Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, Chicago. Nice warm morning here in Chicago, as my That wonderful video certainly reminds me of what an unbelievable privilege it is to lead this phenomenal company. And it really is a thrill ride of a lifetime and one that gets more exciting every single day.
And so I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity. We're thrilled to be here today. As many of you know, Chicago is the proud home over WLS TV, our ABC station, friend, which has been serving Chicagoans since 1948 And thank you, Chicago, for making ABC 7 the most watched station in the city John Idler, our Station Manager is here too. So thank you, John. Congratulations.
Friend. Chicago also holds a very special place in the history of the Walt Disney Company. The Disney story actually started right here friend, in a house on Tripp Avenue where Walt Disney was born. And the house is still standing, and we're happy to see that it's being restored back to its original condition. And we're thrilled that one day it will be used as a children's center to inspire a new generation of dreamers and innovators.
And our Archives team has been providing some historic insight into what the house actually looked like when Walt lived there And so today I'm proud to announce that the Walt Disney Company is supporting that restoration with a donation of $250,000 Storyteller And he honed his craft right here drawing cartoons for his high school paper And skipping school, unfortunately to hang out at the Chicago newspapers or at the Art Institute of Chicago He also enrolled in night school at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts An experience that he always remembered as a real turning point of his entire career. And it was right here in Chicago Then he decided to turn down the security of a steady job to chase a dream that is still coming true a century later. In fact, everything the Walt Disney Company is today, the creativity, the innovation, the bold ambition, The legendary storytelling It all started right here in Chicago where Walt was born So of course, it's certainly fitting that we're holding our Annual Shareholders Meeting in this very special city. As you know, we use these meetings to tell you about the state of our company and to communicate our vision, our strategy, update you on progress and to report our results We've also been known to share some exciting sneak peeks into our future Just to keep it interesting, in fact you saw some sneak peeks in that video earlier, went by pretty quickly, but I'm sure some of you picked them out.
10 years ago, we set out to differentiate our company and to build a strong foundation for growth So that Disney will continue to be the preeminent entertainment company in the world for generations to come. Short term results get a lot of attention, but lasting strength and greater value are built through years of vision And investment, not just quarterly performance. And so we continually strive to create long term opportunities, a matter of fact. Make strategic choices that empower us to thrive in a world where change is a constant. And our creative triumphs friend, are impressive as is our performance.
But our continued growth is definitely the result of the strategic vision over the last decade, friend, which has been grounded in great storytelling and content and focused on maximizing the value of this incredibly strong array of brands. Friend. And our acquisitions are perfect examples of this long term approach because we believe that great stories well told friend. And they can stand the test of time and find new life with emerging technology that puts powerful new tools in the hands of storytellers. The acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm brought so much wonderful talent to Disney, generating an era of unbridled my friend.
Friend. Now speaking of ESPN, any sports fan can tell you that the mix of fantastic content and innovative technology creates a very powerful friend. And because we're here in one of the greatest regions of the country for sports, we've put together something special for the sports fans that are with us this morning. So take a look. So it's easy to see why ESPN remains the biggest brand in sports.
And in any given month, More than 200,000,000 people connect with ESPN for live sports and sports news on TV, the includes ESPN. And they consistently say that it is the most valuable channel in the lineup and so do cable companies and advertisers. Even though cable packages are still the most popular way to watch television, our media businesses continue to innovate, Embracing digital technologies and platforms like Netflix and Hulu and even creating our own like our Disney Life service that recently launched in the UK. And we're also leading the industry when it comes to telling stories from a wide variety of voices and visions From ABC's groundbreaking diversity, both on camera and behind the scenes, to the successful shows Disney Channel is creating around the world friend, to reflect local cultures. So collectively, all of these investments, acquisitions and efforts are part of a long term strategy friend, that is designed to differentiate Disney as the world's premier storytelling company.
And they're paying off with historic results and generating great value. In the decade since we launched this strategy through fiscal 2015, Disney has delivered total shareholder return of 3 93%, significantly outperforming the S and P 500, which delivered a return of 96% during the same period. Over the last 5 years, we achieved annualized growth friend, of 16% in net income and almost 20% in earnings per share. And I'm happy to report that fiscal 2015 was our 5th consecutive year of record results. Revenue was up 7% to a record 52,500,000,000 Net income increased by 12% to an all time high of $8,400,000,000 And our adjusted EPS was up 19% friend, to $5.15 a share, setting another new record for our company.
And we're off to a very strong start friend, this fiscal year. Our Q1 results included the highest quarterly earnings per share in the history of this great company. It was also our 10th straight quarter of double digit EPS growth. Now my personal goal as CEO has always been for Disney to be One of the most admired, one of the most respected companies in the world for what we create, for how we perform, for how we operate. So I take great pride in the fact that Fortune Magazine just named the Walt Disney Company, one of the 5 most admired companies in the world, friend.
Recognized for the integrity and quality of our products and our people, for our leadership, for our innovation, for our long term investment value, friend. Our sound financial position and our social responsibility. I stepped into this job convinced that the best Days of this legendary company were still ahead of us. And today, I can honestly say the same thing. In fact, I'm more excited and more optimistic about our future than ever before.
Everything that we've accomplished motivates us to continue to grow, of our ability to just keep trying to top ourselves. And as you'll see, we have a phenomenal slate on the way thing Starting with Zootopia, which is another fantastic and hilarious movie from Disney Animation And it is getting rave reviews and generating a lot of buzz all over the world And we think audiences are really going to love it It opens tomorrow. Some of you may have seen the trailer. But I brought a sneak peek of the movie for you today to take a look. When I say the term instant classic I guess I should be a little bit careful because maybe a little too optimistic But that is a great film.
And I believe it really will be a classic Disney animation film serving people for generations to come. Just a wonderful movie. Now on the live action front, In addition to Johnny Depp's return as the Mad Hatter in Alice Through the Looking Glass, we're looking forward to the April 15th release of Disney's The Jungle Book. Now this movie is going to absolutely astound audiences With its innovative use of technology bringing some of the most beloved characters to life from the earlier animated film in an extraordinary new way. So here is a look at The Jungle Book.
It's been like animals as a company. In May, Captain America and Iron Man along with many more Marvel superheroes face off in an epic battle in Captain America Civil War. We're incredibly excited about this movie because it has some of the best Marvel storytelling to date And I brought an early clip with me today But even though the a matter of fact Special effects aren't finished I wanted you to see or be the first ones to see just how exciting this movie is going to be So here is an exclusive clip from friend By the way, that was the actor Chad Boseman as Black Panther making his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And the Marvel storytelling is going to continue later this year in November with the release of Doctor Strange that stars Benedict Cumberbatch. Now changing tone a little bit, Pixar is also off to a fantastic start this year.
Inside Out just won the Academy Award for the best animated feature. Okay. We always seem to have our annual meetings the week after the Academy Awards, and we've been on a good run. So for those of you keeping score, this is our company's 4th in the To the delight of Pixar fans everywhere, Finding Dory, which is the sequel to that great film Finding Nemo, will be in theaters this June. And we're thrilled They have Ellen DeGeneres back as Dory for this brand new adventure.
