Robert A. Iger
Analyst · Todd Juenger with Sanford Bernstein
Okay, well I'll start with the fact that the Disney Channel’s ratings are probably the highest they've ever been, meaning at least from a competitive perspective. They're enjoying great success. I believe that great success is solely the result of great programming. And there are a number of programs that are delivering those great ratings. We have been aggressive as a company at being present on new platforms because we believe that by and large, they create incremental revenue opportunities and thereby increase your interest in our programs and relevance. We also have managed our presence on these platforms very carefully because the digital media business is still nascent and certainly dynamic. It's changing right before our eyes. What we believe we've done is to strike a pretty good balance between protecting the core, or the traditional business and platforms, and taking advantage of new opportunities on new digital platforms, which also happens to give viewers more access to these programs, both from a time perspective and a place perspective, than they've ever had before. We have not seen any negative impact from the presence of Disney Channel shows on these new platforms. Most of them, by the way, are not available until after a season ends. And I think on the Netflix deal, there's only 4 that are. And what we found is that the product that is available on the linear channel through the multichannel provider is simply much richer, much more diverse and much more attractive to the consumer than what's available on the other platforms. Not that the other platforms, the new ones, aren't good. They are, but they pale in comparison in terms of how attractive they are to the consumer. So that's a long way of my saying that we feel good about the balance that we've struck, we're going to continue to look and watch very carefully. We believe it would be wrong for us to remove our product from these new media platforms, particularly as they grow, just as it would be wrong for us to be cavalier or reckless about the traditional business, which is delivering so much value to our company and our distributors. And that's why the Watch apps were created. It creates an unbelievable balance, as far as we're concerned, between protecting an old business and being aggressive about going after new opportunities. But again, going back of the Disney Channel, when you have great programming, you get great ratings, and you're just not that susceptible to the presence of those shows on other platforms.