Meme, Dave -

sorry for not responding to the TV hybrid thread, but I broke my collarbone snowboarding yesterday. typing with one hand is too much work :(

more later.

bill

RE: a tiny sidenote: DPB5

Dave, it is a drag when you put your money in the wrong company or the wrong technology platform. I'm afraid that you have done both :)

Some future generation of WebTV may conceivably provide a good solution to the 'entertainment appliance' issue but you'll have to buy it all over again anyway. The current implementation is flawed and MSFT won't invest the time or money to properly rectify it - I imagine they'll be focusing all of those resources on the X Box.

Don't feel bad though - not only did I lose an early retirement on SEEK/GO/DIG, but I have a Silicon Graphics Indigo 2 Extreme sitting down in my basement taking up space and gathering dust...

RE: General Question

Yes, I totally agree. While much of the initial novelty has worn off, each member of my little nuclear family now has a totally integrated relationship with the Internet. While I was already well integrated (I'd worked in the field so I was a really early adopter - like late '92) getting DSL changed everything for the other members of my family. Having an 'always on' connection and fast boot time or 'wake up' cycles on your computer make the Internet the first source of referral for maps, yellow and white pages, movie and TV listings, reseaching/buying products, searches for information, news, etc. My daughter is growing up with this integrated relationship with the 'net.

Now - if any of you use Napster with a fast connection, you'll know that this is a great peek at the future of broadband delivery of media. It's like there is this vast library of almost every piece of music that you can think of out there now - I've thought of very few recordings that I can't find on Napster now - even when I'm trying to be obscure. So we may have to pay a monthly fee soon - fine - it's still amazing.

Now there are still 2 problems:

1) I don't really do my serious music listening at the computer and I definitely won't be doing my movie/TV viewing at the computer (and WebTV is not the answer I'm looking for). I have watched my first feature length movie on my computer - MSFT was offering free viewings of movies around Christmas and my daughter and I watched the original verion of "A Christmas Carol" - it worked pretty flawlessly (but I've got an amazing DSL connection with Sprint/Earthlink that averages 2.6 Megabits)

2) the payment/profit model still has not been proven. People are paying for pay-per-view on cable, they'll do it over the Internet if the price and the application/hardware are right.

my 2 cents.

RE: And now, here's something...

As much as I've enjoyed the "support group" aspects of this site and its predecessors during the bad times and the worse times, I won't miss this kind of mean-spirited silliness. It's amazing how money issues can bring out the worst in people.

Sorry you've had to deal with so much of this stuff, Meme.

Really great piece by Cramer:

Wish I'd listened to him more often when things started to head South. Oh well, live and learn...

Disney's Self-Sabotage


http://biz.yahoo.com/ts/010201/wrong_010201.html

RE: The advertising community...: Blair

Actually, all of Starwave's contributions are still intact: ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, Mr. Showbiz, Wall of Sound, etc.

Starwave was kinda screwed from the start into working with DIS, though - since DIS bought ESPN and ESPN.com was at the time the most successful content site on the 'net, Disney made it impossible to strike a deal with anyone else.

They really wrung the life out of SEEK, though. I'm actually really starting to grieve over the coming loss of my GO.com start page and especially my GO Express Search (let alone all of the potential upside that kept me in this stock way, way too long)

RE:Does anyone remember the start of GO

The real tip-off should have been when Eisner stated to the press that they wanted to have a chance to get some of that "funny money" too - referring to investment in Internet properties. It chilled me when I read that and I have only myself to blame for not ditching Disney right then.

Or, when they unilaterally declared defeat in the portal war in December of '99, without a demonstrable solution.

Bah. They bought a controlling interest in Starwave at a brutal price, then bought into Infoseek and shoved Starwave down Infoseek's throat at a much higher price, then bought the rest of Infoseek/Starwave/Go and shoved there own damn 'goodwill' charges down the throat of all of the shareholders, then sat back and overpromised and underdelivered for 2 years. I've had enough of Disney for this lifetime.