Now we just released a new trailer yesterday And you're the 1st to see it on the big screen. So take a look at Finding Dory. It's pretty amazing all the films that we just showed you between now June a matter of fact. So we have quite a lineup ahead for the studio. Now as you know we started an exciting new era of Star Wars in a big way with the global phenomenon, The Force Awakens.
Thank you. It is the First film in history to exceed $900,000,000 in domestic box office And it has surpassed $2,000,000,000 worldwide More than doubling the last Star Wars movie which was released 10 years ago So clearly the Force is with us I have a bad pun. But okay. Today, I'm happy to announce that fans around the friend. We'll soon be able to own the epic movie Force Awakens.
And I hope our shareholders here today kept the package that we gave you This morning because in addition to the special posters that was in it, there is a special code that allows you to download the movie for free on digital HD or Disney Movies Anywhere. The minute it is available and that's on April 1st. So that's the news April 1st. We're making it available for all of you. Some of you may have caught a quick glimpse at Rogue 1 in our first video this morning.
It is our first original standalone Star Wars story. And it's about a band of rebels that are plotting to steal the plans to the Death Star. The action takes place right before the events in the very first Star Wars movie, episode IV, which is called A New Hope And we can't wait for you to see it. It's in theaters this December. I don't have footage yet for that from that.
But the film has been shot. Now filming has also begun on Star Wars Episode VIII which is slated for release in December of 2017 And preproduction has already started on the next chapter in the saga, Episode IX. That's going to be in theaters in 2019. We're going to tuck in another Wars movie in 2018 So a lot of Star Wars activity coming up And next month we break ground on our first Star Wars theme lands a matter of fact They will be at Disneyland and at Disney World And we're creating a truly jaw dropping new world that's going to a matter of fact. And when the new lands open, guests will have an opportunity to pilot the Millennium Falcon and It's also a very exciting time for our entire Parks and Resorts business.
Our Disney Cruise Line continues to lead the industry in innovation And creativity and great guest service with 4 ships that combine the magic of Disney with the thrill of exploring the world friend to create the essentially quintessential family cruise experience. And we're very proud that our fleet has recently been recognized as the best in the business, friend. Winning accolades from Travel and Leisure Magazine, U. S. News and World Report, USA Today and more.
We expect the new ships to be completed in a matter of fact. 2021 2023, yes, it takes a long time to build these big ships. And our Disney Imagineers are and we're friend. I've been involved in this project for 17 years and it's been thrilling to watch it come to life. Hard to believe that we're just about 100 days away friend from sharing it with the world.
You see some great footage there. Now they were doing ride testing when I was there last week friend. And I had a chance to try out some of the attractions. And it really brought home just how very close we are to welcoming our first guests. Pirate Cove that you're seeing right now on the screen How much fun these guests are going to have when they walk through the gates of Shanghai Disneyland The grand opening of Shanghai Disney Resort will be a celebration of great creativity and collaboration.
We think a triumph of great imagination, innovation And a testament to the collective talents and dedication of thousands and thousands of artisans and craftsmen and workers from across China and actually from across the world. It's also going to be one of the proudest and most exciting moments in the history of the Walt Disney Company as well as a very, very important part of our future. Now I can't begin to tell you what an honor and a gift it is to create joy for a living and we're very proud of the progress we've made in the past. And we're very proud of the progress friend. And spend time making memories of a lifetime.
Our 185,000 cast members and employees around the world and friend. Now some of them are here today. I know that many more are listening via webcast. So I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly Express a very heartfelt thank you to the remarkable men and women who make Disney such an extraordinary company Generally for just what they bring to the Walt Disney Company in terms of all kinds of advice and leadership and for friend, supporting our ambitions and our long term strategic bets for the future. I'd also like to thank our shareholders for their continued support and confidence as we build the future of the Walt Disney Company.
We're going to continue to make long term bets, take smart risks. And even though we've been telling timeless stories for generations, Disney maintains the bold ambitious heart of a company It is just getting started in a world that we believe is full of promise and possibility. We're going to continue to lead. We're going to continue to look over the horizon to create a future of our own design. Our lead director, Oren Smith.
Oren was formerly President and CEO of Starbucks. As lead director, Oren provides independent for the He's an operating executive of the Carlyle Group and has retired from Procter and Gamble where Susan was the company's Vice Chairman. John Chen is Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry Limited. A matter of fact. Based right here in Chicago, I had an opportunity to visit their offices and taste some of their sandwiches yesterday.
No commercials, all in all right. But they were actually, they were pretty good. Bob Machalotte is Private Equity Investor and former Vice Chairman and CFO of The Seagram Company. Sheryl Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer of Facebook Jack Dorsey, Chief Executive Officer of Twitter and Chief Executive and Officer and Managing Partner of WE Family Offices. And Mark G.
Parker is President and Chief Executive Officer of Nike. They bring a wealth of experience and expertise along with valuable perspective to our Board. It's great to have them all. And I want to thank her for her wise counsel, support and friendship friend and join the entire board in expressing our sincere appreciation for her service. And now I'd like to ask the directors to stand and be recognized.
Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you. Our Chief Operating Officer, Tom Staggs is here today. Tom, would you stand up please? And our Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy and our General Counsel Alan Braverman And before we move on to the business portion of this meeting, I want to acknowledge a very special guest. Lot in all of our special events and it's great to have you with us today.
And now it's time for the formal business portion of this meeting. The meeting has been duly called and is being conducted in the conformity with the laws of Delaware and the company's charter and bylaws. If you have already voted by proxy you don't need to vote again If you haven't yet voted or if you want to change your vote you may do that now So please raise your hand If you need a ballot to vote, there will be people in the audience who can come around and give you ballots. Ballots need to be turned in by the end of the business portion of this meeting. Friend.
And we will have someone collect them at that time. The copies of the rules for the meeting were provided at the registration table. And I would like to ask everyone's cooperation in respecting the rules, including speaking time limits and assisting us in the orderly conduct of business. We have 6 items on the agenda today, including 2 shareholder proposals. And I will introduce each of the first 4 items and the shareholder representatives will present the 2 shareholder proposals.
And after all six items have been presented. There will be an opportunity for any shareholder who is interested to address those items, to speak. And then the polls will close, and we'll hear a preliminary report from the Inspector of Election and adjourn the business portion of the meeting. And then after that, we'll have a general question and answer period. The company has retained Broadridge friend.
As Inspector of Election for this meeting, and I would like to introduce Belinda Massafra, a representative of Broadridge, and ask her to report on the number of outstanding shares that are present today and voting. Ms. Massafra?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As of the close of business on January 4, 2016, the record date for this meeting, there were 1,641,000,000 636,839 shares of the company's common stock outstanding, each of which is entitled to one vote. There are at least 1,420,000,000,595,000,462 shares of common stock Represented by proxy at this meeting, representing at least 86% of the total number of shares entitled to vote.
Thank you. Based on this report, I declare that a quorum is present and that this meeting is qualified to proceed with the business before us and that the polls are now open. The first item is the election of 11 members of the Board of Directors. Friend. Each director holds office for a term of 1 year.
