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Disney

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Emma Lipstone and Susy Solino
The Walt Disney Company Logo

[1]   The Walt Disney Company Logo

 The Walt Disney Company

500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521

Website: thewaltdisneycompany.com
Phone Number: (818) 560 – 1000

Company

The Walt Disney Company was founded on October 16, 1923 by Walter Elias Disney and is headquartered in Burbank, CA. The Company is one of the biggest media and entertainment corporations in the world. [2]. Walt Disney Studios is home to the four major film studios: Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm Ltd. The Walt Disney Company also owns and operates Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Disney Music Group, Disney Theatrical Group, DisneyToon Studios, Touchstone Pictures, and DisneyNature. [3]. 

Disney’s animation studio has produced around fifty-five animated feature films, with the fifty-sixth being Moana that was just recently released. Pixar has produced seventeen films; the most recent being Finding Dory. In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel Studios and has since produced multiple movies based off of Marvel comic book characters including: The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Most recently in 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. which is the studio best known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

In addition to popular film franchises, Walt Disney Company owns and operates many television channels that produce popular television series’. The biggest subsidiary under Disney Media Networks is ABC, which produces hit network shows such as Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. [5]. Disney also owns ESPN and operates A&E Networks in a joint venture with Hearst Corporation, along with a portion of Hulu.

 

The Walt Disney Company

[9] Some of The Walt Disney Company Conglomerates

Financials

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) stock has been declining in the past few quarters.

According to the earnings report released on November 10, 2016, operating income at Cable Networks decreased $207 million to $1.4 billion for the quarter due to decreases at ESPN and the Disney Channels. [6]. 

ESPN has been losing subscribers to online streaming, such as Netflix or over-the-top streaming services. Also, social media has provided access to a lot of breaking news and sports live broadcasting, luring viewers away from cable television. One of the biggest issues facing ESPN and The Walt Disney Company is that the sports cable network has already paid huge rights fees for the next 5 years, yet subscribers are only paying $8 a month to cover the games, which will not exist in a few years. The increase in programming and production costs were due to The Olympics programming internationally, the World Cup of Hockey rights, and higher contractual rates for college sports. [7]. 

However, the growth at Freeform, which is the old ABC Family, has been very successful this quarter due to lower programming and production costs, as well as a decrease in marketing expenses. These were driven by fewer hours of original scripted programming in the current quarter.

 

Disney Stock

[33] Disney stock prices for last 2 years

Key Executives

Robert A. Iger: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

[8] Robert A. Iger: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

[8] Alan N. Braverman: Senior Executive Vice President

Christine M. McCarthy: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

[8] Christine M. McCarthy: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Zenia Mucha: Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

[8] Zenia Mucha: Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

Jayne Parker: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

[8] Jayne Parker: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Box Office Reports

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[12] Movie poster for “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)

2016 was announced as The Walt Disney Company’s most successful International Box Office record to date, reporting over $3.56 Billion through October 16th in just international sales, surpassing their 2015 general record of $3.56 Billion. [10]. This was due to a powerhouse series of releases throughout 2016, beginning with the summer blockbuster Captain America: Civil War which brought in 1.15 Billion worldwide viewers, $745 million Internationally and was named the No. 1 film of the year internationally and globally. [11].

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[14] Movie poster for “Zootopia” (2016)

The animated release of Zootopia also helped spike Disney’s international numbers as it was named the biggest animated film to ever be released in China and brought in $682.3 million internationally. Elsewhere in the studio, 2016’s surprise remake of The Jungle Book also experienced a successful release, bringing in $602.3 million internationally as well as the title of “Top Western Film of all Time” in India and the No. 3 film of the year overseas.  [13]. Furthermore, while being in the box office for nearly 16 weeks, Finding Dory managed to break records and pass the billion dollar global box office line by bringing in $484.8 million domestically and $519.9 million internationally, making it Pixar’s second billion dollar release and earning a rank as the 5th biggest animated film of all time, globally. [15]. 

As though breaking international box office records was not enough, Disney also managed to set new industry records for reaching $2 billion domestic (July 16th) and $5 billion global (July 10). As well as earned three new spots in the Hall of Fame for domestic box offices with Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, and Zootopia. All of this success comes with still two-and-a-half months and three major releases remaining in their calendar year. [16].

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Dory, the star of “Finding Dory” (2016), now the fifth highest grossing animated film of all time. [17]

 

Recent and Future Releases

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[18] Movie poster for Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” (2016)

Marvel Studio’s Doctor Strange represents another large victory for The Walt Disney Company’s Marvel unit, even on the heels of the overwhelming success of Captain America: Civil War. 

Doctor Strange was projected to collect anywhere from $65 million to $75 million in ticket sales from the United States and Canada through opening weekend, positively surprising analysts and bringing in $85 million and the #1 rank instead. Since its release, Doctor Strange has made over $200 million domestically and over $400 million internationally, crossing $600 million worldwide in under 4 weeks. [19].

Moana, who was scheduled for a holiday release, has surpassed the high expectations set by Doctor Strange, bringing in over $81 million domestically throughout its opening weekend. [20]. 

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[22] Movie poster for “Moana” (2016)

Further down the line, fans eagerly await the release of Star Wars: Rogue One. As well as Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast and the recently announced remakes of Mulan and Snow White. All of which are predicted to be box-office heavy hitters. [21]. 

[23]. 

Diversity

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[24] Elena of Avalor, Disney’s first Latina princess.

