Thomas S Murphy

Michael Eisner, chairman of Walt Disney Co., and Thomas S. Murphy, chairman of Capital Cities/ABC Inc., first discussed their mega-deal on ABC's "Good Morning America" program Monday. Here's a transcript of part of the interview by Charles Gibson, host of the program: Murphy: Charlie, let me ask you a question. I said, wouldn't you be proud to be associated with Disney? Gibson: I . . . I'm. . . . Eisner: There you go. Gibson: . . . I . . . I never. . . . Murphy: And I'm . . . no, this is . . .

Thomas S. Murphy is known for his corporate parsimoniousness. The guy is so stingy that when he set about sprucing up his first property at Capital Cities, a ramshackle New York television station in a century-old building, he painted only the two sides that faced the road. Now Murphy, corporate cost-cutter extraordinaire, is turning over the $6.4-billion company he has shepherded for more than three decades to Walt Disney Co. in a $19-billion merger.

The ABC television network will lose money this year and probably next year as well as the year-old slowdown in national advertising maintains its grip on the industry, Capital Cities/ABC President Daniel Burke predicted Tuesday. The network's 1986 losses will be in the "double-digit millions," he said. ABC officials added, however, that the parent company, with its radio and television stations, newspapers and other operations, will turn a profit overall.

Despite their extraordinary achievements, both Walt Disney Co. and Capital Cities/ABC Inc. have been plagued by concerns about management succession. Who, critics wondered, was being groomed to replace the legendary Thomas S. Murphy as head of Cap Cities? What executive could step into the shoes of Disney's intense chairman, Michael D. Eisner, given the vacuum created by the tragic death of Disney President Frank Wells and the departure of studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg?

Thomas S. Murphy is known for his corporate parsimoniousness. The guy is so stingy that when he set about sprucing up his first property at Capital Cities, a ramshackle New York television station in a century-old building, he painted only the two sides that faced the road. Now Murphy, corporate cost-cutter extraordinaire, is turning over the $6.4-billion company he has shepherded for more than three decades to Walt Disney Co. in a $19-billion merger.

Despite their extraordinary achievements, both Walt Disney Co. and Capital Cities/ABC Inc. have been plagued by concerns about management succession. Who, critics wondered, was being groomed to replace the legendary Thomas S. Murphy as head of Cap Cities? What executive could step into the shoes of Disney's intense chairman, Michael D. Eisner, given the vacuum created by the tragic death of Disney President Frank Wells and the departure of studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg?

Despite Monday's spectacular collapse of the stock market, all will be well for Capital Cities/ABC Inc. if the market settles down, Thomas S. Murphy, the company's chairman, said Thursday. On Monday, ABC's stock fell 32 points--an 8.2% drop. It dropped another 13 points Tuesday but climbed 12 1/2 points Wednesday. "I would think that if the market stabilizes the way it is now, it (the collapse) will have no impact," he told a news conference held for visiting TV writers at the Waldorf-Astoria.

While Hollywood is the main battlefield in the writers strike, writers and producers acknowledge that three New Yorkers--the chief executives of the three major television networks--wield enormous power in the dispute. To date, ABC, CBS and NBC have backed the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers despite the likely devastation of their fall prime-time schedules.

One of the most common refrains heard in savvy media circles is how the three television networks are "dinosaurs," hanging on for dear life in the face of declining market shares. So investors might have been a little confused when they saw Capital Cities/ABC Inc. jump $15 a share last week to close at $568, coming within a whisker of its previous 52-week high. Suddenly the market has something it hasn't seen since a mastodon fell into the La Brea Tar Pits: A hot network stock.

Elton Rule agrees with Irving Berlin's musical dictum "There's no business like show business." The problem is, as takeover fever hits the television industry, not to throw out the show when acquiring the business. Rule, former president of ABC Inc.--soon to be Capital Cities/ABC Inc.

Michael Eisner, chairman of Walt Disney Co., and Thomas S. Murphy, chairman of Capital Cities/ABC Inc., first discussed their mega-deal on ABC's "Good Morning America" program Monday. Here's a transcript of part of the interview by Charles Gibson, host of the program: Murphy: Charlie, let me ask you a question. I said, wouldn't you be proud to be associated with Disney? Gibson: I . . . I'm. . . . Eisner: There you go. Gibson: . . . I . . . I never. . . . Murphy: And I'm . . . no, this is . . .

Capital Cities/ABC Inc. said Chairman Thomas S. Murphy will return as chief executive, succeeding Daniel B. Burke, who will retire in February. Murphy, 68, stepped down as chief executive three years ago, when Burke took over. The two men are among the most widely admired media executives, but Cap Cities evidently was unable to produce an heir to the top spot in time for Burke's departure. Burke has been adamant about retiring when he turns 65 next year.

Author Ken Auletta had been scheduled to begin his book tour Wednesday with an appearance on the "Today" show. But his publisher recently was notified that the appearance on the NBC morning show--considered the best TV venue for selling books--had been canceled. ABC's "Good Morning America" and "CBS This Morning" also have passed on the book, although it has been praised by reviewers.

One of the most common refrains heard in savvy media circles is how the three television networks are "dinosaurs," hanging on for dear life in the face of declining market shares. So investors might have been a little confused when they saw Capital Cities/ABC Inc. jump $15 a share last week to close at $568, coming within a whisker of its previous 52-week high. Suddenly the market has something it hasn't seen since a mastodon fell into the La Brea Tar Pits: A hot network stock.

While Hollywood is the main battlefield in the writers strike, writers and producers acknowledge that three New Yorkers--the chief executives of the three major television networks--wield enormous power in the dispute. To date, ABC, CBS and NBC have backed the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers despite the likely devastation of their fall prime-time schedules.

Despite Monday's spectacular collapse of the stock market, all will be well for Capital Cities/ABC Inc. if the market settles down, Thomas S. Murphy, the company's chairman, said Thursday. On Monday, ABC's stock fell 32 points--an 8.2% drop. It dropped another 13 points Tuesday but climbed 12 1/2 points Wednesday. "I would think that if the market stabilizes the way it is now, it (the collapse) will have no impact," he told a news conference held for visiting TV writers at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Capital Cities/ABC Inc. said Chairman Thomas S. Murphy will return as chief executive, succeeding Daniel B. Burke, who will retire in February. Murphy, 68, stepped down as chief executive three years ago, when Burke took over. The two men are among the most widely admired media executives, but Cap Cities evidently was unable to produce an heir to the top spot in time for Burke's departure. Burke has been adamant about retiring when he turns 65 next year.

Tom Murphy's style has changed little since he joined Capital Cities Communications Inc. 30 years ago to run the company's maiden TV station in Albany, N.Y., a property just a station-break away from bankruptcy housed in a century-old, wood-frame building. Though things needed some serious fixing up around WROW-TV, Murphy, a 29-year-old Harvard MBA, took the trouble to paint only the two sides of the building visible from the road.

The ABC television network will lose money this year and probably next year as well as the year-old slowdown in national advertising maintains its grip on the industry, Capital Cities/ABC President Daniel Burke predicted Tuesday. The network's 1986 losses will be in the "double-digit millions," he said. ABC officials added, however, that the parent company, with its radio and television stations, newspapers and other operations, will turn a profit overall.

Elton Rule agrees with Irving Berlin's musical dictum "There's no business like show business." The problem is, as takeover fever hits the television industry, not to throw out the show when acquiring the business. Rule, former president of ABC Inc.--soon to be Capital Cities/ABC Inc.