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.

I always enjoy talking digital with Iger–who is pictured above in an interview I did with him in 2006 at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference–since he has been one of the old media moguls who seems unafraid of the challenges of new media.

While appropriately wary, Iger acted early and often in exploring digital initiatives at Disney (DIS) that others in Hollywood’s and New York’s media worlds were loath to consider.

“I have tried to keep two obvious philosophies,” Iger said in a phone interview yesterday. “First, that our current business not get in the way of adopting new technologies, and, second, that our business belongs on these new platforms.”

Easy to say, of course, but it’s still nice to hear, given the longtime, incessant and ultimately wearying push-and-pull between those who make bucks making content and those who make bucks making technology.

“My premise is that technology is about an opportunity for us,” said Iger. “And we cannot will it away and should not…because you can’t stop these things from happening.”

That’s presumably the impetus behind the hiring of Pleasants and Pitaro (picture here, left to right).

With an assist by recent Disney board member and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Pitaro came to his attention earlier this year, Iger said.

Pitaro left his job as SVP of Media at Yahoo (YHOO) last week.

And Pleasants was CEO of Playdom, the online social gaming company that Disney acquired for $763 million in late July.

The pair, who will report directly to Iger as co-chiefs of the Disney Interactive Media Group, replace outgoing head Steve Wadsworth.

The shift is a big move by the entertainment giant and yet another attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history.

Under the previous regime of former CEO Michael Eisner, for example, Disney bought search engine Infoseek and tried to create a portal called Go.com.

That failed, and was one of many efforts to define the media company’s Web goals.

More recently, in 2008, Disney gathered most of its Internet properties within DIMG under Wadsworth.

Still, money-making has not been part of the mix. In its most recent quarter, DIMG lost $65 million on revenue of $197 million.

In the interview about the new structure, Iger said: “I think we’ve built a framework of assets, and now is the time to create a structure in a more focused way. In splitting the divisions, we can focus more on them better and in a way they deserve.”

He outlined the new set-up, which will have Pleasants focus on the online gaming and mobile landscape and Pitaro on the Web arena.

Iger said he felt Pleasants and Pitaro brought different backgrounds to the task, as well as longtime experience in the Internet arena.

He said that upon considering a fresh approach, he felt that Wadsworth was “spread too thin,” given all the various online arenas for Disney.

In fact, today, Disney owns a number of big Internet properties, including Disney.com, Family.com and Club Penguin, although there does not seem to be a particularly cohesive strategy among them.

Of course, that’s no surprise, given it is all part of a multifaceted media company with a variety of businesses.

Due to its powerful content assets, said Iger, it might be a perfect time for a more cogent plan. With the explosion of devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad and others, the importance of cooperation between content and technology is more critical than ever.

“I think a lot of technology companies are really finally ready to handle more premium content in a way that is beneficial to all of us,” said Iger.

And, he added, it was time for Disney to get more involved in technology, which was the reason for the purchase of Playdom. The move has made it more a publisher than a licensor.

“If we wanted to get significant in size, we need the investment to be greater,” Iger said about the big payout to get into the fast-growing social gaming arena.

And that has meant less emphasis on console games, on which he said Disney had focused too much in the past.

No longer–now Iger said he has planted Playdom, as well as its purchase of the Tapulous music app start-up, in a spanking new facility in Palo Alto, Calif., right in the heart of Silicon Valley.

“We need to be part of the culture and world there in a significant way,” said Iger. “And I believe I have convinced the senior team within Disney that Playdom is a huge opportunity for them.”

That includes online gaming related to units such as sports at ESPN, as well as other Disney brands, such as the theme parks or Marvel, into Playdom games.

While Pleasants will run his part of the show from Silicon Valley, Iger said, Pitaro will work out of Los Angeles on Web initiatives and in upgrading the Disney online experience.

“We want to make Disney sites more of a community and entertainment center than a marketing hub,” said Iger. “Where is gets complicated is the levels of exclusivity and the other places we want to distribute our content.”