0.19353 of a share of DIS

We all should have seen this coming once they announced that DIG would have voting rights in the upcoming shareholders meeting.

Woohoo - so this is the windfall we've been waiting for. I can't wait to sell this POS at the right time this year and get Disney out of my life and my mind.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010129/wr/media_disney_dc_2.html

Latest lawsuit

Have you guys seen the latest lawsuit against DIG/DIS? This one for infringement on patents concerning interactive television (ESPN and Who Wants to be a Millionaire). It looks pretty frivolous (brings to mind the Compton patent on indexed interactive media that got laughed out of court), but nonetheless we are being targeted again.

I worked at Starwave from '94 thru '97 and we had demos of the kind of tech used for the interactive TV stuff back in '96, so I think that ACTV will have a tough time winning this one.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?s=AOkEK_hXQRGlzbmV5&T=marketsquote99_news.ht

Oh - and by the way - who do you think was doing all of that buying today? I heard from someone that there was at least one trade (purchase) of 150K shares. Think it was DIS buying more shares back?

RE: Is everyone OK?

Yikes! I don't like to think about how many more days we can keep going down another 15%.

Who'd a-thunk it? Hitting the 5's was stunning - hitting the 3's... I never would have believed it. Quite a ride, quite a ride.

Hope we see some relief soon.

New ABCnews.com is SLOW now

The new site is up but DAMN is it slow. I'm on a T-1 and it takes about a minute to display the ABCNews home page.

For DIG Beatles fans:

ABCNews.com is presenting a 'webumentary' entitled "Lennon in New York" about John and Yoko's NY years prior to John's death. It kicks off with a live chat with Yoko.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?s=AOivvqhEbWW9rbyBP&T=marketsquote99_news.ht

Can you believe that it was 20 years ago that he was killed? God, I must be getting old...

Thompson's I-Watch: lots of blue!

I've never seen this many little blue arrows on DIG's I-watch chart in the 2+ pathetic years that I've been following this stock. Check it out:

http://iw.thomsoninvest.net/iwatch/cgi-bin/iw_page

This seems like a really good sign to me. Opinions?

RE:Disney Internet's Compaq Tie-Up -yes, but...

This nice little bit excerpted from the end of the article makes me feel better...

Still, one sell-side analyst thinks the situation doesn't make sense.

The fact that investors are valuing Disney's Internet properties at one-tenth of the revenue generated by The Lion King is "ridiculous," says Christopher Dixon, entertainment and new-media analyst for UBS Warburg. Disney Internet's market cap is about $720 million. "We're throwing the baby out with the bath water," he says.

Dixon says the Compaq deal is a good one for Disney because of the positioning it will get on Compaq hardware. "It's very important for companies to get as close to the screen as possible," he says. "The fact that Compaq has agreed to put buttons embedded into devices goes a long way to helping drive adoption of Disney's suite of services and applications."

Dixon, whose firm hasn't done underwriting for DIG, rates the stock a strong buy.

RE:Welcome ekaj44

Well, put Aloha. I must add that due to this stock's appalling performance this board (and its predecessors) have often felt more like a group counseling session than an investment discussion. (and I mean that in the best possible way <VBG>)

At this point, selling for me feels like locking the gate after all of the horses have run off, so I remain guardedly optmistic that we'll see some strong improvement next year and I'll sell at some small percentage of the previously preceived potential for this stock (now hoping for high teens or low twenties).

Welcome aboard, ekaj44.

Scary quote from Barron's article on DIS:

Add to this formidable to-do list a closer look at the future of the company's separately traded, 71%-owned Disney Internet Group, which posted a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $1.61 a share. With regard to the unit's copious red ink, Staggs observes that "it's safe to say our patience is not infinite."

Ummm, I don't like the tone of that at all. What the hell does that mean? This amid an article that was on-balance guardedly bullish, including quotes from CFO Tom Staggs like the following:

At these levels, the shares could prove a welcome refuge if the stock market deteriorates further. "Some of the concerns about the advertising environment have been overstated," says CFO Tom Staggs.