And those nominated for election at this meeting, in addition to me, are Susan Arnold, John Chen, Jack Dorsey, Mel Lagomacino, Fred Langhammer, Alvin Lewis, Bob Matchlot, Mark Parker, Sheryl Sandberg and Orin Smith As you know the board recommends a vote for the election of all of the nominees. The next item is ratification of the The next item is ratification of the appointment of Pricewaterhouse LLP as the company's independent registered accountants friend, for the current fiscal year as recommended by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Bob Barrett, a representative of as the company's independent registered accountants for fiscal 2016. The next item is the advisory vote on executive compensation. We're seeking advisory shareholder approval of the compensation of our named executive officers And the Board recommends a vote for this proposal.
The next item is a proposal to amend our certificate of incorporation to eliminate The super majority vote requirement for business combination transactions with interested persons and the Board recommends a vote in favor of this proposal. The next item is a shareholder proposal presented by James McRitchie. The full text of the proposal is set forth in the proxy statement. I understand that Mr. Martin Glotzer, a representative of the shareholder is here to present this proposal and I would like to invite him to do so
Point of order, Mr. Chairman. We want to talk about the proposal, the election of directors. Let me tell you, I've run 50 Annual Shareholder Meeting because I've run 3 publicly owned companies. I'm very offended By the directors not being able to speak face to face with shareholders.
I attended the annual meeting of General I took last year and all the directors met in the lobby prior to the meeting and after the meeting also. I've also attended the annual meeting Quaker Oats and did the I'm very much offended by not having to be able to speak face to face with directors. And I believe many, many of the shareholders present today We'd like to see face to face with directors. And I want to talk on the proposal, the election of directors. Are we able to talk on the proposal?
You've been asked
to put forward the shareholder proposal that was a matter of fact. And we've given you 5 minutes to do that. You will have time in a general Q and A Later if you would like to discuss any other matters, but right now you've been called upon to present the shareholder proposal.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I always my friend. Since I've been the chairman of companies, I filed the rules of the chairman. And I'm going to introduce the proposal Found in the proxy statement.
Let the record indicate that I've read the proposal as presented in the
friend. Now the next item is a proposal presented by Zevon Asset Management. The full text of that shareholder proposal is also set forth in the proxy statement. Now I understand that Mr. Glatzer is also presenting this proposal.
Mr. Glatzer, do you want to stand and present that. I would ask again
As I told you, I have the final say on Mr. The other proposal. Friend. And the final say is we want to thank all the shareholders who took the time to vote And now on the second proposal, again, let the record indicate that I read the proposal as presented in the proxy statement. And again, as the final proponent, I have the final say.
Thank you.
Okay. Thank you. The Board of Directors has recommended to vote against this proposal for the reasons set out fully in the proxy statement. So at this point, I will open the floor to discussion on any other items that we have just presented, including the four proposals that the company put forward. So if you'd like to address one of those items, please proceed to a microphone and wait to be recognized.
And when you're recognized, please state Your name and identify which item that you would wish to address and then proceed with your remarks. And please limit them to 2 minutes in order to give shareholders the opportunity to be heard. Note that we will have a general question and answer session following the business portion of the meeting. So if you would a matter of fact. Does anyone have anything they would like to comment about in terms of what was just presented?
Number 1. I'm just calling on this gentleman, Mr. Glotzer I will get to you next
Thanks, Mr. Ager My name is Justin Danhof I'm General Counsel with the National Center For Public Policy Research. And I want to talk about shareholder proposal number 2 and encourage all Disney shareholders who haven't voted yet to reject this Zevon Asset Management, the filer of Proposal Number 2, would like us shareholders to believe that it's a good governance organization as a matter of fact. Following the US Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, This network has filed dozens and dozens of resolutions complaining about a lack of transparency and accountability regarding corporate lobbying and political activity. However, these groups never and I mean absolutely never express concern about the billions of corporate dollars that go to fund liberal causes and politicians.
And that's just the point. Zevon and its ilk abhor corporate speech when it may skew right, but remain silent when it flows freely to the left. Today, Zevin would like us to use us Disney shareholders in its proxy war, pardon the pun, to try and defund and silence the National Restaurant Association. Involvement with the National Restaurant Association, that organization claims, quote, no doubt Disney's membership dues to the Association The National Restaurant Association works to expand employee freedoms for millions of Americans and combats owners, state and federal regulations. Zevon's proposal has nothing to do with Disney as a company and he has even less to do with us as Disney shareholders.
We are just a means to achieve censorship that Zevin cannot otherwise achieve since the U. S. Constitution protects free speech. Don't let Zevin Asset Management silence free speech. Please join me in rejecting shareholder proposal 2.
Thank you, sir. Mr. Glotzer?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the benefits of having an annual shareholders meeting It's to give all shareholders the opportunity to voice their opinions. That's what I'm here for, corporate democracy. I want to speak on the proposal, the election of directors.
I was amazed to see in the proxy statement Tenured that we're losing a director. In real life, I've been the President of the Cincinnati Union Stockyard Company Since 1965, a publicly owned company started in 18/70. At the annual shareholders meeting of the Stockyard Company in 1966, I had the shareholders amend our bylaws to provide for our Director Emeritus. I believe here at Disney, we should have the benefit of the Director Emeritus. So we continue to have the benefit of this, the director who is not standing for election.
Director Emeritus status is A director attends the meetings, doesn't have a vote, gets paid. Why give up the benefit of having the woman Who's been with us for 15 years just because of tenure. I request that the Board of Directors of Disney consider Amending the bylaws to provide for a director of Emeritus so that we can continue to have the benefits of longtime directors. Thank you.
Thank you very much, sir. Any other comments about the proposals that have just been brought forth? Thank you. At this point, I think we've heard the range of friend. Views and opinions on those proposals, so it's time to close out this discussion.
And that would conclude the consideration of all of the items to be presented at the meeting. That we have in the past. And we have a very strong position to be able to Director of election to give us her report based on the proxies that we received at the opening of the polls at today's meeting. Ballots And proxies handed in during the meeting will be reviewed and validated by the inspector and included in the final vote tally. Now this final vote will be reflected in the minutes of the meeting and in a report that we will file with the SEC within the next week.
Inspector, may we have your preliminary report?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For item 1, the election of directors, we have received proxies voting for each director representing at least 94% of the votes cast. For item 2, ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we have received proxies for 98% Shares voting to approve the appointment. For item 3, approval of the advisory vote on executive compensation, We have received proxies for 84.6 percent of shares voting to approve the resolution.
For item 4, approval of amendments to the certificate of incorporation, we have received proxies for 69.9% Outstanding shares voting to approve the amendments. For Item 5, approval of the shareholder proposal relating to simple majority vote, We have received proxies for only 34.8 percent of shares voting for the proposal. For item 6, approval of the shareholder proposal on lobbying disclosure, we have received proxies for only friend. 27.1 percent of shares voting for the proposal. That concludes my report, Mr.
Chairman.