That includes being part of the premium Hulu online video site, as well as perhaps even creating a Disney-branded pay service, but also being open to working more with Netflix (NFLX).

And that means a multifaceted approach to all kinds of payment models for Disney online, from subscription to advertising-supported to pay-per-view.

“In certain areas, we will be very aggressive with our content and in others less aggressive, to the extent that each offers us revenues,” said Iger. “Obviously, where there is potential cannibalization, we will be a little more careful…but we are going to push forward.”

When asked about the most obvious management issue–the possibility of clashing with two heads of one division (MySpace, anyone?), Iger said that while there was overlap, he thought the jobs Pitaro and Pleasants had to do were also wide-ranging and different enough.

Plus, added Iger, “They both report directly to me and I am there to see to it that it works.”

In other words, as Disney continues to move forward into the digital future, the content and technology buck stops, as it should, at Iger.

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.

I always enjoy talking digital with Iger–who is pictured above in an interview I did with him in 2006 at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference–since he has been one of the old media moguls who seems unafraid of the challenges of new media.

While appropriately wary, Iger acted early and often in exploring digital initiatives at Disney (DIS) that others in Hollywood’s and New York’s media worlds were loathe to consider.

“I have tried to keep two obvious philosophies,” Iger said in a phone interview yesterday. “First, that our current business not get in the way of adopting new technologies, and, second, that our business belongs on these new platforms.”

Easy to say, of course, but it’s still nice to hear, given the longtime, incessant and ultimately wearying push-and-pull between those who make bucks making content and those who make bucks making technology.

“My premise is that technology is about an opportunity for us,” said Iger. “And we cannot will it away and should not…because you can’t stop these things from happening.”

That’s presumably the impetus behind the hiring of Pleasants and Pitaro (picture here, left to right).

With an assist by recent Disney board member and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Pitaro came to his attention earlier this year, Iger said.

Pitaro left his job as SVP of Media at Yahoo (YHOO) last week.

And Pleasants was CEO of Playdom, the online social gaming company that Disney acquired for $763 million in late July.

The pair, who will report directly to Iger as co-chiefs of the Disney Interactive Media Group, replace outgoing head Steve Wadsworth.

The shift is a big move by the entertainment giant and yet another attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history.

Under the previous regime of former CEO Michael Eisner, for example, Disney bought search engine Infoseek and tried to create a portal called Go.com.

That failed, and was one of many efforts to define the media company’s Web goals.

More recently, in 2008, Disney gathered most of its Internet properties within DIMG, under Wadsworth.

Still, money-making not been part of the mix. In its most recent quarter, DIMG lost $65 million on revenue of $197 million.

In the interview about the new structure, Iger said: “I think we’ve built a framework of assets, and now is the time to create a structure in a more focused way. In splitting the divisions, we can focus more on them better and in a way they deserve.”

He outlined the new set-up, which will have Pleasants focus on the online gaming and mobile landscape and Pitaro on the Web arena.

Iger said he felt Pleasants and Pitaro brought different backgrounds to the task, as well as longtime experience in the Internet arena.

He said that upon considering a fresh approach, he felt that Wadsworth was “spread too thin,” given all the various online arenas for Disney.

In fact, today, Disney owns a number of big Internet properties, including Disney.com, Family.com and Club Penguin, although there does not seem to be a particularly cohesive strategy among them.

Of course, that’s not surprise, given it is all part of a multifaceted media company with a variety of businesses.

Due to its powerful content assets, said Iger, it might be a perfect time for a more cogent plan. With the explosion of devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad and others, the importance of cooperation between content and technology is more critical than ever.

“I think a lot of technology companies are really finally ready to handle more premium content in a way that is beneficial to all of us,” said Iger.

And, he added, it was time for Disney to get more involved in technology, which was the reason for the purchase of Playdom. The move has made it more a publisher than a licensor.

