Walt Disney Co. has no plans to make any major acquisitions in the near future now that it has finally closed its merger deal with animation powerhouse Pixar, Chief Executive Robert Iger said Thursday.
"We don't have a burning need to acquire something for our strategy, with Pixar having been the exception," said Iger, in remarks before the Boston College Chief Executives' Club. "At the moment, we aren't looking to be a significant consolidator."
He added that maintaining Disney's strength in film animation was "vital" for the company. "The Pixar deal reflects our commitment to quality," Iger continued.
The Disney chief later said that he did not see any "dramatic" consolidations on the horizon for the rest of the entertainment industry.
Iger also expounded on Disney's foray into video streaming via its Web site ABC.com. Earlier this year, Disney said that it would allow episodes of four of its hottest shows, including "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," to be downloaded for free from the site as part of a business "experiment."
Since the project was launched about three weeks ago, 3 million episodes have been downloaded from ABC.com, according to Iger. "Consumer demand has been incredible," he said.
Iger added that the company will continue to experiment with various business models for the site, and may eventually establish a paid video-on-demand service. He noted that Disney is also looking to fully integrate ads into the viewing content.