So, does this mean that they are losing patience with their own ineptitude?

Re: Sheesh: Meme

Thanks - I hadn't seen that story - and it looks like that might 'bout sum things up. Yes indeed, YHOO at $38, ATHM at just over $7 and suddenly all of the upside that I believed we were 'owed' - that we seemed undervalued in comparison of is tumbling down to our humble lows.

That said, I just heard on NPR about the purchase of the San Francisco Chronicle (newspaper) by the Hearst Corporation for around $660 Million. Our current valuation is around $900 Million, and I think we've gotta have _WAY_ more value than a 2nd rate newspaper like that. I feel like a gambler or alcoholic in denial when I say this sort of thing now - after SO MANY PERCEIVED BOTTOMS - but I gotta say that it's hard for me to imagine DIG staying at this level for long or going and remaining much lower. Even though they've totally blown the opportunity with the GO portal, ABCNews.com, ESPN.com, Disney.com, Movies.com, and ABC.com are all pretty valuable properties (well, maybe not Movies.com, yet) and the combined value has to be worth at least a couple billion.

IMHO, that is - which hasn't been worth much for the past two years (in relation to the valuation of this damnable stock)

Again, Meme, thanks for the research!

Sheesh.

Anyone know what caused DIG to be singled out for the violent beating it suffered in the market today? Almost 15% while many of the other 'nets suffered only mildly or even regained a small fraction of lost ground.

INKT and GOTO were the only other symbols on my chart that were as bloodied as DIG (both a bit worse)

RE: WALT DISNEY CO. FELL 11/16, OR 2.3 PERCENT

I think that if market analysts were weather forecasters they'd say:

"It is raining so you should expect rain to continue until further notice."

RE: The Conference Call

Meme, thanks for sharing your homework with us!
Pretty mixed analyst feedback, eh?

RE: Can someone tell me what the flock

Aloha - if you look at the articles about the release, as usual they are all presenting the facts in the most negative light possible. Like:

"Disney's Internet unit reports loss, revenue slips"
http://www.zdii.com/industry_list.asp?mode=news&doc_id=ZE506441

and:

"Disney Internet DIGs Deep Q4 Loss, Revenues Fall"
http://biz.yahoo.com/oo/001109/44100.html

Sheesh.

OT- Re: ACCCKKKK!!!!! Meme

Meme, thank you - I couldn't have said it better myself. Maybe we can all rally around Dubya and support him the way the House Republicans and Ken Starr supported Bill Clinton!

Okay, I'm done.

So, Threejack...

...who did you vote for? <G>

I rather liked Steve's thorough and substantiated arguments, though they pretty well mirrored my own leanings anyway.

Steve lists his current job title as "Philanthropist" so maybe he's already doing some of that other work already. I live in the Seattle area, and ex-MSFTs are always contributing to educational institutions and initiatives.

RE: Didn't Disney Have a Stake In This?

Yes, I think we did. Wow.
What a year, eh? Pretty sad.

I s'pose this'll send another shiver through the sector tomorrow. At least DIG execs won't be trying to sell any b2c stories at the conference on Thursday.

Bloomberg Moneyflow dogging DIG again:

This is ugly.

http://www.netcog.com/ArticleView.ASP?articleid=78078

Steve Kirsch on Bush:

Check out what Infoseek founder Kirsch felt he needed to say about Dubya:

http://site.yahoo.com/skirschpropel/

RE: Remember to turn out and vote

no, no Daisy - you got it backwards - it's the Democrats who vote on Tuesday and the Republicans vote on Wednesday.

Republicans, please be polite and wait your turn.

Yep, it's AM.

I hope that after we get the elections and the earnings conference behind us we can all start feeling a lot more like cheerleaders and less like a therapy support group (smart investors, stupid choices...<G>)

Monday November 6, 12:13 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Disney, Walt Disney Internet Group Conference Call on Financial Results to Be Webcast Live Over Internet
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2000--Investors will be able to hear a live conference call over the Internet in which senior executives of The Walt Disney Co. and Walt Disney Internet Group discuss quarterly and fiscal year-end financial results with securities analysts and address analysts' questions.

