Robert Iger
Analyst · Bank of America
Thank you very much, Lowell, and good afternoon. Let me start off by saying how thrilled we are with the global success of Iron Man 2, which to date has grossed $334 million in global box office. It makes me even more enthusiastic about the great things Marvel and Disney can do together to build the value of the Marvel brand, its array of great characters and about our upcoming Marvel movies, Thor and Captain America. Our strong second quarter performance was driven in part by Disney's Alice in Wonderland. This visually stunning and highly entertaining motion picture has, to date, grossed over $962 million in global box office, making it Disney's second highest performing film ever, both U.S. and worldwide, and the number seven movie of all time. And we're excited, too, about our upcoming summer slate, which includes Prince of Persia, Toy Story 3 and Sorcerer's Apprentice. Under the new studio leadership, a focus on franchise films, such as Toy Story 3, is an important part of our growth strategy. And as we've discussed before, when a franchise film is successful at Disney, many of our businesses benefit, driving superior returns. With sequels of Cars, Pirates and Monsters, Inc. arriving over the next two fiscal years, the opportunities to create additional value from these properties are tremendous. At our Media Networks, we're continuing to build on our strengths. ESPN has invested in the world's most exciting sports events and presents them in an integrated and engaging way. The NBA Finals are a great example of how ESPN weaves live sports, great reporting and up-to-the-minute stats into a compelling, cross-platform package that serves both consumers and advertisers. We're planning the same for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa. ESPN's innovation and emphasis on quality continue to drive strong ratings, and I'm particularly proud of the work ESPN has done in digital media. We are just a week away from the announcement of ABC's fall primetime schedule. I'm confident in the team's long-term track record and its ability to develop great new shows, like the current Wednesday night comedy block, and to generate new excitement along around long-standing series such as Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. With the scatter market strong, we are anticipating a very good upfront market. We're also pleased with the creative strengths of Disney Channel and ABC Family, which continue to perform exceptionally well with great original programming. Disney Channel has new hits in Phineas and Ferb and Good Luck Charlie, while Disney XD is building share among its target audience of boys. Both are international presence that's bringing the Disney brand into people's homes throughout the world. We're also developing a Marvel block of programs for our XD channel. For its part, ABC family is doing an excellent job of winning over Millennials, a particularly sought-after demographic. At our Parks and Resorts, over the next two years, a magnificent new resort will open in Hawaii, two new cruise ships will set sail and expansion of Disneyland Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland are coming along nicely. The rollout of our additions and improvements to Disney's California Adventure begins next month with World of Color, an exciting nighttime spectacular. The Disney Dream, the first of our new ships, will embark on its maiden voyage in the early part of calendar 2011. Together, these investments and our continuing emphasis on providing guests distinctive, high-quality experiences should serve Disney well as the economy improves, allowing a return to more normal pricing. Jay will elaborate later. Our strategy is to create the best in branded entertainment; to use technology, both to make that entertainment more compelling and to reach more people; and to expand Disney's presence and promising global markets. But we've also taken steps to improve our operational agility and to challenge long-standing business models in order to better serve consumers. The creation of exciting new devices like the iPad, the growth of social media platforms and the choice demanded by consumers in how and when they enjoy their entertainment, offers incredible opportunities for companies like Disney strong brands, quality creative content and a willingness to be innovative and aggressive in the way content is created, marketed and distributed. As the economy improves, I'm pleased the approach we've taken continues to be paying off. We were resilient during the downturn and laid the groundwork for future growth through our acquisition of Marvel and our continued investments in media and at our Parks and Resorts. Success rests on our continued ability to create quality content, to manage costs carefully and to be disciplined in our strategy and nimble in our execution. And with that, I'd like to turn things over to Jay.