ghetto of the creative parts of Hollywood. It would be a tough sell to the conservative types (financial) in Hollywood, but Steve’s RDF could bring it to pass.
I just hope the creative garden that has blossomed at Pixar doesn’t get trampled in the shuffle of Corporate Disney.
Cross your fingers, things are turning.
Remember folks, Disney owns ABC, and ESPN (among others). We’re not just talking Mickey Mouse and Goofy here. This is actually a good move for Jobs and Pixar. Disney owns a boatload of content that isn’t crap, and Apple is looking at content for the video portionof iTMS. Disney basically owns Times Square in NYC as well- they are the ones responsible for cleaning it up from the shit hole that it once was. Millions filter through that part of the city daily- having an inside into that provides avenues for lots of easy exposure. I sure there is alot more here than appears on the surface…
Hmmm seems a lot of the readers on this forum don’t “Get it”
Steve Jobs has now placed himself at the centre of the internet media distribution content wheel.
He will now be at the forefront of media creation, distribution aswell as controlling the devices the content is played on more so than anyother person today, such as the likes of Rupert Murdoch/News Corp, Google, Microsoft Media Centre etc.
Steve will be able to determine and control the content download price which if iTMS is anything to go by should be pretty good while maintaing a constant advantage over his competitors while probably encouraging them to come onboard much sooner.
mac & mini imagine possibilities
Well, I hope Disney has enough sense to let Pixar do what they do and leave them alone. My bet is they’ll figure out a way to totally screw up the creative culture at Pixar and eventually it will be bland just like Disney is now.
Simple1:
why would he want to be part of someone esle’s company
I can think of approximately seven billion reasons why.
The floodgate of distribution rights for apple iTunes (Music / Video / Movies) begins right now.
Disney will get the creative edge back over rival animation studios and a firm new outlet for its library of digital content.
Pixar gets a lot of cash to play with and develop new technologies and software
Disney has fresh ideas on its board
Apple has a slightly more dedicated Boss with a bit more time on his hands to promote Macs and not just iPods
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Steve Jobs is a genius. Apple may be well on its way to winning the living room right from under microsoft, comcast, AOL, Time Warner, Sony, et al…
“Steve will be able to determine and control the content download price which if iTMS is anything to go by should be pretty good while maintaing a constant advantage over his competitors while probably encouraging them to come onboard much sooner.”
I’m not sure I’d agree. If anything, this may help Microsoft.
Years ago, PepsiCo owned Pizza Hut and KFC and, of course, put Pepsi products in those restaurants. The concept was that this would give customers a chance to sample Pepsi products. Coke promptly went to all their competitors and basically said, “Why do you want to offer the same thing as your competition?” Pepsi lost big, which is part of the reason that they dropped their ownership in the restaurants.
Disney’s big, sure. But they’re not that big. Microsoft could easily come along and play up any partnership with “Why don’t you come over to our store and get your money’s worth–we’re independent. Apple and Disney obviously are not.” That may end up driving Sony, Fox, and Warner deeper into Microsoft’s camp.
Awesome. Apple stores at disneyland
“Years ago, PepsiCo owned Pizza Hut and KFC and, of course, put Pepsi products in those restaurants. The concept was that this would give customers a chance to sample Pepsi products. Coke promptly went to all their competitors and basically said, “Why do you want to offer the same thing as your competition?” Pepsi lost big, which is part of the reason that they dropped their ownership in the restaurants.”
Interesting point Peter. But this is a different situation. Disney wouldn’t own Apple.
Not sure if peter is right about his thoughts on Pepsi. I like Coke more then Pepsi ( but thats because as you get older your taste buds differ) , but I have to admit pepsi is catering to the younger generation which will help it grow. I think there was an article in dec 2005, that showed Pepsi had a larger market capitolization then Coke. First time it has ever happen, and once Coke was 3-1 bigger then Pepsi
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2005-12-13-coke-pepsi-usat_x.htm
Pepsi every year seems to grow its market the USA. while coke is still the dominate global leader (85%).
Pepsi is a bigger company then Disney, Coke, Apple, Dell. They are huge.
Pepsi gives me constipation