Of election, I declare that all of the nominees for election to the board have been duly elected, that the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers has been duly ratified, that the advisory proposal on executive compensation was approved that the amendments of our certificate of incorporation was approved and that neither of the shareholder proposals were approved. That concludes the business portion of the meeting. And so our meeting is now technically adjourned. But as I said earlier, we're ready to take some questions. So if you would like to ask a question, please a matter of fact.
And again, because we have a number of people in the audience that have questions, I'd like you to limit your question to no more than 2 minutes friend, in order to give shareholders an opportunity to be heard and do not raise or repeat topics that have been previously raised. A matter of fact. We have other ways that we can address your concerns. And so now we'll open the floor to questions. If you could turn house lights up a bit for me that would help.
Okay, we'll go to number 1 first.
Hello. My name is Ben. I'm a shareholder from California. And I've been attending this meeting annually since I was 16 It's old 17 years ago and have experienced a great variety of cities as you've moved around the meeting every year. And my question is, As we experience the dynamics of every city we've been to, including the one fantastic Chicago, have you ever considered for a climate reason
friend We may have a 5 day meeting there if we do that No, we haven't It comes up every once in a while It's a matter of fact. Wishful thinking on the behalf of some people. We'd love to be able to go there. It's a great resort, but it's a long way away, and I don't think convenient enough for shareholders. But thank you for the idea.
Yes, number 2.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Martin Glatzer. I'm a Roosevelt University graduate. This is my home.
And also, I've been in Honolulu since 1959. I've been the President of Salama Dending Plantations Limited, a former Coconut and Rubber Estate in Malaya. So I love to go back home to Honolulu under the banyan tree at the Moana Hotel on the beach of Wacker Quay. The question I wanted to add in that Marvel movie, I attend the Harley Davidson's Annual Shareholders Meeting every year. Those motorcycles.
Are those Harleys? I'm giving a plug to Harley because if you tell me Harley didn't make it a matter of fact. When I'm at the Harley meeting
in April, I'll ask. I actually I've seen the movie a few times, but I did not Identify the motorcycles by brand If they're identified in the movie, chances are we have an agreement with Harley or whatever motor a matter of fact. The motorcycle company manufactured them to provide them, but I'm not sure. I can find that out for you, though, probably before this meeting ends.
Well, I'm involved with Kim, the Investor Relations person. She personally is
Well, that's good.
Okay. Thank you.
I'm going to ask a few more questions, But the other shareholders can.
Thank you very much. I appreciate that. It's nice coincidence that you went to school here, Mr. Glatzer.
Yes. Friend. I also was here with the USO in 1946. On the stage was the bowling alley.
Thank you. Go back to number 2. Number 1.
I guess I'm just going to keep following Marty. My name is Justin Danhof again. I'm with the National Center For Public Policy Research. Mr. Iger, I just wanted to follow on a topic that you and I discussed in 2013 at the Disney meeting, down in Phoenix.
The weather was a little better that day. At that meeting, I presented you with a laundry list of incidents that showed ABC and its affiliates suffering from liberal bias in presenting the news. You responded at the time and I want to quote exactly what you said, that we have been guilty of making mistakes. We have at times either presented the news In a slightly inaccurate way or through mistakes or in ways that we weren't necessarily proud of. We shareholders kind of just want to know what's happened in the interim.
Polls show that the American people to continue to believe the media presents the news in a biased way by margins of nearly 3 to 1. And ABC News continues to deserve deserve its fair share of blame for this ongoing problem. For example, ABC News continues to employ George Stephanopoulos Despite the fact that he was a high ranking official in President Bill Clinton's administration and donated significant funds to the Clinton Foundation, A fact that he personally hid from the viewing public for quite some time. How can the public possibly believe that he is objective when covering this presidential election? So my question is this, by large numbers the American people believe that your news organization suffers from bias.
In 2013 you said you were sorry for this problem. I was confident that you would make changes to correct the problem and restore our collective faith in your news outlets. Can you tell us shareholders 1, and I'm literally just asking for one concrete step that you have taken to counterbalance the liberal bias that pervades Disney's news platforms. Thank you.
Thank you for your opinion. I think you've taken my response to your question or your comment in 2013 a bit out of context though. Well, I did say the things that you said. I did say overall, I was proud of the efforts of ABC News. And I thought generally speaking what they presented to their public was fair and unbiased.
Are we perfect? No. But I believe the overall presentation of ABC News, the reputation of ABC News is one that we are and will continue to be proud of. Journalists is making or we make sure that our journalists are fully friend. Fair and unbiased on subjects and where we need to, we act if we feel something's been presented That isn't particularly right but those are very, very rare I'm well aware of the George Stephanopoulos situation I watch George often To his public, a fair and unbiased look at and since you mentioned the presidential campaign, the presidential campaign and the candidates I've seen him interview A number of candidates on both sides And he seems to be equally aggressive in terms of looking for criticism, looking for flaws demanding facts and opinions from all of them I assure you that if we felt that George were not presenting it fairly or were biased, he would not be on our air And I don't have a specific example except this is something that we take very very seriously We monitor closely And as I said Overall we believe that we have reason to be proud of the way ABC News behaves in there the programs and the people that make up ABC News
I said
People are entitled to their opinions People with one very specific set of beliefs or political opinions may view a lot of what is presented across numerous networks is not consistent with their own beliefs. And I guess it would be their conclusion that that would be biased. I do not believe that overall the American public in general views ABC News as being biased Are there people out there that do? I'm sure there are.
Okay, thanks.
Thank you. Let's go to number 2.
My name is Dwight Morgan. I'm a shareholder, premier passport holder, pin trader, D23 Gold Member. I've been here before. I want to thank you for helping get pin traders location issues That I've addressed before as well as explanation of gift cards and passholder discount issues that I brought you in years beyond by. Those things are still works in progress.
This year, got another one. There's a lot of talk of overcrowding in the parks. Passport price increases at Disneyland Resort. That hasn't solved the problem. Now we're looking at demand pricing.
Fellow pass holders have suggested to me because they knew I was coming that if you really want to reduce the number of Passholders, in order to control the uncontrollable Surge of people at the parks. The way to do it is to remove the interest free monthly payment option On the purchase of those passes rather than raising prices. I think I've stated my point Pretty clearly. If there's anything I'm missing, would you let me know?
Okay. Thank you. That idea has never been brought to my attention. I'll make sure that it is considered as we've considered your other ideas in the past. Actually, in some cases, We've actually implemented one of them or a couple of them as you just cited, but I appreciate that.
We believe that the new pricing Strategy at our parks domestically in Florida and in California give our guests A number of options, some options that they didn't have. We believe they generally track what is fairly normal in the travel and tourism industry, and that is Peak or demand pricing or seasonal pricing. And we hope that one of the byproducts of this pricing strategy is to spread out our visitation, shall we say, and to perhaps reduce crowds during what is our most popular or the peak periods of time We actually feel pretty good about what we've just announced because again it can provide so many different variables for the guest and it may end up providing a slightly better guest experience in the most popular days. Thank you. Yes.
I have to agree with that. But the price increase that I was referring Who was the 30% plus that you hit all the pass holders with in California?
