Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
A Barry Diller sampler from the Reuters Global Media Summit
Interviewing IAC chief and media mogul Barry Diller nearly always means that you’ll get more quotable quotes than you can stuff into one article. He didn’t disappoint at this year’s Reuters Global Media Summit on Wednesday. Here are thoughts from Diller on a range of subjects from mergers and acquisitions and Comcast to AOL, MGM and marriage.
Q: What are you going to do with the cash on the balance sheet? What’s the focus? Are you still being cautious?
A: “I’d say we still are. It’s definitely a looming problem. The only thing worse than spending cash stupidly is essentially not to put it down at all, not to do anything.”
Q: What would be the right opportunity to buy something?
A: “There’s no road map here. Anything of size, let’s call it $1 billion plus, is known. … Of the potential availables, nothing seems smart right now.”
What will the media company of the 21st Century look like?
In the run-up to the annual Reuters Media Summit, taking place in New York and London next week, we have been asking experts and executives how they think media companies should reinvent themselves for the 21st Century.
Will the big need to get bigger? See Comcast’s bid for a controlling stake in NBC Universal.