“If we wanted to get significant in size, we need the investment to be greater,” Iger said about the big payout to get into the fast-growing social gaming arena.

And that has meant less emphasis on console games, on which he said Disney had focused too much in the past.

No longer–now Iger said has planted Playdom, as well as its purchase of the Tapulous music app start-up, in a spanking new facility in Palo Alto, Calif., right in the heart of Silicon Valley.

“We need to be part of the culture and world there in a significant way,” said Iger. “And I believe I have convinced the senior team within Disney that Playdom is a huge opportunity for them.”

That includes online gaming related to units such as sports at ESPN, as well as other Disney brands, such as the theme parks or Marvel, into Playdom games.

While Pleasants will run his part of the show from Silicon Valley, Iger said, Pitaro will work out of Los Angeles on Web initiatives and in upgrading the Disney online experience.

“We want to make Disney sites more of a community and entertainment center than a marketing hub,” said Iger. “Where is gets complicated is the levels of exclusivity and the other places we want to distribute our content.”

That includes being part of the premium Hulu online video site, as well as perhaps even creating a Disney-branded pay service, but also being open to working more with Netflix (NFLX).

And that means a multifaceted approach to all kinds of payment models for Disney online, from subscription to advertising-supported to pay-per-view.

“In certain areas, we will be very aggressive with our content and in others less aggressive, to the extent that each offers us revenues,” said Iger. “Obviously, where there is potential cannibalization, we will be a little more careful…but we are going to push forward.”

When asked about the most obvious management issue–the possibility of clashing with two head of one division (MySpace, anyone?), Iger said that while there was overlap, he thought the jobs Pitaro and Pleasants had to do were also wide-ranging and different enough.

Plus, added Iger, “They both report directly to me and I am there to see to it that it works.”

In other words, as Disney continues to move forward into the digital future, the content and technology buck stops, as it should, at Iger.

Jimmy Pitaro, who is leaving his job running the powerful media properties at Yahoo (YHOO), 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.

(Both are pictured here, with Pleasants on the left and Pitaro on the right.)

The appointment of the pair, both of whom will report to Disney (DIS) President and CEO Robert Iger, is a big move by the entertainment giant.

And it looks like another large-scale attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history, and is the first major reset under Iger.

It is also against a backdrop of financial losses. In its most recent quarter, for example, DIMG lost $65 million on revenue of $197 million.

“I think we’ve built a framework of assets, and now is the time to create a structure in a more focused way,” said Iger in an interview this morning with BoomTown. “In splitting the divisions, we can focus more on them better and in a way they deserve.”

He outlined the new set-up, which will have Pleasants focus on the online gaming and mobile landscape and Pitaro on the Web and online advertising arenas. Iger said he felt Pleasants and Pitaro brought different backgrounds to the task, as well as longtime experience in the Internet arena.

Disney will need that going forward.

Under the previous regime of former CEO Michael Eisner, for example, Disney bought search engine Infoseek and tried to create a portal called Go.com. That failed, and was one of many efforts to define the media company’s Web goals.

More recently in 2008, Disney gathered most of its Internet properties within DIMG, under Steve Wadsworth. He recently stepped down from his job.

Today, Disney owns a number of big Internet properties, including Disney.com, Family.com and Club Penguin, although there does not seem to be a particularly cohesive or profitable strategy among them.

Of course, that’s not a surprise, given they are part of a multifaceted media company with a variety of businesses.

Because of those powerful content assets, in fact, now might be a perfect time for a more cogent plan. With the explosion of devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad and others, the importance of cooperation between content and technology is more critical than ever.

News of the appointments of Pitaro and Pleasants was rumored earlier this week by Silicon Alley Insider and the Hollywood Reporter.

As an interesting aside, Iger said that he was introduced to Pitaro via Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, as well as her husband, David Goldberg. Sandberg is now on the board of Disney, and Pitaro came to Yahoo via Launch Media, which was co-founded by Goldberg.

