Robert Iger, CEO-elect of Walt Disney Co., told a New York investment conference Wednesday that a just-announced distribution deal with Verizon’s soon-to-launch Fios video service was a prime example of technology-driven initiatives he’ll be pursuing.

Verizon Communications, which this week plans to launch its new video service in Texas over high-speed fiber-optic lines, announced Wednesday that it would carry 12 Disney television services, including programming from the Disney Channel, ESPN sports network and ABC News.

“New platforms (like Verizon’s) create a voracious appetite for content that increases the value of branded creative content companies like Disney,” said Iger, in a presentation at Goldman Sachs’ annual Communacopia Conference in New York City.

The deal with Disney is seen as adding legitimacy to the No. 1 U.S. telephone carrier’s effort to compete with cable and satellite television providers. It also furthers Disney’s goal of being a major presence in a variety of new media platforms.

In other comments at the Sach’s conference, Iger credited his soon-to-be former boss, CEO Michael Eisner, with enabling an “incredibly smooth transition” in the nearly seven months since he was named to succeed him.

Eisner has taken a noticeable backseat in public to Iger, who came to Disney in its 1995 acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC and was promoted to Disney’s president and chief operating officer five years ago. Iger officially takes over Oct. 1.