“The cover of Fortune‘s January edition showcases an interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger and his ‘Empire of Tech,’ focusing on Disney’s growing media empire with acquisitions of brands such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Marvel expanding the company’s already considerable reach over the past few years,” Mitchel Broussard reports for MacRumors. “With Disney’s and Iger’s histories intersecting with those of Apple and Steve Jobs, Iger unsurprisingly takes a few moments to discuss topics such as his relationship with Jobs, his view on Apple and Disney’s history, and Disney’s attempt to stay relevant in a growing technological world.”
Even before the news became public, he called Jobs to let him know big changes were coming. “I told him I was well aware of how strained the relationship had become,” says Iger. “I said, ‘I know you think it’s going to be business as usual, but I’d like to prove to you that it’s not.’ ”
Jobs gave Iger the benefit of the doubt and told him to come up as soon as the dust settled. And that’s just what Iger did—not only because he knew Pixar was the key to revitalizing Disney’s lifeless animation studio, but also because he saw Apple’s CEO as a valuable technology partner. The sentiment, apparently, was reciprocated.
“The Disney/Apple partnership continues to grow stronger, even in the wake of Jobs’ death,” Broussard reports. “Iger joined Apple’s board just months after Jobs’ passing, and Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs remains Disney’s largest individual shareholder thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Pixar.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
Iger came to Disney at at a situation very similar to when Jobs returned to Apple. In Disney’s case, an arrogant, despotic Eisner kept steering Disney into the ground. Jobs had very little patience for him and the Pixar-Disney arrangement was just about to fall apart permanently (with Jobs seeking other buyers for Pixar). Luckily, Bob Iger came on board, realised the significance of Pixar for Disney, and the deal quickly emerged.
People rag on Eisner, but it was only after Frank Wells died that he veered way off the path. When Eisner came in, Disney was in rough shape. He and wells grew the company and did lots of great things with the parks. And things that were original.
Iger has only bought IP, and churned out sequels while the parks have suffered. Hopefully they’re about to get a little better.
‘Disney was the only company with animation in their DNA, and the only company that we thought had this incredible collection of unique assets that were very attractive to us, as well. They were the only company that had Bob Iger, who we had grown to like a lot and trust.’
‘Steve Jobs Bio: The Unauthorized Autobiography.’
I am a big fan of both Disney and Apple. But Disney has never been particularly Apple friendly. Even now a lot of the Disney WEB sites falter when you access them using Safari.
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