Speakers will include The Walt Disney Co. executives Michael Eisner, chairman and chief executive officer; Robert Iger, president and chief operating officer; and Thomas Staggs, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Walt Disney Internet Group executives Steve Bornstein, chairman; Steve Wadsworth, president; and Spencer Neumann, chief financial officer.

The Webcast will begin Thursday, Nov. 9, at 9:30 a.m. EST for discussion of Walt Disney Internet Group's financial results. The discussion of The Walt Disney Co.'s financial results will follow at approximately 10:15 a.m. EST.

Replays will be available over the Internet until Nov. 16.

The live conferences and the Disney financial-results replay can be accessed at www.disney.go.com/investors.

The Walt Disney Internet Group replay can be accessed at www.disney.go.com/investors/wdig.

just saw the GO 'Boxing Ad' - on FOX!!

that's pretty cool, huh? I thought they'd just be advertising on the ABC affiliates. (AND[/i}- it was right before the X-Files season premiere!)

ya know, that could be 6:30 AM...

I don't think that the investor relations person actually specified AM or PM when I spoke with him. I've been thinking about it and 6:30 am PST makes more sense to me.

I hope that getting the elections and the earnings behind us provide us with some reason to be optimistic about this stock next week!

RE:Customize Your Colors

Aaaahhhhhhh! What a relief! Thanks for pointing that out, Health. (now if they can just get their business section fixed we'll be back to about where we were this time last year!)

Earnings conference: 11/9 at 6:30 PM PST

I just spoke with shareholder services and they said that this is the official date.

Oh well, another week of holding my breath.

DIG falls back below NBCi

Well, maybe that's okay - NBCi's seemingly endless plummeting made me worry that there might not be a bottom for DIG - at least not one that I could fathom.

Any idea why they've been recovering so much better than DIG and have so much more volume? I would think that after the past nine months NBCi would be even scarier to invest in than DIG. <G>

Bloomberg's Ratigan on DIG:

Opines briefly on DIG moneyflow. Does not appear at all bullish on DIG:

http://www.netcog.com/ArticleView.ASP?articleid=77378

RE: Terrific Red Herring Article on DIG

Yes, Meme, I thought it was a great article too, and I (for some strange reason) really liked the confident tone from DIG management. The one dissonant note, of course was the Giga pundit - someone needs to take Mr. Enderle's press credentials away. These new tech analysts act as much like weathervanes as some of the recent 'post-momentum' stock analysts. What does Mr. Enderle say about the AOL+TW merger?

Content is definitely our business. We have failed as a portal, but ESPN.com and Disney.com are industry leaders, ABCNews.com is getting better all of the time, and we're also leading in the interactive TV/'net hybrid space, though the business model there might be even more ephemeral. The big question is - can it be sufficiently monetized, how long will that take, and can we keep The Street's interest a little better than we have of late till then.

RE: Ads drive content-driven Web sites

Thanks as always for the informative post, Meme. Though this article reflects the current bearish attitude toward content sites, the article still seems to resolve itself toward the real and significant revenue opportunies.

This is the meat-and-potatoes issue for DIG - most of our value, now that we've unilaterally declared defeat in the portal wars, is in the strength of our brands and branded content, and currently the only revenue model for that content is ad dollars.

In the mood for some 'gloom and doom?'

This is an interesting, if disturbing article:

http://www.cepr.net/double_bubble.htm

what do you analyst-types think about this?

opening the promotion spigot?

This is making me feel a little better:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=dig&d=v1

Did DIG find its bottom?

Opinions? I've had comments from one ML broker that DIG "is not a $7 stock," and that he thought that the sector had found its bottom.

What do y'all think? (not that it'd mean very much - I mean, after all, we're the suckers who are still holding on to this stock after all those other 'bottoms'...)<G>

RE: -Off Topic- Saturday Night........

Hah! Thanks, Dick. That really made me laugh (but in a sad way).