In light of a growing diverse culture and need for representation in the film industry, Disney had begun fighting back against claims of their white-washing tactics and ill representation in their films by allowing more diverse roles in their characters and plots.

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[25] Moana, Disney’s first Polynesian heroine.

This year’s recently released Moana revolves around Tahitian and Pacific Islander culture and will be the first Disney film every to be translated into the Tahitian language. [26]. Furthermore, Disney introduced the world to their first Latina princess earlier in the year with the release of their television series Elena of Avalor, a Disney Channel show revolving around latin customs and characters [27] further proving the Company’s desire to focus on promoting more representation of diversity through their media. In addition to their animated strikes towards representation, Disney has announced their search for Chinese actors to star in the upcoming Mulan remake. [28]. 

jungle-book-to-mulan-all-the-live-action-disney-movies-in-the-works-right-now

[29] Movie poster for Disney’s upcoming live action remake of “Mulan,” featuring a Chinese actress.

Future Integration

In addition to divulging into a more diverse space, Disney has also shown interested in expanding into a more digital and web space with their media. In September 2016, Disney began showing signs of interest for acquiring the social media giant, Twitter Inc., going as far as to work with advisors to put together a potential bid for the company. [30].  While eventually deciding to go against the deal for image reasons, as the social network is known for its reputation of bullying and harassment, the interest in social media gives clear insight that Disney has begun exploring new digital horizons. [31]. Many analysts have taken note of Disney’s interest to expand digitally and predict that the streaming giant, Netflix, might be next on the company’s list of potential assets. [32]. 

Bibliography

  1. Walt Disney Company Logo. Retrieved November 1, 2016. http://logok.org/disney-logo/
  2. Walt Disney History. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://d23.com/disney-history
  3. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 1, 2016 https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/#our-businesses
  4. Box Office Reports. Retrieved October 28, 2016. boxofficemojo.com
  5. Johnson, Madeleine. June 16, 2016. Your Complete Guide to All the Things Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 21, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/220682/your-complete-guide-to-all-the-things-owned-by-disney
  6. November 10, 2016. The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016. https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/q4-fy16-earnings.pdf
  7. October 31, 2016. Disney: ESPN Still has a Big Problem. Retrieved November 2, 2016. http://seekingalpha.com/article/4017145-disney-espn-still-big-problem
  8. The Walt Disney Company About. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
  9. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 2, 2016. https://storify.com/LA346TeamDisney/the-walt-disney-company
  10. McNary, Dave. October 17, 2016. ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Finding Dory’ Push Disney to International Box Office Record. Retrieved October 18, 2016. https://variety.com/2016/film/news/captain-america-civil-war-finding-dory-disney-box-office-record-1201891155/
  11. Tartaglione, Nancy. October 17, 2016. Finding Money: Disney Tops Full-Year Intl Box Office Record with $3.56B+ (So Far). Retrieved October 18, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/10/walt-disney-studios-all-time-international-box-office-record-captain-america-zootopia-1201837655/
  12. Freeman, Molly. November 25, 2016. Captain America: Civil War Character Posters- Superhero Fight Time. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://screenrant.com/captain-america-3-civil-war-posters-iron-man/
  13. Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk. October 17, 2016. 2016 International Box Office is Disney’s Best Year Ever. Retrieved October 19, 2016.   http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2016/10/17/2016-international-box-office-disneys-best-year-ever/
  14. Disney Zootopia. Retrieved November 10, 2016.  http://movies.disney.com/zootopia
  15. October 10, 2016. “Finding Dory” Keeps Swimming to $1 Billion. Retrieved October 20, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/finding-dory-keeps-swimming-1-billion/
  16. Derisz, Ricky. October 18, 2016. ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Helps Disney Break its Own $3 Billion International Box Office Record…With More to Come. Retrieved October 19, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/p/captain-america-civil-war-disney-box-office-record/4127909
  17. Disney Movies: Finding Dory. Retrieved November 21, 2016. http://movies.disney.co.uk/finding-dory
  18. CS. April 4, 2016. Doctor Strange Filming Wraps as Mads Mikkelsen’s Villain is Revealed. Retrieved November 15, 2016. http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/673101-doctor-strange-filming-wraps-as-mads-mikkelsens-villain-is-revealed#/slide/1
  19. Faughnder, Ryan. November 1, 2016. ‘Doctor Strange’ is Expected to Draw a Massive Audience for Disney’s Marvel Studios. Retrieved November 2, 2016.  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-20161031-story.html
  20. The Associated Press. November 27, 2016. ‘Moana’ Wins Box Office with Huge Opening Weekend. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/moana-wins-box-office-huge-opening-weekend-article-1.2888989
  21. Acuna, Kirsten and Phillips, Ian. October 26, 2016. Disney Announced all its Movies Coming in the Next 4 Years – Here’s What you have to Look Forward to. Retrieved October 28, 2016. http://www.thisisinsider.com/disney-movie-schedule-2016-to-2019-2016-10/#strange-cumberbatch-will-play-a-surgeon-who-injures-his-hands-severely-in-accident-2
  22. Disney Moana. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana
  23. May 23, 2016. Beauty and the Beast Official US Teaser Trailer. Retrieved November 15, 2016.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38r-SAnTWM
  24. Ranere, Dianna. August 12, 2016. Disney’s Elena of Avalor Renewed for 2nd Season #ElenaOfAvalor. Retrieved October 28, 2016. http://www.fsm-media.com/disneys-elena-avalor-renewed/
  25. Lodi, Marie. July 1, 2016. Why People are Upset About this Character’s Weight in Disney’s New Movie “Moana”. Retrieved November 10, 2016. http://hellogiggles.com/moana-maui-people-angry-obese-stereotype/
  26. October 25, 2016. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” to be First Film Ever Translated into the Tahitian Language. Retrieved October 26, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/moana-first-film-translated-tahitian-language/
  27. Hughes, Ruth. October 16, 2016. Teen Spirit: Meet the new Plucky Disney Princess Elena of Avalor. Retrieved October 17, 2016. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/720813/Disney-Channel-Elena-Of-Avalor-princess
  28.  Biek, Katherine. October 5, 2016. Disney Seeks Chinese Actress for ‘Mulan’ Remake. Retrieved November 20, 2016. http://www.whio.com/news/national/disney-seeks-chinese-actress-for-mulan-remake/fG3AO2Pqefhu4NVlI8ycfI/
  29. Edwards, Ally. October 16, 2016. Jungle Book to Mulan: All the Live Action Disney Movies in The Works Right Now. Retrieved October 17, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/posts/3590427
  30. Roettgers, Janko. September 26, 2016. Disney is Looking into Buying Twitter (Report). Retrieved October 20, 2016. http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/disney-twitter-acquisition-possible-1201870392/
  31. New Statesman. October 18, 2016. Disney Didn’t Buy Twitter- Partly because it Can’t Master the Bare Necessities. Retrieved October 19, 2016.  http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/10/disney-didn-t-buy-twitter-partly-because-it-cant-master-bare
  32. Williams, Trey. October 5, 2016. Netflix Said to be in Disney’s Crosshairs, and Analysts see a Streaming Rationale. Retrieved October 21, 2016. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-remains-center-of-merger-talk-this-time-its-netflix-2016-10-03
  33. The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 20, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS?p=DIS