The annual pass holders.
The annual pass holders. That's the one that really hurt And didn't do any good.
Okay. Thank you. We'll take that into consideration.
All right. Thank you.
Back to number 1.
Hi, my name is Donnie Stevens. I was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona. My favorite bias TV show is Last Man Standing. My favorite character is Little Orange Bird. I want to thank all the Disney employees The shared memories I've had with my children and my family.
And I want to thank Disney for the connection I can have with complete strangers, which by just one word, which is Disney. My question is, friend. We've seen the expansion of Animal Kingdom. They have Avatar. We've seen Magic Kingdom get an expansion of new fantasy land.
We've seen Hollywood Studios get expansion with Star Wars and Pixar Land. My question is one of the more important parts to me is Epcot because It infuses entertainment and education. And I was wondering if Disney had any future plans for an expansion of Ed Cod or any ideas or any Expansion with that kind of fusion of entertainment and education.
Well, first of all, this is not about expansion. We continue to upgrade and we continue to add things friend That are new In fact, in 2016, there'll be a new Frozen attraction at Epcot, as you know, in the Norway Pavilion And we're also soaring over the world sometime in 2016, which is also going to come to California. We met at Imagineering not that long ago and looked at long range plans for Epcot. We don't like to just stand on our laurels or maintain the status quo. We too believe that there are all kinds of opportunities particularly given the size of Epcot to take advantage of the property and to expand our offerings and friend.
There's a lot of great work going into that thinking. There's nothing that we have to announce here today, though. But thank you for your interest. Thank you. Back to number 2.
Good morning. My name is Matthew Hanson. I'm a shareholder from Salt Lake City. I first wanted to thank you and the Board For the time you took to review my proposal regarding Song of the South even though it wasn't included. I have a couple of quick questions regarding Parks and Resorts.
First, what is the status of the rights to use Marvel characters in parts east of the Mississippi? Do we know when those rights will revert And allow Marvel to be used at Walt Disney World. Secondly, considering Just how well the first Star Wars film made by the studio has done. I was wondering if you could address reports a matter of fact. The budget for Disneyland's expansion was scaled back eliminating a third attraction in Star Wars land As well as eliminating moving sidewalks from the Pumba parking structure.
You have a lot of details. Friend The rights that we do not have to Marvel east of the Mississippi prevent us From doing certain things in Orlando with Marvel characters and franchises are, I believe, in perpetuity So there's nothing imminent and there isn't an expiration date, to my knowledge. We've from time to time talked about where there's a negotiation to be had that would expand our rights to do that but there's nothing active at the moment In terms of Star Wars Lands in both Florida and California, I assure you that we're putting a substantial amount of capital into those expansion projects so that the experience that people have When they walk into Star Wars lands, it will be fantastic. We do tweak the size and the nature, the complexity of what it is we plan to build. Well.
We decided before we break ground, before we actually open, there have been some tweaks from the initial pitch. But I think what We're building is going to be fantastic, including the 2 attractions, I think, that were most visible in the graphics that I showed you earlier, a matter of fact, particularly the ability to ride the Millennium Falcon. This also is an opportunity for us to combine storytelling that relied on great technology with theme park experiences that will rely on great technology to create what will be what will feel like real experiences. And I think you'll enjoy them. I wouldn't focus on what was in early design plan because what we're building is going to be great.
And I was wondering if you could also touch on the Pumba parking structure and the moving sidewalks because some View that removing those moving sidewalks, is the company's executives a bit out of touch With the guest experience regarding parking?
Just too far away takes too long a walk, is that what you're suggesting?
Well, just for the fact that The executives of the company don't have to experience the same parking issues because they just park at the Grand Californian?
I said. Honestly, I don't I'm not I'm familiar with a lot that goes on. I'm not familiar with any changes that we're making in terms of moving Walkways. Tom, do you have any knowledge of this at all? Help me here.
As we've increased demand, especially at Disneyland, especially with California Adventure being transformed, We've put pressure on the parking situation. It is part of our long range plan and we're looking to address it. Moving sidewalks may end up being not the most efficient or effective way of doing that, It is something that is absolutely on our radar and something we're looking to address.
Friend. Let's go back to 1, please.
Buenas Dias, Mr. Chairman.
Buenas Dias.
Board of Directors, Our fellow shareholders, I'm Jane Garcia and I'm from the neighboring city, Detroit, the comeback city. That's what we call it now. But I'm here to thank you for what you have done through the years. I know you listen to the shareholders and you pay attention and it's really important nowadays. I want to give a special thanks to Monica Lozano, who did a wonderful job representing my community wherever she went.
I want to thank I just wanted to make sure she really does need of applause. I hope you join me. Thank you. I agree. I want to make sure that you also know there's a lady in Florida named Lourdes Who does a wonderful job, has that magical touch, always returns calls and make sure the national programs that I belong I sit on a national board called SIR Metro and SIR National that I've told you about.
And I know that every time we have a meeting down there, She just is just wonderful. And I just think you need to know that everybody that I've ever worked with at Disney has that magical touch. And I hope that that continues and I'll put in writing as I always do all the things that you have been doing.
We will make Sure that your comments about her get back to her, I promise. Thank you. Back to 2.
Mr. Chairman, my name is Richard Zabodzke. I'm a stockholder from Auburndale, Florida. Been a stockholder since 1996 And a cast member of 13 years. And the reason I'm here today is of a personal nature.
I've sent a document to you After going through the chain of command and not getting any response regarding my career with Walt Disney Company And when I started to work with the Disney Cruise Line, my benefits were taken away. I was not able to experience the magic of the parks The resorts with my family. I wasn't given any Disney discounts and taken away from me. In essence, I was ostracized from the Walt Disney Company by my choice to join the Disney Cruise Line. I've sent a document to you Seven times since June of last year.
As a stockholder since 1996, As a cast member serving me as a company for 13 years, I would have expected your one of your management to make a response To my concerns. I have not been getting or given a response. And I'd like to do, mister chairman, I know it's not reflective of you, but of your staff. But if I could get an usher to give you a copy of this document and have you follow-up with it and then I won't bore the Fellow shareholders with the details.
Okay. Thank you. I'm familiar with your situation, And I would be glad to put you directly in touch with an executive from our human resources group To hear your grievances and to talk about how we handled your employment at the company and what happened after you left friend.
Is it something we can handle today? Would that person be present or how would you like to handle it?
The person is not present, but I would be glad to accept The letter that you want delivered to me And I will make sure that someone gets back to you directly within the next week
Would it be where, do you have a name like Miss Hodges or
I know Ms. Hodges, she runs HR for Parks and Resorts. I don't know whether it would be Julie Hodges or not, but it will be someone on her staff.
I appreciate that.
Is your contact information in there?
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
Back to number
1. Good morning, Mr. Iger. My name is Susanna George. My husband and I have been stockholders for over 20 years.
And this year we gifted both of our Young adult children with Disney stock because we believe in the company so much. I was going to touch on the tiered part pricing. My daughter mentioned to me this morning, but it's already been addressed. I hope the company considers it around the ballpark more than able to do that financially. One, I'd like to applaud you for taking the bull by the horn and addressing the Wall Street pundits on the apparent demise Of the ESPN network, which as you showed all of us is kicking and alive and on in my house On multiple televisions, 24 hours a day, it seems like.
