Iger sees Web payoff for Disney in 5 years
Iger sees Web payoff for Disney in 5 years
Robert Iger, the chief executive of Walt Disney, has made Internet video a focus, but said that it might be as long as five years before the company saw a payoff from its investments.
"In terms of the sheer bottom-line impact, it's still relatively small," Iger said during an interview last week after Disney, based in Burbank, California, reported that profit doubled last quarter. "Over the next three to five years, we'll be able to monetize at a significant level."
Iger plans to revamp Disney's main Web sites – Disney.com, ABC.com and ESPN.com – next year. Disney, through its ABC network, was among the first companies to make television shows available on the Internet and to sell episodes on Apple Computer's iTunes service.
Iger said that Disney would upgrade its sites to take advantage of surging Internet use by customers and advertisers.