Disney

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by JACK ROSE, AUDREY LEW, and BRITTANY ORTIZ
The Walt Disney Company

Disney Logo [1]

Background

Disney is a leading producer, owner, and distributor of media that owns, among many other things, broadcast network ABC; movie studios Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, and Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Parks and Resorts that attracted nearly 150 million people in 2015 [2]; and cable sports network ESPN [3]. Between ABC, its affiliates, and ESPN, Disney operates more than 300 channels worldwide, while its movie studios own the rights to The Avengers family and Star Wars [4]. The last Star Wars release became the highest grossing domestic film earlier this year and with another releasing this December, the company’s film division remains strong [5]. However, fluctuating results on the television side have led Disney to invest in new technologies and a desire to expand international reach birthed a new theme park in China, which opened earlier this year.

Corporate Structure

Bob Iger

CEO Bob Iger [1]

Disney’s Chief Executive since 2005, Bob Iger helmed the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Since Iger’s promotion from Chief Operating Officer, Disney’s stock price has risen more than $70 while it’s TV division has come to account for half of the company’s profit [6]. Nearing the end of his career, Iger has repeatedly delayed his retirement and most recently set 2018 as the expiration date for his own tenure. His last task will be selecting his successor, after a recent candidate failed to last as heir.

Disney Organizational Chart

Disney’s Organizational Chart [7]

Beyond Iger, various chairmen run each of Disney’s major compartments and the company’s board of directors is comprised of 11 members. However, it is this organizational chart, distributed by Walt Disney Studios in 1943, that largely explains Disney’s management philosophy [7]. Rather than the typical hierarchy, the chart displays an interlocking web of managers, producers, and creators that are needed to produce a film. This organization is intended to encourage creativity and teamwork by emphasizing collaboration rather than chain of command. Each role supports, instead of merely instructing, another.

Financials

Annual revenue, profit, and net income have increased yearly since at least 2013, as has Disney’s valuation of its assets and balance sheet as whole. Disney’s revenue dwarfs that of most of its competitors in media, exceeded only by Sony and other conglomerates that produce and own as much content as Sony and Disney. Disney’s stock price is similarly higher than most competitors, currently hovering around $100 [8]. The company’s price per share seems to be inextricably linked to the success of ESPN, which is struggling with subscriber losses and adapting to the future (see “Investments in Technology” section below).

Disney Stock

Disney’s Stock Price for last two years [8]

Investments in Technology

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MLB Advanced Media Logo [11]

Disney’s future focus is in technology as it attempts to revitalize ESPN and stay on the cutting edge of content creation and media. Primarily, in August the company invested $1 billion for a 33% stake in Major League Baseball’s BAMTech, a leading television streaming company. The deal included an option for Disney to take a majority stake in the company down the road. The first collaboration between the two will be BAMTech’s creation of a standalone streaming service for ESPN, which Disney hopes will help ease the network’s subscriber losses and struggling ratings. BAMTech adds 7.5 million paid subscribers across a multitude of streaming platforms to Disney’s already massive user base [9]. The investment in BAMTech isn’t completely black and white, however. Television’s trend toward skinny bundles complicates the relationship between every content producer and cable provider, with Sling, DirecTV, Hulu, and more getting into the live over-the-top business. Disney’s BAMTech investment suggests a possibility that Disney itself could run a direct-to-consumer cable distributor itself [10].

