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CNN Live At Daybreak
Roy Disney Asks Shareholders Not to Re-Elect CEO Eisner
Aired January 28, 2004 - 06:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time now for a little 'Business Buzz.' Michael Eisner may have to fight to keep the top job at Walt Disney if that is what Roy Disney wants and he has his way.
Carrie Lee reports from the Nasdaq market site in Times Square.
That is unbelievable. I can't even -- you know the fact that it could even be a conversation out there, Carrie, that Michael Eisner would not head up Disney means that there is trouble brewing at Disney now (ph).
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol, they obviously feel very strongly about this. Former Disney directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold have sent a letter to Disney's shareholders urging them not to re-elect CEO Michael Eisner, as well as three other directors.
Disney and Gold are accusing Eisner of being -- quote -- "unable to manage growth or achieve performance levels that were once commonplace at the Walt Disney Company" -- end quote. The letter proceeds a March 3 annual shareholder meeting in Philadelphia. Also in a statement to CNN, Roy Disney said -- quote -- "this is only the first round in what we think will be a long campaign and we intend to stay the course."
The Walt Disney Company so far has not returned calls. Disney and Gold stepped down from the board last November and December citing concerns similar to those outlined in this letter.
Now last year Disney did show some improvement in its stock price and financial performance. However, the company was coming off of several years in which its share price suffered because of poor earnings. So it will be interesting to see what happens, Carol, at that shareholder meeting coming up in early March.
LIN: All right, Carrie. In the meantime, how do you think stocks are going to be trading today? What are the indications?
LEE: Well, yes, so far futures are pointing to a higher open. Of course we did see quite a bit of selling yesterday. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 all losing ground. You can see the Nasdaq down 1.75 percent. Of course we have the Fed meeting, Fed decision on interest rates this afternoon, a lot of profit.
Also, the FCC is proposing fining Clear Channel Communications $755,000 for alleged indecency on its "Bubba the Love Sponge" program. This is the largest fine ever in a party -- largest fine ever as far as enforcing indecency rules. So we'll see how Clear Channel's stock is affected today.
LIN: Carrie, what is this "Love Sponge?"
LEE: Well, I think they have a lot of different things on the program. But what this indecency problem is, is that they had some cartoon characters that were talking about sexually explicit topics, things like that. They continued to air this and the FCC thinks they went a little bit too far.
LIN: OK.
LEE: That's the story.
LIN: I just had this vision of these two sponges having this conversation, but...
LEE: Yes, it's a little unsettling when you think about it.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: All right. Thanks, Carrie.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 28, 2004 - 06:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time now for a little 'Business Buzz.' Michael Eisner may have to fight to keep the top job at Walt Disney if that is what Roy Disney wants and he has his way.
Carrie Lee reports from the Nasdaq market site in Times Square.
That is unbelievable. I can't even -- you know the fact that it could even be a conversation out there, Carrie, that Michael Eisner would not head up Disney means that there is trouble brewing at Disney now (ph).
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol, they obviously feel very strongly about this. Former Disney directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold have sent a letter to Disney's shareholders urging them not to re-elect CEO Michael Eisner, as well as three other directors.
Disney and Gold are accusing Eisner of being -- quote -- "unable to manage growth or achieve performance levels that were once commonplace at the Walt Disney Company" -- end quote. The letter proceeds a March 3 annual shareholder meeting in Philadelphia. Also in a statement to CNN, Roy Disney said -- quote -- "this is only the first round in what we think will be a long campaign and we intend to stay the course."
The Walt Disney Company so far has not returned calls. Disney and Gold stepped down from the board last November and December citing concerns similar to those outlined in this letter.
Now last year Disney did show some improvement in its stock price and financial performance. However, the company was coming off of several years in which its share price suffered because of poor earnings. So it will be interesting to see what happens, Carol, at that shareholder meeting coming up in early March.
LIN: All right, Carrie. In the meantime, how do you think stocks are going to be trading today? What are the indications?
LEE: Well, yes, so far futures are pointing to a higher open. Of course we did see quite a bit of selling yesterday. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 all losing ground. You can see the Nasdaq down 1.75 percent. Of course we have the Fed meeting, Fed decision on interest rates this afternoon, a lot of profit.
Also, the FCC is proposing fining Clear Channel Communications $755,000 for alleged indecency on its "Bubba the Love Sponge" program. This is the largest fine ever in a party -- largest fine ever as far as enforcing indecency rules. So we'll see how Clear Channel's stock is affected today.
LIN: Carrie, what is this "Love Sponge?"
LEE: Well, I think they have a lot of different things on the program. But what this indecency problem is, is that they had some cartoon characters that were talking about sexually explicit topics, things like that. They continued to air this and the FCC thinks they went a little bit too far.
LIN: OK.
LEE: That's the story.
LIN: I just had this vision of these two sponges having this conversation, but...
LEE: Yes, it's a little unsettling when you think about it.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: All right. Thanks, Carrie.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com