Word: channelling
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Bridgit Mendler is a willowy, blond teen with a sweet singing voice and decent comic timing. She's also the show-biz equivalent of the next iPhone - a young Disney star-in-waiting. Mendler, 16, is getting the full Disney Channel rollout. Introduced with recurring guest spots on two of its hit shows, Jonas and Wizards of Waverly Place, she will star in her own series, Good Luck Charlie, in 2010. "I've been told to brace myself," says Mendler. "If we have the success I hope we have with the show, everything will change...
Mendler is following a path to fame the channel has mapped over the past three years as it has launched serial stars into orbit: the supernova Miley Cyrus in 2006, Selena Gomez in 2007, the Jonas Brothers in 2008 and Demi Lovato this year. (See pictures of Disney stars throughout the years...
...piece of earth among the entertainment giant's sinking properties. ABC is struggling, sales are way down at Disney's theme parks and stores, most of its non-Pixar movies have been wan performers, and revenue from DVDs is shriveling. The cable networks, which in addition to the Disney Channel include ESPN, ABC Family, Soapnet and Disney XD, brought in 26% of the company's $26.3 billion in revenue and 58% of its $4.8 billion in operating income during the nine months ending June 27. In the past three years, they have represented 80% of Disney's revenue growth...
ESPN does rule sports with ever higher-priced program rights, but as an incubator, Disney Channel is more important, a fact amply displayed by its High School Musical franchise. The channel made the original TV movie for about $5 million. It took off, leading to a sequel, a sound-track album, a motion picture, books and video games. "So far, the franchise has generated $150 million to $200 million in operating income," estimates Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente. If the company leverages all aspects of the brand, he says, the teen franchises are a formidable force...
That's why the Disney Channel's ability to mint teen stars is so central to the company's future and why Rich Ross, former head of the Disney Channel, was recently tapped to replace longtime studio chief Dick Cook. In many ways, Ross ran his outfit like an old-school movie studio. The channel has always found young stars. Shia LaBeouf got his first break there, as did Hilary Duff and - way back in 1993 - Britney Spears. But only in the past few years has Disney mastered how to hang on to them, to keep them from getting away...