ABC Exec Lays Blame for Prime-Time ‘Mess’

Walt Disney Co.’s second in command, Robert Iger, acknowledged Tuesday that the prime-time lineup of the company’s ABC network was a “real mess” and said he took “full responsibility” for it. Sort of.

The Disney president, speaking to investors in Florida, also blamed his subordinates, saying: “In the end, it really starts and stops with the people you put in place to run your businesses.”

Iger mentioned only one ABC executive by name, Susan Lyne, whom he praised. “I think she has the goods to turn it around,” he said of Lyne, hired two years ago to champion ABC’s prime-time efforts.

Iger did not mention the other top two network executives: ABC Television Network President Alex Wallau and ABC Entertainment Television Group Chairman Lloyd Braun.

Disney spokeswoman Zenia Mucha said the exclusion of those names from Iger’s comments “wasn’t sending any message.” Mucha noted that Iger later indirectly credited the entire ABC management team with bringing improvements to the network, including lowering costs.

The financial struggles of ABC -- currently in fourth place in prime-time viewership -- has been a major concern for Disney shareholders. Last week, Chief Executive Michael Eisner was walloped with a 43% vote of no-confidence in his unopposed reelection to the board.

As a result, he was stripped of his title as chairman but retains his management job, for which he continues to receive $1 million annually.

ABC’s travails also have been seized upon by Comcast Corp. In launching an unsolicited takeover bid, the cable operator said ABC was a prime example of bad management. The Disney board, which voiced confidence in Eisner’s management, has rejected the Comcast stock-swap bid, now valued at about $49 billion, as too low.

Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts told investors at the Bear Stearns conference this week in Palm Beach, Fla., that Disney was not a must-have. He said that, without competitors in the hunt for Disney, it would not make sense to offer more money.

On Tuesday, however, Iger told the same group that he thought Comcast would sweeten the pot.

“I sense there’s an inevitability to another offer being made that’s in all likelihood going to be higher,” he said. “I think Comcast comes back.”

Iger acknowledged that ABC’s performance has been a problem since the 2000 season, when the onetime hit, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” faltered after the television network began airing it as often as four times a week.

“For better or worse, I am overly associated with ABC,” Iger said. “A lot of that is my having started at ABC 30 years ago.... I, probably more than anyone else, would like to turn it around. I’m not going to do it myself, partly because I have other responsibilities and I don’t think that would be right for the organization.”

At one point during the conference, a participant jokingly asked whether Disney had contemplated developing a reality show based on corporate governance.

Iger responded that, in fact, someone had sent an e-mail suggesting the creation of a show called “The Successor” to find a replacement for Eisner. The show, he joked, would meld the elements of “Survivor,” “Millionaire” and “The Apprentice.”

Comcast shares, which have fallen 12% since the firm offered to buy Disney, fell 12 cents to $29.88 on Nasdaq. Disney shares slipped 1 cent to $26.23 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.