“Now that the Apple Computer CEO has a bigger financial stake in the trials and tribulations of the Mouse House than anyone on the planet, I can’t help but wonder what the turn of events means for Apple,” Arik Hesseldahl writes for BusinessWeek. “Jobs, who is CEO of Pixar, gets not only a [Disney] board seat, but also a sizeable stake in Disney, about 6.5%.”
“When the Disney board meets, Jobs will cast his powerful vote on corporate business and recuse himself when appropriate. And life for those who love Apple and its products goes on as normal, right? Then again, this is Steve Jobs. And Disney. And Apple. And when I look at those three ingredients, I can’t help but feel that this trio should be mixed only carefully and in small doses, lest the resulting combination prove volatile,” Hesseldahl writes. “But done right, the possibilities are enticing.”
“What’s the upside for Apple? Clearly, as it preps the launch of an intensive campaign to win more of the digital-entertainment dollar — using its iPod and iTunes Music Store as the tip of the spear — it would benefit further from Disney’s vast store of audio and video content. That’s provided the deals can be consummated in a way that lets Jobs avoid conflicts of interest. (The iTunes store already features some Disney films and content from Disney’s ABC, including episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives.) Both companies also will gain as Jobs helps sharpen Disney’s understanding of how to navigate the increasingly confusing, treacherous waters of digital-media distribution. Whatever deals takes place between Apple and Disney for content will likely serve as templates for similar pacts between Apple and other media outlets,” Hesseldahl writes.
Hesseldahl writes, “Will Apple continue to be Jobs’s one true professional love and command that lion’s share of his valuable energy and attention when the temptation to take a more hands-on role in remaking Disney lies tantalizingly within his grasp? …His managerial heart seems to yearn for control of a media concern, and luckily for him, he landed in the computer business 30 years before the PC became central to the media universe. Could it be that everything that has happened so far in Jobs’s professional life has been a mere prologue to the creation of the 21st Century’s first real media giant?”
Full article here.
Advertisements:
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iMac and MacBook Pro owners: Apple USB Modem. Easily connect to the Internet using dial-up service. $49.00.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related articles:
BBC: Steve Jobs has ‘cemented his position as a main player in the technology and media industries’ – January 26, 2006
SmartMoney: The New King of All Media is Apple’s Steve Jobs – January 24, 2006
Apple adds 10 Disney classic short films to U.S. iTunes Music Store – January 24, 2006
Steve Jobs, Bob Iger appear live on CNBC – January 24, 2006
It’s official: Disney acquires Pixar for $7.4 billion, Steve Jobs joins Disney Board of Directors – January 24, 2006
“One Nation, under Steve…”
…indivisible, with iMac G5’s and Macbook Pro’s for all…
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”cheese” style=”border:0;” />
…ndivisible, with iMac G5’s…
Hey, those were sooo last year!
ya know…..
everybody has been reporting that Disney bought Pixar because they wanted/needed pixar to help them restore their dominance in the animation world.
what if what all they really wanted was Steve?
I can’t see him wanting to take a larger role at Disney. He was CEO of Pixar, a company he built, but he really only gave one day a week to it. Apple will always be his heart and soul.
Disney wanted Pixar.
Steve wants Disney.
Yes, ndelc is correct. Local Leader Steve J will not be swayed from his primary mission: Convert all Windows fools to Relnackian Mac-using subjects. With his deft acquisition of Disney and the svelte, downy feel of his 14 fingers and toes, our Local Leader will utterly and completely destroy the Windows behemoth. And Scientology.
And now it is time for the Relnackian Signatory Mantra. Everyone say it together; you might as well get used to it now:
“Local Leader Steve J — He’s the man to save the day.”
Make your time.
Flentor, umm, if I may interject [shields head from possible Relnackian scolding] . . .
Does this sound correct to you guys (from Slate.com)?:
” . . . Jobs owns 60 million shares of Pixar, a bit more than half the company, which means he’ll wind up with 138 million shares of Disney, about 6 percent of the company. That would dwarf the holdings of today’s largest Disney shareholders.”
In a link to Yahoo Finance they then go on to list the largest shareholders — BOTH INSTITUTIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL — in Disney.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=DIS
If this data is correct, then Jobs is the biggest shareholder IN ANY CATEGORY! That’s f-cking amazing. That’s . . . that’s just, unbelievable!
Am I missing something here, or were all the early pundits wrong when they were trumpeting how Jobs wouldn’t be THE biggest shareholder of all, just the biggest individual shareholder?
I’m beginning to think that this IS a Relnackian takeover of some sort, so brilliant in its execution is it.
Great I hate Scientology even more than Microsoft.
It is still only 6%. In matters where all stock holders get a vote, he can quickly be ganged up on. However, when only the board gets a vote, he may find himself as the biggest freshman that the campus has ever seen!
I don’t give a truck about Bambi.
How about the Matrix movies.
Bruce lee movies.
Star Trek.
Media Giant?
Not Yet!!!!! i-tunes offers some of the latest, best stuff thats available. Can Jobs give the latest and best in ANY movies? How about a deal between Sony and Apple?
Bambi, is just Bambi—- So What
All hail his Majesty, SJ
This is continuously reported as “Disney buys Pixar” but with deference to the Pirates of Silicon Valley, it looks more like “Steve stole Disney”! Impresive!!
How come everyone seems to have an idea of what Steve wants? Only Steve knows what he wants and what he’s going to do next. What we say here is not relevant. When’s the last time he did something simply because people wanted him to? Just sit tight and let the story unfold itself.
In my opinion, Steve will do much less than all these journalists have been speculating about. It’s just like the Mac rumor sites speculating about all the products Steve will introduce at keynotes. He couldn’t possibly introduce all those things in 2hrs, and inevitably people are dissappointed. I think it’s the same here, these journos are dreaming of all the things they hope Steve will do, but Steve is just a board member. They meet maybe 4 or more times a year, to review what Iger is doing, hardly heavy lifting for Steve. His role will be similar to Pixar, HANDS OFF! And, Apple will be better off for it, as he’ll have more time for Apple.
shipwithsails, I think you hit the nail on the head here.
Remember – in retrospect, it really wasn’t Apple that bought NeXT. NeXT bought Apple and changed its name.
I think in five years, people will be looking back at the “Pixarization of Disney,” and how it grew Disney by an order of magnitude. Steve is, no doubt, taking over Disney – watch for good things.
Steve is already stretched between a computer hardware company, computer operating systems company, a consumer software company, a professional software company, a super-computer hardware company, an MP3 company, a media content company and a bunch of online stores, amongst other things.
Most of us would baulk at one of these. He seems good at getting the best out of employees without stretching himself too thin. I hope one day someone writes a book on how he manages so many diverse industries.
Steve doesn’t have to manage Disney, but I’m sure he’ll be gently vocal at their board meetings. Lets wish him well and hope the other powerful egos on the board can work together too.