Throughout this year, rumors swirled about the possibility of Disney purchasing Snapchat, Twitter, and/or Netflix, though analysts agree: none of these are likely. Twitter’s struggle to remain profitable and stabilize its stock price creates nonstop purchase rumors, but it seems that Disney doesn’t stand to benefit much from a Twitter acquisition [11]. Snapchat has proved to be a unique outlet for Disney’s content, but doesn’t seem to be a likely purchase for the social media company [12]. Though the investment in BAMTech signifies Disney’s interest in streaming, Netflix doesn’t appear to be a perfect partner, either. Netflix’s dominance in the streaming market has waned as challengers such as Amazon and Apple have stolen subscribers [13].

Box Office

Moana

Star Wars  Moana banner [17]

After the November 23 release of Moana, Disney is nearing $2.5B in total domestic box office gross for 2016 [14]. With the top four grossing films of 2016 thus far (Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, The Jungle Book, and Zootopia), the company topped $6B in worldwide box office gross for the first time in its history [15]. This new record will only increase as Moana and Doctor Strange continue to screen and Disney’s final 2016 film releases: the newest film, Rogue One. Beyond the box office, movies like Star Wars, Finding Dory, and Moana provide massive profits in merchandising, both in America and abroad. In 2013, Disney merchandise sales brought in over $40B.

Theme Parks

On June 16, Disney’s fourth international theme park opened in Shanghai, with the tagline “authentically Disney, distinctly Chinese” [16]. The company avoided western branding and symbols by changing street names within the park and by filling the concessions with 70% Chinese food. Traditional Disney characters can be seen wearing traditionally Chinese silk costumes and speaking the native language. The Shanghai Disney Resort seeks to take advantage of the massive potential offered by China and the wider Asian market.

Shanghai Disney

Shanghai Disney Resort [18]

Conclusion

Despite Disney’s losses in television, its massive successes at the box office in 2016 have made up for it. The control of Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar promises success in the motion pictures department nearly every year. Further, Disney’s land holdings of theme parks underscore the company’s finances with physical propoerty–while most media conglomerates own intellectual property, Disney holds more tangible assets as well. The company’s investments in technology put it in a good place for the future–its theme parks’ MagicBands have already proven successful. But while the company must hope these investments pay off, it also faces the uncertain future of navigating an evolving marketplace with a new CEO. Iger’s selection of his successor is by far the most important storyline to follow within the massive world of Disney.

Sources

  1. About The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
  2. The Data Team. June 16, 2016. The Economist. A New Disney Theme Park Opens in China. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/06/daily-chart-11
  3. Johnson, Madeleine. June 16, 2016. Zacks. Your Complete Guide to All the Things Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/220682/your-complete-guide-to-all-the-things-owned-by-disney
  4. Carpenter, J. William. October 29, 2015. Investopedia. Top 5 Companies Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/102915/top-5-companies-owned-disney.asp
  5. Brevet, Brad. January 7, 2016. Box Office Mojo. ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Becomes Highest Grossing Domestic Release of All-Time. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4142&p=.htm
  6. Belloni, Matthew. June 22, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. In-Depth With Disney CEO Bob Iger on China Growth, ‘Star Wars’ Reshoots and Political Plans: “A Lot of People Have Urged Me to [Run]”. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-interview-star-wars-905320
  7. Hirasuna, Delphine. August 7, 2009. At Issue Journal. Walt Disney’s Creative Organization Chart. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.atissuejournal.com/2009/08/07/walt-disney%E2%80%99s-creative-organization-chart/
  8. Yahoo! Finance. The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS/financials?p=DIS
  9. Brown, Maury. August 9, 2016. Forbes. Disney Buys $1B Stake In MLB’s BAMTech, To Launch ESPN Streaming Service. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2016/08/09/disney-co-makes-1-billion-investment-becomes-minority-stakeholder-in-mlbams-bamtech/#1f44b1915972
  10. Markman, Jon. August 23, 2016. Forbes. Disney Streaming Into A Perilous Future. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2016/08/23/disney-streaming-into-a-perilous-future/#4f34784210f7
  11. Kafka, Peter. September 26, 2016. Recode. Why Disney won’t buy Twitter. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.recode.net/2016/9/26/13062276/disney-won-t-buy-twitter
  12. Munarriz, Rick. April 9, 2016. The Motley Fool. Disney Isn’t Buying Netflix or Snapchat. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/09/disney-isnt-buying-netflix-or-snapchat.aspx
  13. Cohan, Peter. October 5, 2016. Forbes. Why Walt Disney Should Not Buy Netflix. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2016/10/05/why-walt-disney-should-not-buy-netflix/#710bdc20395d
  14. Box Office Mojo. Studio Market Share. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view2=yearly&view=parent&p=.htm
  15. Tartaglione, Nancy. November 6, 2016. Deadline Hollywood. Disney Crosses $6B At Global Box Office; First Time In Studio’s History. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/11/disney-crosses-six-billion-dollars-global-box-office-studio-record-doctor-strange-finding-dory-zootopia-captain-america-1201849749/
  16. Gardner, Hannah. June 16, 2016. USA Today. Disney’s new Shanghai park is supersized. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/15/disneys-new-shanghai-park-supersized/85920926/
  17. Disney. Moana. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana

Disney/ABC

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Screen Shot 2015-11-29 at 9.18.34 PM

Disney|ABC Logo -Source: thewaltdisneycompany.com

Headquarters (8)

500 South Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 91521-4581

Executives (8)

Ben Sherwood; Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks President, Disney|ABC Television Group Photo from thewaltdisneycompany.com

Ben Sherwood; Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks President, Disney|ABC Television Group
Source: thewaltdisneycompany.com

Bob_Iger

Robert Iger- Chairman and CEO of Walt Disney source: thewaltdisneycompany.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walt_Disney_1946

Walt Disney – Founder of Walt Disney Company source: thewaltdisneycompany.com

In 1923, Walt Disney and his brother, Roy founded the Walt Disney Company. The company is divided into corporate divisions: Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Disney Consumer Products, Disney Interactive, and Media Networks. Today, Disney is one  of the largest companies in the world providing entertainment for children, adults, and families.