More to come, obviously, but here is the official press release from Disney:

JOHN PLEASANTS, JAMES PITARO NAMED CO-PRESIDENTS,
DISNEY INTERACTIVE MEDIA GROUP

BURBANK, Calif., October 3, 2010–John Pleasants and James Pitaro have been named Co-Presidents, Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG), it was announced today by Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger.

John Pleasants, a well-respected new media executive whose career has included top jobs at digital commerce and game companies, will lead Disney’s multi-faceted digital games businesses, including online, console, social and mobile. He will also continue to run Playdom, the fast-growing social games publishing company acquired by Disney earlier this year.

James Pitaro, an experienced Internet executive known for consistently delivering great branded web experiences to consumers, will oversee Disney Online, the home of Disney branded web and social media sites.

The new structure at DIMG is intended to enhance the strategic focus and responsiveness of the company’s digital games and Disney Online businesses in a marketplace characterized by swiftly evolving consumer behavior and technologies. The structure is designed so that the two businesses can share consumer insights and technological resources and jointly take advantage of growth opportunities.

“Our rapidly growing Disney digital businesses will benefit greatly from the deep experience and distinct leadership skills shown by John and Jimmy,” Iger said. “John has shown incredible agility and skill in helping companies achieve success in the ever-shifting digital games business, while Jimmy has vast knowledge of the online world and has been hugely successful at creating and building audiences around branded online content.”

“Both have outstanding track records in anticipating trends and delivering to consumers creative, innovative and successful experiences and products,” Iger added. “As Co-Presidents, I’m confident they will make Disney’s digital content and businesses even more robust and successful.”

Pleasants, who will be based in the Bay Area, will oversee Disney’s overall games strategy and its global network of game development studios, including recently acquired mobile publisher Tapulous. The games group will include such popular online virtual worlds as Club Penguin and World of Cars as well as console and mobile titles.

Prior to joining Playdom as CEO in June 2009, he was President of Global Publishing and Chief Operating Officer of Electronic Arts Inc., where he led the company’s online and mobile business units and its strategic expansion into online and social games. He previously served as President and CEO of Revolution Health and CEO of Ticketmaster, which included Match.com, CitySearch.com and Evite.com.

“I am extremely excited to be working with the DIMG team, and our colleagues across Disney, to advance the mission of enlivening people everywhere through the world’s best interactive entertainment,” Pleasants said. “Bob’s vision and commitment to excellence in new media positions our organization to achieve great things.”

In leading Disney Online, Pitaro will be responsible for enhancing the consumer experience on the company’s numerous Disney-branded web and social media sites, including Disney.com, the number one global site for kids and families, and Family.com. Pitaro will also oversee Disney’s social media marketing agency, DigiSynd.

Pitaro joins Disney from Yahoo! Inc. where he was Vice President and Head of Media. In that role, he significantly expanded Yahoo!’s original video, branded entertainment and editorial content and pioneered using data to enhance the consumer web experience. Pitaro led the successful expansion of Yahoo! Sports prior to being named to lead all of Yahoo!’s media properties, including its news, finance, entertainment and lifestyle sites. Previously, Pitaro ran Business Affairs for online music site Launch Media and practiced law at several New York firms.

“I’m honored to be joining the Disney family and energized to start working with the DIMG team. I’ve admired Disney for as long as I can remember and am looking forward to bringing my experience to the company and partnering with John to advance our online businesses,” Pitaro said.

As Co-Presidents, they will be replacing former President Steve Wadsworth, who over many years established a firm foundation for DIMG’s growth. Pleasants and Pitaro will report to Iger and will co-manage DIMG enterprise functions, including business affairs, finance and human resources. They will assume their new roles on October 18, 2010.

And, no surprise, he is the No. 1 choice of most inside and outside Yahoo (YHOO) in the wake of the news late yesterday that current CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang is stepping down.

And why not? Chernin has the right resume: Experienced at running large and complex organizations; savvier than most in media about the Internet; able to make the kinds of dramatic decisions needed; and, perhaps best of all, signaling–via the Los Angeles Times–just this past week that he was open to leaving the powerful media and entertainment conglomerate for something new.

