Word: disneyed
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...Disney Teen Machine has become a finely tuned profit pump in an industry rife with unpredictability. The result is that Disney's cable networks represent the one slightly solid 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...
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...
...Disney's much admired ability to maximize profit from every pop-culture nugget it creates - this is a company that made billions of dollars from movies based on Pirates of the Caribbean, a cheesy 10-minute boat ride - works only if it continues to create appealing characters and stories that it can cross-promote. When Gomez released her new album, Kiss & Tell, on Sept. 29, she celebrated with an appearance on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She has a song that plays during the end credits of the first Tinkerbell DVD. While on hiatus from her show, Wizards...
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...
...gotten smarter about how to build talent, we've created more opportunities for them within the company," says Gary Marsh, president of entertainment for Disney Channels Worldwide, who remembers walking Duff over to the music division and introducing her to Bob Cavallo, head of Hollywood Records. "For many people, TV is an endgame. For us, TV has simply become a launchpad to opportunities elsewhere in the company. By creating these opportunities, [we make sure] the talent is more interested in engaging longer with the company...