2012_GeneralTWDCLogo_PressRelease_0

The Walt Disney Company Logo Source: thewaltdisneycompany.com

In 1996, Disney merged with Capital Cities/ABC and created the Disney|ABC Media Network division. It is comprised of 8 owned and operated stations, over 240 national affiliates, 20 cable channels, and equity shares with digital over the top platforms (1).

Finances

Disney Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange Company. Their shares have been high for the past three months with their most recent share price at $114.05 (2). Their average earnings per share at the end of the 2015 fiscal year was $4.90 (4) .

DIS Stock Prices from September 1, 2015 to December 1, 2015. Picture from Market Watch.

DIS Stock Prices from September 1, 2015 to December 1, 2015.
Source:  Market Watch.

Disney’s Media Network’s total revenue, year-end, was $23.264 billion and the total income was $7.793 billion (1).

 

 

 

 

Broadcast

The American Broadcast Company (ABC) is a branch of Disney Media Networks and was founded in 1943 (3). The Disney|ABC Television group is comprised of several businesses including ABC Entertainment Group (ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios), ABC Television Network, ABC News, ABC Family, ABC Owned Television Stations Groups, Disney|ABC Digital Media, and Disney|ABC Domestic Television (a network that airs syndicated programming) (1).

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ABC logo. -Source abc.go.com

ABC’s Primetime Fall season has been doing relatively well with high ratings (5). They have primetime programming Sunday to Friday nights and on Saturday, they air football.

ABC 2015 schedule Photo from http://abc.go.com/schedule

ABC 2015 schedule- Source: abc.go.com/schedule

ABC has ten new shows for the 2015-2016 year. Five of the ten shows including Quantico, Blood & Oil, Wicked City, Dr. Ken, and The Muppets have already been premiered. Returning shows include Modern Family, Scandal, Nashville, Shark Tank, Fresh Off The Boat,  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Once Upon a Time, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and more.

While new shows Quantico, Dr. Ken, and The Muppets are doing quite well and are expected to be renewed for another season (6), Blood & Oil is not doing as well and very close to being canceled and Wicked City’s ratings plummeted quickly at a record low of 1.7 million viewers in their third week, and after their third episode, it was the first show of the season to be canceled.(12).

ABC’s 10:00 pm shows Monday through Wednesday are all doing poorly (9). Castle and Nashville are shows with poor ratings and are said to be in their last seasons are both in the 10:00 pm spot and Wicked City was in that spot as well (10).

Thursday Nights primetime 8:00-10:00 pm continue to have high ratings. Thursday is “Thank God It’s Thursday Shonda Night” with popular ShondaLand shows, Greys Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder. ShonaLand’s fall season is doing very well with a large following and excitement around the three shows (5).

ABC’s total revenue for the 2015 fiscal year was $6.683 billion coming from renewal of affiliate deals and advertising sales. ABC’s primetime are top spots for ad sales due to their high ratings, especially on Thursdays 8:00-10:00 pm (10). Monday through Wednesday 10:00 pm spots are not as popular, but they still sell enough ad spots (3). ABC is earning more advertising revenue during the holiday season with specials and family favorites (14).

Cable

Disney’s Media Network owns and operates 7 cable networks and has shares in 13. Owning 100% of both Disney Channels and ABC Family, 80% share in ESPN, and 50% in A&E, Disney|ABC runs 20 networks with 1,832 million subscribers total. In the 2015 fiscal year end, Disney|ABC’s cable networks had $16.581 billion in revenues from subscribers and ad sales (1).

250

ABC Family logo Source: abcfamily.go.com

ABC Family recently released their winter premiere dates and have begun creating buzz around the return of popular shows Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Baby Daddy, Young & Hungry, along with the series premiere of Shadowhunters and Recovery Road. For the month of December, ABC Family filled their schedule with holiday programming, specials and movies (11).

 

Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 5.42.05 PM

Disney Channel Logos Source: disneyabcpress.co

Disney Channels include The Disney Channel, Disney Junior, programming for infants and toddlers, DisneyXD, Hungama, in India, and Radio Disney. have kid-friendly programming 24/7 with holiday programming in the month of December with holiday episodes, specials, and family movies (15).

DISNEY|ABC owns 80% of ESPN, a cable network with 7 channels and over 540 million subscribers (1). ESPN is one of the top networks for sports programming available through television, over the top streaming services, and radio broadcasts (16). ESPN has high ratings and does bring in ad revenue (19).

i

ESPN logo Source: espn.go.com

While ESPN provides Disney with 50% of their profit, over the past two years, ESPN has lost 7 million subscribers, which will effect the company (17). As such, ESPN has spent more money on operating and program expenses with hopes to bring in more subscribers and make the experience better for their current customers (18).