Well, Yahoo would certainly be new for Chernin, in terms of a corporate cleanup challenge, especially compared to figuring out how to make bank on plush toys from “The Simpsons.”

And, while the risks are many, if Chernin (pictured here) managed to turn around Yahoo, he could make a huge fortune too, given Yahoo shares have languished of late, much in the same way they did when former CEO Terry Semel came to Yahoo from Hollywood in 2001.

But it’s not altogether clear whether Chernin would actually leave his powerful perch at News Corp. (NWS) — which owns Dow Jones and owns this Web site. He has been ensconced there for a dozen years, building a huge reputation as a sharp exec (No, Peter, I am not kissing up, as I think Yahoo would wear even you down very, very quickly).

That’s even though many note he is not likely to take over as CEO from its iconic leader, Rupert Murdoch. The media mogul is widely expected to favor one of his own children to lead News Corp. next.

And the 57-year-old Chernin already makes close to $30 million in his current job, which is definitely challenging.

And, although Chernin has been involved in the News Corp.-owned MySpace and has had success backing the Hulu online video site, it is not nearly as hard as the five-year turnaround quagmire (plus no fabulous media mogul perks either) that Yahoo could turn out to be.

In addition, privately to other News Corp. execs, Chernin has regularly pooh-poohed a move to a digital company, even though he is always on the short list for a lot of big Internet jobs — such as the long-unfilled post as digital head at Microsoft (MSFT) more recently.

So, who else to take over from Yang, who will return to his job as Chief Yahoo after stepping down from the company as soon a search for a replacement CEO is successful?

Well, here is BoomTown’s own shortish list, based on asking a wide range of people inside and outside Yahoo, all of whom are important digital players in their own right.

INSIDE YAHOO

Sue Decker:

The current president of Yahoo is certainly being “considered” for the job, which is a polite term for not really being considered at all. While Decker is an intelligent and thoughtful exec, like a politician with a record, she has had her hand on the operating tiller at Yahoo for too long not to get deservedly blamed for its current situation.

In addition, she is radioactive to big investors, who have told the Yahoo board in no uncertain terms that she is a nonstarter.

Maggie Wilderotter:

The former Microsoft exec, who has also been a public company CEO, is an interesting idea floated by some, who think the Yahoo board might turn to one of its own directors, as a short-term solution to stabilize Yahoo.

Wilderotter has been much focused, said several Yahoo execs, on cost-cutting at Yahoo and certainly is not as tarnished, being a more current board member. But she is a largely unknown quantity in the Internet space and, most importantly, at Yahoo.

John Chapple:

The former CEO of Nextel is one of the two board members (former media Frank Biondi Jr. is the other) recently picked by Carl Icahn, when the activist shareholder was admitted on the board as part of the proxy fight settlement.

Chapple has, sources said, been conducting chats with Yahoo execs lately, perhaps as a way to get a lay of the land. If he got the job, it would be clear Icahn had won his Pyrrhic victory (and personal financial defeat) against Yang.

OUTSIDE YAHOO

Dan Rosensweig:

The very funny, but brash, former Yahoo COO is definitely a favorite within Yahoo’s ranks, except for those who don’t like him. But it’s clear Rosensweig does know and love Yahoo, is close to Yang and, ironically, enjoys a tight relationship with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who also wanted him for the digital head job.

Also, Rosensweig, who does have operating chops, has gotten some much needed time away from Yahoo, as a partner at the tony media investment firm, the Quadrangle Group.

Meg Whitman:

Another dreamy CEO choice, except she has already been a big company CEO at eBay (EBAY), has proved her mettle in building it to a powerhouse–despite the online auction site’s currently harder times–and has the giant fortune to prove it.

And, oh yes, she is likely to be using that pile of cash to run for governor of California, on the Republican ticket.

