Steven P. Jobs, Pixar, and Disney: how would Apple be affected? Monday, January 23, 2006 · 3:14 am · 24 Comments

“The calculus of the Walt Disney Company buying Pixar Animation Studios is, on its face, simple: big media conglomerate plus vaunted computer animation studio plus closer ties with Steven P. Jobs, the maverick Pixar founder, equals potential powerhouse,” Richard Siklos writes for The New York Times. “But because Mr. Jobs’s other job is chairman and chief executive of Apple Computer, a deal also raises the possibility of a warmer relationship between Disney and Apple if Mr. Jobs plays an active role at the company.” “Although there would be no direct equity relationship between Apple and Disney, Mr. Jobs would be the largest individual shareholder in both, and would be likely to hold at least a board seat at Disney,” Siklos writes. “In the complex and sometimes querulous dynamic between media and technology companies, such a move would no doubt raise questions about the ripples those ties can be expected to cause.” Siklos writes, “For example, would Mr. Jobs view Disney as the preferred content supplier for future generations of Apple iPods and other hardware that distribute and play media products like songs and TV shows? And would Disney’s media rivals be less inclined to do business with Apple as it introduced new services because they would be abetting a competitor? Similarly, will technology companies vying with Apple to develop new products for media consumption be less inclined to work with Disney lest their best ideas find their way up the California coast from Disney’s Burbank headquarters to Apple’s Cupertino campus?” “The biggest question about what a Pixar acquisition would mean for the media industry broadly rests more on the question of how big a role Mr. Jobs envisions for himself at Disney,” Siklos writes, “But even if