As my children grew, we moved from the Disney Channel right to And we're not going anywhere anytime soon. I will say as a satellite subscriber, I would love to disconnect myself from them. And I hope, As I heard last week and I know you were at the Apple Shareholder Meeting as well when Tim Cook talked about Apple TV and some other options out there. I am hoping that you are exploring those options so that you can continue to deliver the ESPN content to us in other ways that will allow us Some freedom from the shackles of the cable and the dish companies. But I'd like to also ask you one other question.
And that is there is a hidden jewel in the Disney portfolio than I am when it will be explored. And that is the Muppets. I love Star Wars. I love Pixar. Where on Marvels, it's fine.
I'm an investor. I believe in ROI, definitely. But I believe there's a hidden jewel. And reading back and looking at some of the history of Disney and the Henson, Now going at the time Michael Eisner began to make that deal with Jim Henson, he passed away suddenly, it was not consummated. Many things went on throughout the years.
I was thrilled to see Disney come back to the table with the handsome children in the company and purchase the Muppets. And I'm just wondering When are we going to breathe the Disney magic and life into what seems like a perfect Pairing, I mean, who's other than Minnie, obviously, who is the more perfect pal for Mickey than Kermit? And I just feel there's a huge opportunity there for the company That I'd love to see us explore. So I'd like to know your thoughts, if
there are
any thoughts.
Well, thank you. We actually have had the Muppets in a variety of different Storytelling vehicles They have a series on ABC, that kicked off early this season or last season. And we tried a feature film a few years back. In fact, Tina Fey was in it. That did okay.
It wasn't great, but it did fine. To my knowledge, we do not have other developments on the motion picture front for the Muppets. We, from time to time, think about other ways that we could use them in all kinds some different media. And I don't have details right now, but I'll take account.
Just planting a seed in California Adventure. I know you've done some things in the past. Yes. An opportunity perhaps.
Okay. Thank you. Also on ESPN, we're very proud of ESPN. They're extremely popular. We're in the for people to consume our great products, for us to reach more people.
And some of the new platforms in particular, because of how user friendly they are friend. And how much mobility they offer really compelling experiences, particularly for sports. So we're exploring a lot of friend. Different possibilities. But thank you for your comments across the country.
On it, it's a great part of the company.
Thank you. Yes.
Lorna Stear from Bristol, Connecticut.
Bristol, welcome.
Retired ESPN And it will remain strong Disney now and in the future. I just want to make one comment. I've been a Disney fan since friend. The Mickey Mouse Club was put in black and white. We kept the dream alive when my parents took my son to Disney World.
Friend. And this past summer, the grandparents, my husband and I took our 7 year old Philip and our 3 year old Victoria. Victoria at 3, her statement, I love Disney World. It is so friend. And the people are so nice.
I want to live, work, sleep, eat, dance, and stay At Disney World. And as a 70 year old grandmother, I'd like to say a big thank you for those who do work, Live, eat, sleep, dance and sing at Disney World and keep the magic alive through generations. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Yes, number 1.
Hi, my name is Scott Ladwig and I'm from St. Louis. And first I'd like to say thank you for bringing the meeting back to you. And the next time you come through, I'd like to offer St. Louis as a host.
I'm sure Jack Dorsey will Back me up on that. The question I had was related to the My Magic Plus. I'd be curious to get your assessment on how that program with the Magic a matter of fact. Fans and everything, the impact it's had on the company in terms of guest experience and performance and when we might see the next generation, some of the other features that have been kind of been talked about as being enabled by this base technology.
Overall, the reaction has been fantastic. We do a fair amount of research on it, a matter of fact, particularly because we put a lot of capital into that project And it really was designed to do one thing, and that was to improve people's experiences when they visited us, which included giving them an opportunity to plan their visit before they came, taking a lot of the anxiety and a lot of the complication out of their trip. A matter of fact And what we've heard back from those that have used it is very, very positive It's also enabling people to experience more of our attractions and basically to enjoy themselves more without having to worry about some of the other extraneous experiences that happened to our parks, without having to think about it as much as they once did. So it's been quite positive. Because technology keeps moving onward and improving, we're looking at all different ways to expand the program, both in Orlando and in our other a matter of fact, parks around the world won't necessarily be through physical magical bands since mobile technology and personal mobile devices can offer a lot of the Functionality that some of the bands that we created offer, there may be very, very different but equally great opportunities for us to use technology to improve It's been very, very, very good performer for the company overall for theme parks in particular.
My friend. Especially with the 2 new builds coming to the Cruise line to extend some of the technology. It always seemed like the Magic Band was just made for the Cruise line.
Yes, we've talked about it. We've talked about it with the people who run friend I don't know, right I don't think we're planning a Magic Band for Cruise But there's a there are a lot of function there's a lot of functionality to the Magic Bands themselves and what they do that we believe can be applied to Cruise. I don't know where it stands in terms of development, but I know I participated in discussion a matter of fact Probably about a year or so ago with the head of our cruise line about just that He felt he needed that kind of technology to make the experience that he offers even better
Pitch,
friend.
Hi. My name is Corie, and I'm a shareholder from Arizona, where it's going to be 90 degrees today.
A matter of fact. Were you at another one of our meetings, Corie?
Yes. I remember. That's my 8th meeting.
Yes. Oh, you've been in a few. Yes, I remember you. We talked about summer camp once. Is that possible?
Is that you? No? Okay, someone else
Many of my favorite movies are Pixar And I'd love to see how they get their ideas and work. And I was just wondering why doesn't Pixar Studios Allow tours.
First of all, Pixar Studios is not that big and they are very busy. Friend. And we feel if we were to allow our tours, they would be so popular that they would end up being, 1, hard to imagine, 2 Big distractions for us up there. There have been occasional tours at Pixar, but typically it's For people in other parts of the industry, people that we know, in some cases, elected officials have been through to see Pixar But we don't have anything organized because we just can't manage it a matter
of fact. Okay, thank you.
I'm tempted to offer you one in particular since you've been to Abe, but if I do that, I get in a lot of trouble. So I don't know. Maybe friend. Just leave your name with us. I know that I'm in a lot of trouble now, but I feel it.
Everybody here everyone here will understand if we just do this for Cory, right? Okay. Okay. Please, No precedent. This is not a precedent.
So we will figure something out since this is your 8th meeting. You have to my advice. We'll start with unless you have been to at least 8 of our meetings, you can't even ask. Okay. Yes, I know you'd like a tour too.
We can only offer 1 for meeting.
I would love a tour. But Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you, Mr. Iger. It's an honor to be here. My name is C.
J. Diegel. I'm an individual investor from Scottsdale, Arizona. At the moment, I'm questioning my judgment for coming to Chicago for a meeting. But I appreciate that Walt was from here.
