Michael Eisner

TaskRabbit Raises $17.8 Million, Brings in Eisner as Adviser

Lauren Goode in News on December 13, 2011 at 8:59 pm PT

TaskRabbit, the Bay Area-based start-up that outsources human “rabbits” to perform odious chores for neighbors, has raised its second cash pile in eight months.

Trading Card Company Topps Buys Facebook’s Gift Card Provider

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on July 26, 2011 at 4:00 am PT

Topps, maker of the trading cards from childhood, is expanding into digital goods with the purchase of GMG Entertainment, the gift card provider for Facebook.

When You Wish Upon Two (Web) Stars: CEO Bob Iger Talks About the Next Digital Direction for Disney

Kara Swisher in News on October 9, 2010 at 8:04 pm PT

After Disney named two longtime Internet execs–Playdom’s John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro of Yahoo–as co-presidents of its Internet unit, BoomTown did a longer interview with CEO Bob Iger about the entertainment giant’s next Web moves to make it both relevant and profitable. [On weekends, we will be re-posting some pieces from the previous week that we wanted to call attention to again that some readers might have missed.]

When You Wish Upon Two (Web) Stars: CEO Bob Iger Talks About the Next Digital Direction for Disney

Kara Swisher in News on October 4, 2010 at 6:00 am PT

Yesterday, after Disney named two longtime Internet execs–Playdom’s John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro of Yahoo–as co-presidents of its Internet unit, BoomTown did a longer interview with CEO Robert Iger about the entertainment giant’s next Web moves to make it both relevant and profitable. Hope springs eternal. “I have tried to keep two obvious philosophies,” Iger told me. “First, that our current business not get in the way of adopting new technologies, and, second, that our business belongs on these new platforms.”

Yahoo's Jimmy Pitaro Lands Digital Co-President Job at Disney With Playdom's John Pleasants

Kara Swisher in News on October 3, 2010 at 9:45 am PT

Jimmy Pitaro, who is leaving his job running the powerful media properties at Yahoo, has taken a job as co-president of Disney Interactive Media Group, with John Pleasants. Pleasants was CEO of Playdom, the online game company that Disney acquired for $763 million in late July. The appointment of the pair, both of whom will report to Disney President and CEO Robert Iger, is a big move by the entertainment giant and looks like another attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history.

Veoh Finally Calls It Quits: Layoffs Yesterday, Bankruptcy Filing Soon

Peter Kafka in Media on February 11, 2010 at 12:52 pm PT

Veoh, one of several well-funded start-ups that have tried and failed to cash in on the Web video boom, is finally calling it quits. The company let go of the remainder of its workforce yesterday, and sources say it plans on filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the near future.

Universal Music Gets Slapped in Court. What Does This Mean for Veoh–and YouTube?

Peter Kafka in Media on September 14, 2009 at 10:03 pm PT

Just how big a deal was a federal judge’s ruling Monday in the copyright-infringement fight between Veoh and Universal Music Group? Depends on who you ask, of course.

Is Veoh the Next Big Video Site to Give Up?

Peter Kafka in Media on July 6, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

Now that Joost has given up the ghost and bailed out of the Web video portal business, who’s next? A good bet: Veoh, one of the best-funded would-be YouTubes. Multiple sources tell me the company is aggressively marketing itself to would-be buyers, and it’s asking for less than the $70 million investors like Michael Eisner have plowed into the company. Meanwhile, rival MetaCafe is looking for a “strategic investor.”

Sarah Palin and the Viral Web

Kara Swisher in News on October 16, 2008 at 11:13 am PT

As former Disney CEO and online video investor Michael Eisner said in a recent onstage Q&A appearance about what works for video on the Web: “Sex seems to work. User-generated, sports, news, anything with Sarah Palin works.” Indeed, anything with Sarah Palin. Here is the latest Internet effort, an unusual interactive site called PalinAsPresident in which you click on various items in the Oval Office, where Palin is sitting behind the desk, to hear funny remarks from her.