(3 of 3)
To be sure, there's longer-term concern about Disney's profit machines, ESPN and the Pixar alliance that produced Nemo. ESPN growth may stall as cable operators balk at the 20% annual-fee increases that ESPN has charged over the past several years. Pixar, run by Apple's Steve Jobs, has little incentive to keep giving Disney a full 50% share of the profits from Pixar pictures, along with a distribution fee, in exchange for splitting the costs. Several entertainment companies are offering Pixar more favorable terms than Disney's old deal, and Jobs is said to be getting peeved by the protracted negotiations with Eisner. As much as ever, the head of the $27 billion empire is in the thick of things and sweating the details. --With reporting by Sean Gregory and Julie Rawe/New York, Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles and Chris Taylor/San Francisco