I'm a father of 2, 3 year old and 1 year old, and I am a cord cutter. I know you think this question is going to be about ESPN, but it's not. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be traveling to Disneyland, Disney World and a Disney cruise. And I can promise you that my kids will spend most of their time watching Disney Junior because we don't get it at home. My question and I a matter of fact.
When am I getting Disney Life?
Disney Life is a direct to consumer mostly service that we launched in the UK in the fall It offers Disney movies, Disney TV shows, books, games, all kinds of short films, music for instance It's actually a great product that we just reviewed again the other day. There are possibilities to bring Disney Life to different markets around the world, particularly the United States. We have not made plans to do that yet, but we've been talking about it a lot because Disney and that array of great products under the Disney brand just we think are tailor made for a mobile a matter of fact, and for a direct to consumer experience. But nothing at the moment to announce regarding that. So we do talk about it.
And I think there's an inevitability, but I can't tell you when.
The sooner, the better. So thank you for taking my question.
Now you could sign up again
friend. All we want is Disney. And part of that is because of the user experience. And it's Channel for a 3 year old and a 1 year old, we feel safe with Disney. And as a consumer, clearly I love the Disney experience.
That experience is what I'm all What I am all about and to give my kids those channels, it helped because I've seen Cars 2 and Mater's Tall Tales way too many times. I'm excited about Cars 3 just for the change, but having that pipeline would be outstanding.
Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Okay, a couple of more. Number
2. My name is Karen Loftus. I'm from Lenexa, Kansas. And my question is, I'm a fan of the National Treasure movie franchise, and I'm wondering if we'll be seeing a 3rd movie.
We've done a matter of fact. And there have been some developments along the way. But as of now, we have not greenlit, as we say, a National Treasure 3. But I know there is time and probably some resources spent on development. That's all I can tell you.
I hope it will happen.
All right. Thank you. Back to 1.
Good morning, Bob. My name is Terry Scott and I'm from Gilberts, Illinois. My question for you is my son is studying film at the University of Missouri and he would love to work for Disney. How would we go about Reaching the right people to give his resume to
Well, I'm sure there's a variety of a matter of fact. Our websites about jobs, open positions and career opportunities, etcetera. We can also get information from you directly to our HR people and they can give you the information that you need.
That would be great. Thank you.
Good school, good film school. University of Missouri.
Yes. Hi. My name is Dan Smith from a place called Glendale. You know, turn right at
a matter of fact. And I'm
a private investor. Just to give you an idea, I'd like to Thank you and the esteemed members of the Board and the visions of the staff members present here. I made a decision about 3 years ago to become 100% invested in Walt Disney against common a matter of fact. Now question of the day. We make sock snocker movies.
We make properties and we have characters and stuff that are just fill the moves, fill the things, fill the press. But there's this perception, this emotional perception in Wall Street of the ESPN dragging us down because of the disproportional Weighting of the revenues from that division. My question is, do we have developments to street make strategic a matter of fact. Of the consumers of all the other divisions we have sold it's more equa based. So that one time somebody just doesn't scream fire and go bug walkie.
A matter of fact. How did you describe our movie Sock Knockers?
Sock Knockers.
That's a new one for me, but I like that. A matter of fact.
It should knock your socks off.
I get it. Yes, I know. I know. Thank you. That must be a Glendale term,
right? Yes, it is.
First of all, ESPN is a healthy business and a large business and an exciting business and a growth business. And will it grow the compelling rate that we've seen it grow in the last 50, 20 years into the future, probably not. But it's to deliver growth for the company long term. And we not a day goes by when we don't talk about ESPN's positioning not just as part of the company, but in this world of media, this very dynamic world It's changing right before our eyes, in some cases, being disrupted. So we're not in any way taking the matter slightly in terms of speculation or what's been said or what's believed to be the case about ESPN.
If you look at the company in the last 10 years, we actually have Diversified a fair amount, no matter how you look at it. ESPN and our media networks represents a smaller Piece of the overall pie for instance today than it did because of these great investments that we've made in Pixar and in Marvel friend And in Lucasfilm, as for instance And they're not really just movies in our company And one of the reasons why we view those Acquisitions is being so attractive is because they grow our business in multiple ways. We've talked about Star Wars lands in our parks. We haven't talked much about Consumer Products, but you look at the enormous growth of Consumer Products since we've made those acquisitions, That's enabled the company to benefit from multiple businesses. And I believe those benefits will continue long term.
Friend. And so we are much more diverse than we used to be and we probably will continue to be that way into the future.
I guess question, too, should be addressed today. How do we or as the Board given an idea to strategically to perceptually change The market's view of the company into more equawading its different divisions. We realize I'm sorry. Yes. That was just my question is, are we considering to maybe give more import and quality And percentage values to our studios and consumer values and sort of deemphasizing a little bit the ESPN So that the emotionality of all this sky is falling doesn't particularly happen.
Well, thank you for your advice on that. We have talked about it as a Board. In fact, We talked about it at the last two board meetings very actively and we'll continue to do so I think if you just look at the body presentation today and those movies that we showed and the discussions about our parks, I think there's already a fair balance at the company. We did show ESPN, but We should appropriately show ESPN. So as far as perception goes, we spent a fair amount of time dealing with the press and dealing with investors and trying to make sure that they appreciate all of the different elements of this company.
There's just so much that we can influence and so much that we can control. I'll be speaking at an investor conference on Tuesday, and I guarantee I'll be talking about this very same subject just next week. It's work that we have to do, but in the end, we feel very confident about the ESPN business long term and we feel great about our company long term.
Thank you very much for your time. Thank you.
See you in Glendale.
Okay. Meet you at Bob's.
It's a good name too. Go ahead.
I'm Mary Jo Barton, stockholder from Chicago, Illinois. In the Time, one of my nephews and I stayed through the entire list of all of the credits for Frozen. And we were watching with interest Because it's a very long extensive list and way down at the bottom. I mean, within the last friend. 10 or at most 12 people.
There was listed a caffeineator. And he said, look at that, friend. Caffeinator and I said, well, somebody has to plug in the coffee machine. In conjunction with that,
friend. I can't speak For that caffeinator, because I don't know who that caffeinator was or where they came from, we have, We believe treated our cash across the board very fairly on a number of different levels including Our their compensation, their benefits, their work conditions, the opportunities that we provide to them. We recently raised our Compensation across a number of our different functions to, if I recall, roughly $10 an hour with increases over the next few years. Those were mostly for employees who were covered under collective bargaining agreements, but also for all hourly employees. We believe that it's important for the Walt Disney Company and its standing in the public to maintain When it comes to not only how we compensate our employees, but the conditions that they work under and the opportunities that they're given.
A matter of fact We feel we have a very good record in this regard We've also had a great relationship with a number of unions and have had no work stoppages to speak of friend. And generally good relations with them through collective bargaining over the years, a record or track record that we're proud of.
It does lead to the wider question of the new Securities and Exchange Commission rules about coming up with a median salary figure For the difference between the billionaires and everybody else, where does Disney World stand on that?
Well, there's an obligation that the company will have to report that in for fiscal 2018. So that would be reported in 20 a matter of fact, we will comply with the law on that.