 

 

Disney|ABC will continue to work on gaining more cable subscribers through advertisements and programming (18). ABC is promoting their new shows for the winter season premiering in January including The Bachelor, The Catch, The Family, and Of Kings and Profits. Disney Channel recently became available in Canada and will continue to spread into other countries (20). In addition, they are working on future projects for ABC, including a Marvel comedy, Damage Control. Disney predicts their Media Network revenue to grow from their creative original content. (1)

Hopefully ABC will produce a successful show for the 10:00 pm spot and their cable networks gain more subscribers.

Sources

(1) Disney Annual Report. Retrieved December 2, 2015.https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/reports/fy15-form-10k.pdf

(2) Disney Stock Information. Retrieved December 2, 2015. https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/investors/disney-stock

(3) Media Networks. Retrieved December 2, 2015 www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-companies/media-networks

(4)  Walt Disney Co. Retrieved December 2, 2015. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/dis/charts?symb=DIS&countrycode=US&time=6&startdate=1%2F4%2F1999&enddate=12%2F1%2F2015&freq=1&compidx=none&compind=none&comptemptext=Enter+Symbol%28s%29&comp=none&uf=7168&ma=1&maval=50&lf=1&lf2=4&lf3=0&type=2&size=2&style=1013

(5) ABC Renew/Cancel standings, week 10: ‘Quantico’ remains safe for now. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/12/01/abc-renewcancel-standings-week-10-quantico-remains-safe-for-now/

(6) ABC Renew/Cancel standings, week 10: ‘Quantico’ remains safe for now. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/12/01/abc-renewcancel-standings-week-10-quantico-remains-safe-for-now/

(7) No TV Shows Canceled? Retrieved December 2, 2015. ttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-no-canceled-tv-shows-20151105-story.html

(8) Company Overview. Retreived December 2, 2015. http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=13728276

(9) Wicked City Cancellation. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://www.ibtimes.com/abcs-cursed-tuesday-night-time-slot-wicked-city-cancellation-continues-three-year-2188192

(10) Fox, ABC Dramas Boast Biggest Lifts in C7 as Extended Commercial Ratings Favor the Strong. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://adage.com/article/media/fox-abc-dramas-boast-biggest-lifts-c7/301137/

(11) ABC Family. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://abcfamily.go.com

(12) ABC’s ‘Wicked City’ Ratings Are Historically Bad — How Low Can They Go? Retrieved December 2, 2015. https://www.thewrap.com/wicked-city-abc-tv-ratings-nielsen-drama-people-meter-disney-tax-credit/

(13) ABC Renewals. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/11/17/abc-renewcancel-standings-week-8-wicked-city-and-the-10-oclock-problem/

(14) Weekly Ratings. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/12/01/tv-ratings-monday-nov-30-2015/

(15) What’s On Disney Channel? Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://affiliate.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCSGrid.do?fromTimeInMillis=1449475200000&stnNum=12510&channel=&sgt=grid&aid=disn

(16) ESPN. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://espn.go.com/

(17) ESPN Subscribers Fall. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/27/disneys-espn-subscribers-fall.html

(18) Disney Feels Pain of Lost Subscribers. Retrieved December 2 2015. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-11-30/disney-feels-pain-of-seven-million-lost-espn-subscribers?cmpid=yhoo.headline

(19) Disney Posts Strong Ad Revenue. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/262014/disney-posts-strong-ad-revenues-for-espn-abc.html

(20) Disney Channel in Canada. Retrieved December 2, 2015. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/corus-gains-canadian-rights-to-disney-channel-content/article23983642/

 

Buena Vista/Disney Pictures

Posted on by 
by JORDYN ROSENBERG
Disney Pictures Logo

[2] Walt Disney Pictures Logo

HISTORY 

 From 1988 to present day, Disney Pictures has released some of the most successful films in Hollywood. Disney’s most iconic and memorable titles include, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and The Beast. Disney has pushed the boundaries of the film industry since its beginning with the production of the first full length animation film, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, in 1937, as well as the release of their first live action film, Treasure Island, in 1950 [1].

After the death of Walt Disney in 1966 his brother Roy Disney took the lead. The company only continued to grow when Robert Iger was named chief executive officer in 2005. Currently, Disney owns Walt Disney Animation Studios, Marvel, Touchstone, Disneynature & Lucasfilms. On February 5th 2015, Thomas O. Staggs, [16] Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, was named Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company.

FINANCIALS

In 2015, Buena Vista or Disney Pictures Studios held 10.8% market share and earned a  total gross of $319 million. With only three movie releases thus far in 2015, the studio is ranked 4th. [13] The studio is behind 20th Century Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros. The companies rank is anticipated to rise with the rest of their 2015 slate. [3] After a full slate of 13 movies in 2014, the company grossed $1,617.5  billion, held a market share of 15.6% and ranked 2nd behind 20th Century Fox. The Walt Disney Company released its first quarterly report [14] for 2015 on February 3rd. Within the overall company, earnings per share increased 23% to $1.27 billion from $1.03 billion in the 2014 fourth quarter report [15]. Specifically, in studio entertainment, revenues have decreased 2% to 1.9 billion from 1.8 billion in 2014. Lower theatrical distribution numbers were a result of the performance of Big Hero 6 in comparsion to the release of Frozen last year.

