Sec: Dis Must Change Ballots

The Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that the Walt Disney Co. should include on its 2005 shareholder ballot a proposal that would allow investors a voice in nominating board members. The decision on the proposal, submitted in October by several large pension funds, is seen as a victory for activist shareholder groups and could impact other public companies as well.

A Disney spokesman declined comment Monday. The company would like to address the issue in its proxy statement, issued next month ahead of its regularly scheduled shareholders meeting in March.

Separately, Disney formally filed its annual report Monday for fiscal 2004 with the SEC. In it, the company said it was still seeking partners and is "in discussion with potential strategic investors" for MovieBeam, an on-demand movie rental service it rolled out in three test markets in September 2003. Disney said in early September 2004 that it was delaying the further rollout of the service and said it was looking at striking deals with other companies, including possibly electronics makers.

In the filing Monday, Disney said its recorded investment in the service so far totaled $60 million, with another $55 million committed by Disney to the project over the next 31/2 years.