Disney Denies speculation that it may sell 10 ABC-owned TV stations

"The 10 O&Os [owned-and-operated stations] are the last bastion of distribution-oriented assets Disney has left, for which they receive no credit in their stock price," said an investment research note from Caris & Co. "Should we be correct and management invite a transaction, Disney could eventually become the only traditional, large-cap media name that is virtually 100% asset-weighted toward pure content." But Disney said there is no truth to the speculation that it might sell its 10 ABC-owned TV stations and instead invest in content, such as Pixar Animation Studios and kids' online virtual world Club Penguin. Caris estimates Disney could raise $4.8 billion for its broadcast-TV stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and seven other big cities. There is no precedent for a major broadcast network operating without a foundation of O&O TV stations as an anchor in major cities, but there is no regulatory obstacle. The Caris report said Disney would simply require buyers of its O&O stations to maintain ABC network affiliation.