Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger stunned company shareholders Wednesday when he said that while Disney is currently "comfortable" with its current mix of assets, it's keeping its options open regarding a possible spin-off of ABC. "There are no guarantees in terms of what will remain part of our company and what will not," he said in response to a question by a shareholder at the company's annual meeting in San Antonio TX. Analysts, however, cautioned not to make too much of Iger's remark. Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Michael Nathanson told Reuters that speculation about whether Disney is going to dump ABC resurfaces periodically because "ABC doesn't add a lot of value to Disney's other divisions." However, he added, he doesn't expect Disney to spin off ABC, particularly while the battle with cable companies over retransmission fees remains unsettled. A victory by the networks could see the value of ABC increase exponentially, he suggested.

11/03/2010