• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 12, 2005

The possible new leader of Walt Disney Co., Robert Iger, the company's current president/COO, knows when to under-sell and over-deliver.

At its now revived ABC Television Network, Iger knows that though "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," as well as two stronger returning shows, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Alias," are dramatically turning the network around, he is not counting his options just yet.

At a media conference/investor meeting in Phoenix he said, as reported by Daily Variety, that credit goes to his two new senior ABC executives: "We think we hit it right naming Anne Sweeney and Steve McPherson. [McPherson] is the final and the only call when it comes to making decisions for the network in primetime."

That is a good sign considering the disastrous program-by-committee approach ABC took in the Lloyd Braun-Susan Lyne-Stu Bloomberg era. Right or wrong, the head of a major media conglomerate needs to trust his people.

Of course, critics point to Iger as the executive who whipsawed ABC primetime some years ago from a quick first place into TV's skid row all on the addiction of its dependence on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Stories abounded that Iger was key in pushing the show to be on virtually every night of the week - while at the same time cutting back on development.

This season ABC has finally gotten over that era, crediting Sweeney and McPherson for righting the ship - though Braun and Lyne were both instrumental for getting "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" on this year's ABC primetime schedule.

Another good word from Iger, who has been characterized as a shoo-in to replace Michael Eisner as CEO after Eisner's term has expired, is this: "I think Disney needs to have an entrepreneurial culture and an entrepreneurial spirit."

Well, that again scores points -- hopefully meaning that Disney-ABC executives will be allowed to continue to do their stuff.

Lessons learned here?

Take the ABC show metaphors are far as you like: ABC isn't so lost or desperate; ABC loses its desperate ways; ABC gets its extreme makeover. It doesn't matter.

This year the network business is just alphabetically sound.