KEY EXECUTIVES 

Alan Bergman - President, The Walt Disney Studios

[22] Alan Bergman – President, The Walt Disney Studios

Alan Horn - Chairman, Walt Disney Studios

[23] Alan Horn – Chairman, The Walt Disney   Studios

 

Robert Iger - Chairman and Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company

[24] Robert Iger – Chairman and Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company

IN THEATERS

Cinderella 

The live-action remake, directed by Kenneth Branagh, of the notorious Disney animation, Cinderella, did well in the box office opening weekend. Opening at number 1, the weekend of March 13th 2015, the movie earned an opening weekend gross of $67,877,361 domestically. Including international gross, the film made over $70 million opening weekend and made their $95 million budget in the second week. In total, Cinderella has made $438,036,467 worldwide [6]. With a large part of the target audience being female children, the cast, including, Lily James and Richard Madden, was fairly unknown [7]. The seven minute Frozen Fever short at the beginning of the film, based of the extremely popular animation Frozen, may have been a drawing factor for audiences. Although the film had one of the biggest debuts of the year, its numbers fell short of what was expected by Disney. The lower figures mean the new film fell behind Disney’s last live-action remake, Maleficent [8]. 

Monkey Kingdom

The Disneynature film, set in South Asia, follows the story of a macaque monkey, named Maya. With a new son, Kip, and her longtime home, Castle Rock, being taken over, Maya faces various struggles. Her ultimate goal is to get her home back and establish a good future for her son. The movie is narrated by Tina Fey. The director of the film, Mark Linfield, spent over 2 and a half years filming and following the animals for the movie [9]. The movie was released on April 17th. The opening weekend numbers have yet to be released.                                                                                .                                                                             .

SPRING 2015 RELEASES

 McFarland, USA

Released on February 20th, 2015, the sports-drama, McFarland USA, tells the story of a high school cross-country team as they attempt to succeed under the supervision of a new coach, played by Kevin Costner. The director of the film, Niki Caro, expressed that film is especially timely with the current debate over immigration [5]. The movie is set in a highly immigrated area and a majority of the athletes are from migrant families. Opening weekend grossed $11,020,798 and the movie made an overall domestic total of $42,715,645 [4]. The film was not as successful as Disney had hoped, opening at number 4 in theaters and continually falling in rank week to week.                                                                     .

FUTURE SLATE

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland will be released on May 22nd 2015. The movie was directed by Brad Bird and stars Academy Award winning actor, George Clooney. The cast also includes Britt Robertson, this year’s “Star of Tomorrow” award winner [11] at CinemaCon, and Judy Greer. The films tells the story of a young girl who finds a mysterious and magical pin. Touching the pin reveals a new and better world [10]. Disney is keeping the details of the plot a vaulted secret. Disney’s new sci-fi/fantasy film is inspired by the Disneyland park attraction and Disney World’s Epcot theme park. In a newly released featurette, Disney informs audiences of the tie between the film, Walt Disney and his original team’s vision for the future. The film is inspired by Walt’s vision of what the future would be like, as well as his ideas for the development of society [12]. The nostalgia of the film and reference to Walt Disney, adds Tomorrowland to Disney’s list of inspired remake films, such as last year’s Maleficent and this year’s Cinderella. 

FUTURE FOR DISNEY PICTURES

On March 12th 2015, The Walt Disney Company held their 2015 annual meeting of shareholders [17]. At the meeting, CEO Robert Iger and Chief Creative Officer, John Lassester [18] announced exciting future projects for Disney. In October of 2012 Walt Disney Studios bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion [19]. At this years annual meeting, Disney acknowledged three new Star Wars projects the studio has been working on. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will premier in theaters on December 18th 2015. The film is the 7th episode of the Star Wars series and is set thirty years after the last Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, which was released in 1983. The film was directed by J.J. Abrams and stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, & Carrie Fisher. The 2nd official teaser was released in April 16th 2015.

At the meeting, Iger announced the production of another Star Wars film, Rogue One. Set to release on December 16th 2016, the film written by George Lucas is a spin-off to the original franchise. Finally, Star Wars: Episode VIII will arrive in theaters on May 26th 2017 [20]. The film will be directed by Rian Johnson and will continue the Star Wars story after episode 7.  In addition, Disney Animation has officially announced plan of production for Frozen 2. After the huge success of the original film, it is no surprise that Disney is taking advantage of a sequel [21]. A release date has yet to be set for the film.

SOURCES

[1] Walt Disney Studios History. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[2] Walt Disney Studios Logo. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[3] Walt Disney Studios Current Slate. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved April 16th 2015

[4] McFarland USA. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 16th 2015

[5] Johnson, Ted (February 21st 2015) What McFarland USA Says About Immigration. Variety. Retrieved April 16th 2015

[6] Cinderella (2015). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 16th 2015

[7] Acuna, Kirsten (March 16th 2015) Cinderella Opening Weekend. Business Insider. Retrieved April 16th 2015

[8] Lang, Brent (March 16th 2015) Cinderella Falls Short. Variety. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[9] Miller, Gregory (April 16th 2015) Monkeys of ‘Monkey Kingdom’ NY Post. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[10] Breznican, Anthony (January 18th 2015) George Clooney & Tomorrowland. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[11] Lang, Brent (March 11th 2015) Britt Robertson Tomorrowland. Variety. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[12] White, James (April 16th 2015) Tomorrowland Featurette. Empire Online. Retrieved: April 16th 2015

[13] Box Office by Studio: Buena Vista. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[14] Walt Disney First Quarter 2015. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 17th 2015.