You couldn't give Vanessa I mean, you're not willing to say at this point
my I'm Tom Kessin from Cincinnati, Ohio shareholder. I've got three questions real quick. 1, when is the ESPN contract with the NFL end? 2, is there anybody from Marvel here? Because I'd like to ask him a question outside of the shareholders.
And 3, on the Marvel made by movies by other studios, I heard a rumor that we get 5% off the top of that. Is that showed in the shareholders Folder of the money that comes in.
The first question is 2020. 21 is the NFL the expiration of the NFL agreement at ESPN. I don't believe anybody from Marvel is here. Okay. But what was your specific question about that?
Maybe there's Chance I know?
Well, I was just trying to find I wanted to ask him about their little shorts they used to put in the DVDs called the Munshots.
Right. Don't think there are any that are being made right now.
Well, I was just trying to
I know that they were good though.
Oh, yes.
We are We do participate in the business of some other studios making Marvel movies. These were license deals that were done Before we acquired Marvel, they're legacy deals and we were well aware of them beforehand. Whatever monies come to us, Flow to us from the creation and distribution of those films obviously would be reflected in our bottom line. But and even though they add up, a matter of fact. Not any one of them is large enough to be of kind of materiality or material enough probably to be singled out in any of our public filings.
But they certainly would be part of the revenue and the bottom line of our businesses. So for instance, Deadpool would be an example. I'm not commenting about the percentage, An extremely successful movie made by Fox Studios that we have a participation in.
In my opinion, with the way Disney history is, Let Deadpool stay with 20th Century because I would prefer GGP, But nothing R rated to Disney.
We don't have any plans to make R rated Marvel movies. Okay. Where there are a lot of people standing, we're running out of time. So I'm going to take 2 more questions. Yes.
Hi, Mr. Iger. My name is Sarah Connors. I'm originally from Boston. And I've been on 16 Disney cruises.
So the 2 announcement the 2 cruise ship announcement is awesome.
Thank you.
I work in programmatic digital advertising. And as a cord cutting millennial, I am most concerned with how the leadership of this company is going to continue friend. To make sure that Disney and ESPN does not fall behind in this ever changing world of technology.
Well, as I said earlier, we spend a tremendous amount Time thinking about this We start by not allowing ourselves to be stuck in the past or even the present or have our heads in the sand We know that, the world is changing, particularly as it relates to media and media consumption. And we aim to change along with it, which means that it's imperative for us to keep all of our program channels or our programming relevant by putting them on new platforms and making them more readily accessible friend, and more user friendly to consumers. And we're working hard on that. Disney Life, which was mentioned earlier, is an example of that. But ESPN has done a tremendous amount of work in that regard, too.
And if you download the ESPN app and use Watch ESPN, a matter of fact. You will see an example of that, although you can't watch ESPN on the app unless you resubscribe It's a multichannel TV right now. We are in all kinds of discussions as it relates to this. We believe that The so called expanded basic bundle, the multichannel TV package will continue to be the dominant form that people subscribe to or get television into the future. But we also believe that people will want and find other ways friend, to receive TV too.
And we plan to be part of those initiatives as well. Again, we are not complacent about it. We're well aware of what's been either speculated or what's happened to date. And I'm confident that Given the investment that this company has made in its brands and its intellectual property and the fact that we continue to innovate, continue to strive for great quality, that no matter what changes occur in the environment long term, we're going to be fine. I was heartened, by the way, by the comment from the gentleman earlier Saying he just watches Disney He just wants Disney Well, that's the result of a tremendous amount of investment and a tremendous amount of creativity Under the Disney brand umbrella and you'll see that at Marvel and at Lucas and at Pixar and ABC and ESPN, etcetera Thank you.
Yes.
Good morning, Mr. Iger. My name is Lorelei Lunat And I am from Streamwood, Illinois. I would like to ask, what
I said. I get asked about my favorite Disney movie, my favorite Disney character. I guess today it's Orangeburg. Can I name Pixar? Does Pixar count too?
That counts, right? I thought the first Toy Story movie remains my favorite In part because I thought it was so groundbreaking And I thought it changed animation in such profound ways But I also remember being taken to see Cinderella with my grandparents in the 1950s, so that holds a special place in my heart. And I was thrilled that we Brought Cinderella back last year in live action I thought we did a great job with that too What's yours?
I have many favorites.
That's good. That's good. I can
name one of them The good dinosaur
That's good That's a recent one I thought you I was certain you were going to say Frozen
No
Okay, okay I think I'm curious when you see Zootopia, you should let us know what you think of that It may a matter of
fact. I'm excited to see it.
Okay. Thank you. Bye.
Mr. Iger? Yes.
I have a question. This fine young lady, Lorelei, purchased her first share of stock this past December. And she did it taking the money out of her savings account and decided that she couldn't make anything in the traditional banking environment. Smart girl. She also said when she opened that savings account about 1 year ago today That with their $306 that in 10 years she would make $1,000,000 I applaud her for such lofty goals.
And I'm curious, what was the first share that you ever purchased or owned? And what did it lead to?
The first share of the Walt Disney Company that I ever purchased and owned?
Or any.
Well, I grew up with very little means. And I really could not put money into buying shares of any companies until I was meaningfully employed, which was when I was 23 years old. And The first stock that I invested in was ABC. And it's done all right for me. It became part of Capital Cities ABC in 1985 and then Disney in 1995.
And I don't know what that stock would be worth today, but I think I've Done all right with it. Absolutely. All right. Thank you. Roy, did you want to say something or not?
Thank you.
Roy, excuse me Roy, would you like to say something? Or not? I'm sorry I was told you wanted to speak We can get you a mic, sure I was just told that you wanted to say something This is Roy Disney Thank you. Thank you, Bob.
No, it really wasn't a question, Although, Dumbo is my favorite movie, just so you all
know. 1941?
Yes. In fact, there's some trivia about that. I'll tell you later, but You look a
lot younger than someone would have seen them both. I'm
teasing. Yes, I juice, so.
This is a Disney meeting. Go ahead.
No, I want to I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations to you for your incredibly nimble leadership. I want to say congratulations to the Board you've surrounded yourself with. They're brilliant, accomplished, nonlinear thinkers and forward thinking, which is exactly what this company needs. The stock is at $98,000,000 today, market cap of just short of $160,000,000,000 In 1984, when Michael and Frank came on board. It was worth about $2,250,000,000 $2,500,000,000 So that's a tribute to Being nimble and being true to the core of the company.
I'm also excited tomorrow I'm going to see Walt's house for the first time. So both Walt and Roy are Chicago natives. Elias came to Chicago as a builder to work on the world's fair. And one of the things he built was that house. And it's a tribute to the building of that house that it still stands today.
And I think it's a core value that Walt got instilled in him to do it once, do it right friend. And do it with quality that this company is still true to today. So I want to say thank you for that.
Thank you very much, Roy. Appreciate it. Thank you for coming. Okay. We're going to, during this session, I want to thank you all for coming.
In particular, I want to thank you all for your continued support. Friend And thank you Chicago for hosting us this week. Thank you.