Jon Miller/Ross Levinsohn:

The Bobbsey Twins of the Internet, the pair are now having a very good time running their own investment company, the Velocity Group.

But, aside from some questioning whether he can make the quick decisions needed at Yahoo, Miller (pictured here on the right), the former head of AOL, does not want to leave his New York home and cannot take any job anyway until his noncompete with Time Warner (TWX) runs out in March.

And former Fox Interactive Media head Levinsohn likes Los Angeles, and probably is too fast a personality for Yahoo (his going there would be a shock to its system, but would be endlessly entertaining to me personally).

Tim Armstrong:

The top ad exec at Google (GOOG) certainly is an interesting idea, although has little of the product experience needed to run Yahoo. But he is a well-respected advertising figure–where Yahoo needs to shine–and could do well with a lot of strong execs under him.

He is also not on a CEO path at Google–paging, Larry Page!–and could be interested in proving he could run a company on his own.

Kevin Johnson:

The former Microsoft exec was supposed to be running Yahoo, if he and Ballmer pulled off their takeover attempt earlier this year. They did not, and Johnson then left Microsoft to run Juniper Networks (JNPR) in Silicon Valley, right up the road from Yahoo, in fact.

But Johnson is likely subject to a noncompete by Microsoft and a strong contract at Juniper too. Still, a very sharp exec, he definitely has the operating, political, technological and digital skills to take on Yahoo. Also, ironically, he and Yang really get along well and like each other, despite the takeover battle.

Of course, there are a lot of other ideas: Disney (DIS) online exec Steve Wadsworth; the outside-the-box choice of former Procter & Gamble (PG) marketing wizard Jim Stengel; Microsoft digital exec Yusuf Mehdi; CBS (CBS) digital head Quincy Smith (whose hyperactive dealmaking would likely lead to a mutant merger between CBS and Yahoo); and former Cisco (CSCO) and current Joost CEO Mike Volpi.

Please post suggestions below or, better yet, send tips to me at here.

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

In what is likely to turbocharge its heft in the digital space, according to an internal email sent out by Walt Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger, the entertainment company is combining its Disney Interactive Studios and the Walt Disney Internet Group.

The new unit, called Disney Interactive Media Group–will be headed by WDIG’s Steve Wadsworth.

WDIG has a wide range of properties, like Club Penguin and Disney.com. Disney Interactive Studios makes a range of games for Disney brands like “Hannah Montana” and “Wall-E.”

Here’s the memo, with email address removed:

From: Bob Iger
Sent: Wed Jun 04 19:44:22 2008
Subject: Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG)

Bob

This morning, I am interviewing Steve Wadsworth, who helms Walt Disney’s (DIS) Internet businesses.

And after sating myself with as much Club Penguin info as possible, I will be sitting rapt in the front row, as folks like Yahoo’s (YHOO) Jeff Weiner, Bebo’s Joanna Shields and AOL’s (TWX) Ron Grant talk about how social media is going to finally make money.

BoomTown is on a vision quest to answer that question in the coming year, so we are kicking entrepreneurs and taking names!

Here’s a short video I did on the opening night, including talking to paidContent’s Staci Kramer and Seth Goldstein of Social Media.

But, first, it starts with a tour of my temporary L.A. abode at the home of Mahalo’s Jason Calacanis:

If they go there will be trouble. And if they stay it will be double.

In other words, BoomTown’s got nothing!

I am traveling this morning to Los Angeles for paidContent’s Economics of Social Media conference, where I will interview Walt Disney Internet Group President Steve Wadsworth onstage tomorrow.

But I will be sure to update after I arrive, as I have a new theory on the takeover I am noodling on.

Until then, here’s a nice summation from The Wall Street Journal here, saying absolutely nothing new too, but nicely hashing over the details thus far.

Money quote: “There was no direct contact between the two sides this past weekend and people close to both camps said they were preparing for the next stage of battle.”

Thus, while loins are apparently being girded, here is a very nice video of the Clash, singing their hit song (and how much do I love this song? Much!):