Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Pixar Will Not Extend Picture Deal With Disney

Aired January 30, 2004 - 06:46   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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little "Business Buzz" now. Forget about Nemo, Pixar wants to find a new partner.
Carrie Lee has more live from the Nasdaq market site.

It will be interesting to see how much this hurts Disney.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well I can tell you right now, Carol, that Disney's stock was down about 6 percent last night when this news came out. And Disney, of course, is a Dow component, so it could very well weigh on the Dow Jones industrials.

But here are the details of this story. Pixar Animation Studio says it has ended talks with Walt Disney to extend a five-picture deal for Disney to distribute Pixar films. Pixar, of course, the computer animation pioneer founded by Apple Computer's Steve Jobs -- he founded Apple as well -- said it would begin talks with other companies to distribute its films starting in 2006.

Basically Pixar said the terms of the deal were weighed too heavily in Disney's favor. Disney felt that the deal would cost it too much money. So Pixar is now going to try to find new partners. A Warner Brothers person has told CNN that they may be interested.

What this means for Disney could be potentially an issue. Disney has had to deal with its own animation issues trying to figure out their own strategy. Meanwhile, Pixar has a pretty nice track record. Its five films so far have grossed $2.5 billion worldwide at the box office. "Finding Nemo," the highest grossing animated film ever. So it will be interesting to see what happens. Both of these stocks, though, Carol, as I said, were lower in the after-hours session last night. So we'll be watching them.

COSTELLO: Very interesting. Yes, I've been to Pixar, the people there are amazing. Just imaginative and...

LEE: I imagine it's a very -- it's a very sort of exciting environment to be in. And they have the track record, "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo." They really -- they really come out with a lot of picks so far.

COSTELLO: Great stuff.

Quick look at the futures.

LEE: Things looking pretty flat right now. Technology issues, though, could get a little bit of a boost. Nasdaq futures pointing to a higher open. Of course we saw a mixed market yesterday. The Nasdaq actually ending lower by 9 points. The Dow and S&P, as you can see, ended fractionally higher. It's been a very volatile week, though. We'll see what happens once things get under way at 9:30.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.

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 30, 2004 - 06:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little "Business Buzz" now. Forget about Nemo, Pixar wants to find a new partner.
Carrie Lee has more live from the Nasdaq market site.

It will be interesting to see how much this hurts Disney.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well I can tell you right now, Carol, that Disney's stock was down about 6 percent last night when this news came out. And Disney, of course, is a Dow component, so it could very well weigh on the Dow Jones industrials.

But here are the details of this story. Pixar Animation Studio says it has ended talks with Walt Disney to extend a five-picture deal for Disney to distribute Pixar films. Pixar, of course, the computer animation pioneer founded by Apple Computer's Steve Jobs -- he founded Apple as well -- said it would begin talks with other companies to distribute its films starting in 2006.

Basically Pixar said the terms of the deal were weighed too heavily in Disney's favor. Disney felt that the deal would cost it too much money. So Pixar is now going to try to find new partners. A Warner Brothers person has told CNN that they may be interested.

What this means for Disney could be potentially an issue. Disney has had to deal with its own animation issues trying to figure out their own strategy. Meanwhile, Pixar has a pretty nice track record. Its five films so far have grossed $2.5 billion worldwide at the box office. "Finding Nemo," the highest grossing animated film ever. So it will be interesting to see what happens. Both of these stocks, though, Carol, as I said, were lower in the after-hours session last night. So we'll be watching them.

COSTELLO: Very interesting. Yes, I've been to Pixar, the people there are amazing. Just imaginative and...

LEE: I imagine it's a very -- it's a very sort of exciting environment to be in. And they have the track record, "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo." They really -- they really come out with a lot of picks so far.

COSTELLO: Great stuff.

Quick look at the futures.

LEE: Things looking pretty flat right now. Technology issues, though, could get a little bit of a boost. Nasdaq futures pointing to a higher open. Of course we saw a mixed market yesterday. The Nasdaq actually ending lower by 9 points. The Dow and S&P, as you can see, ended fractionally higher. It's been a very volatile week, though. We'll see what happens once things get under way at 9:30.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com