Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner is interviewed by the Associated Press, and he reflects on the purchase of ESPN he led with the company. In 1995, Disney purchased CapCities/ABC for $19 billion, acquiring ABC and ESPN in the process.
In the interview, Eisner calls the deal “one of the best acquisitions maybe of that whole century.”
“We spent the $19 billion because we wanted ESPN,” he said in a recent interview centered on Tuesday’s release of his book, “Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed.” “It wasn’t an accident, no.”
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ESPN continues to be not only the worldwide leader in sports, but Disney’s worldwide leader if profits, accounting for around half of the company’s revenue. As the AP article notes, SNL Kagan estimates ESPN will bring in nearly $7 billion in revenue this year alone.