[15] Walt Disney Fourth Quarter 2014. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[16] Thomas Staggs COO. Walt Disney Pictures. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[17] Disney Annual Shareholders Meeting 2015. Walt Disney Company. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[18] John Lasseter. Walt Disney Company. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[19] Krantz, Matt (October 30, 2012). Disney Lucasfilm. USA Today. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[20] Kludt, Tom (March 12 2015). Star Wars Episode VIII. CNN Money. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[21] Graser, Mark (March 12 2015). Frozen 2. Variety. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[22] Alan Bergman. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[23] Alan Horn. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[24] Robert Iger. Walt Disney Company. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[25] Lion King Movie Poster. Fan Pop. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[26] Treasure Island Poster. Wikimedia. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[27] Alan Bergman Picture. Walt Disney. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[28] Alan Horn Picture. Walt Disney. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[29] Robert Iger Picture. Walt Disney. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[30] Cinderella Poser. Wikia. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[31] Monkey Kingdom Poster. StitchKingdom. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[32] McFarland USA Poster. IMP Awards. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[33] Tomorrowland Poster. WP Images. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[34] Star Wars: The Force Awakens. IMDB Media. Poster Retrieved: April 17th 2015

[35] Annual Shareholders Meeting Image. Visions Fantastic. Retrieved: April 17th 2015

 

 

 

Viacom

Posted on by 
by Timothy Chew
Viacom Brands

[1] Viacom Logo

About Viacom

Viacom is an American mass media company that specialises in entertainment content in over 160 countries across television, film, mobile and online platforms. Viacom is the parent company to many of the world’s most elite entertainment brands including MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET Networks, Comedy Central, SPIKE, TV Land, CMT, Paramount Pictures and many more [2]. 

Reaching approximately 700 million global subscribers, Viacom’s media networks have become one of the largest media conglomerates in the world [3].

Television Networks

[4] Viacom’s Media Network Brands

Viacom is home to a wide variety of television networks and has successfully developed original entertainment content that has reached a diverse audience [4]. MTV is best known for producing the MTV Video Music Awards, Nickelodeon is one of the most influential television channels in children’s entertainment and Comedy Central is America’s number one comedy channel. Viacom has produced many popular television shows including MTV’s Awkward and Teen Wolf, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and many more [4].

Film

paramount-logo

[5]  Paramount Pictures Logo

Paramount Pictures Corporation is a film production and distribution studio that is also a subsidiary of Viacom. Paramount is the distributor for DreamWorks Animation, Marvel, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Classics and Paramount Vantage [4]. In 2014, Paramount grossed $953.6 million, becoming the sixth highest grossing film studio in the box office [6]. Paramount has produced many major blockbusters films including “Titanic“, “Transformers“, “Forrest Gump“, “Shrek” and “Iron Man” [7].

Financials

Viacom has remained well positioned financially this year. In the fourth quarter of 2014, Viacom’s revenue has increased 9% from $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion [8]. Viacom’s Media Networks annual year-end revenue has rose significantly from $9.6 billion to 10.1 billion [8]. However, Viacom’s film entertainment’s suffered a decrease in annual year-end revenue dropping from $4.2 billion to $3.7 billion [8]. Viacom’s year-end operating income has rose to 5% to a record breaking $4.13 billion from $3.9 billion in 2013 [8].

Key Executives

Philippe Dauman

[9] Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer

TomDooley

[10] Thomas E. Dooley, Chief Operating Officer

WadeDavis

[11] Wade Davis, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development

Recent News

1+May+Viacom+acquires+Channel+5

[12] Viacom Acquires Channel 5

Viacom Closes Acquisition of UK’s Channel 5

After announcing a deal on May 1st, Viacom has closed acquisition of British’s broadcaster Channel 5 for $725 million on September 10th [12]. This deal was made to expand Viacom’s investment in its entertainment content produced in the UK. In addition, Nickelodeon will be partnering with Channel 5’s pre-school program, Milkshake. Viacom and Channel 5 will collaborate to produce a new animated series called “Nella the Knight“, their first co-production which is under Viacom’s wing [12]. Viacom and Channel 5 will co-fund “Nella the Knight“, which will be produced in the UK. Channel 5 will also air episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [12]. Besides that, MTV UK and Channel 5 are partnering to commission a new series called 10,000 BC. In 10,000 BC, 20 participants leave the comforts of their modern life and travel back to the Stone Age. This 10 episode series is set to premiere on Channel 5 in 2015 [12].

sony-viacom-logos

[13] Viacom and Sony Partnership

Viacom and Sony Inks Internet Distribution Deal

Viacom announced a major programming deal with Sony to license live and on demand programming for at least 22 Viacom cable networks including Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, SPIKE, and VH1 for Sony’s cloud-based TV service [13]. This agreement marks Viacom’s first deal to provide its networks for an Internet based live TV and Video On Demand service. Sony’s new cloud-based TV service will integrate live TV content with a dynamic experience people are accustomed to look for form their network. This new service will provide access to hundreds of hours of Viacom programming to over 75 million Internet-enabled Sony devices in the U.S [14].

Releases

TMNT35

[15] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, directed by Jonathan Liebasman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is an action comedy film that made tremendous success in the box office this summer. The film was produced by highly acclaimed “Transformers” producer Michael Bay and directed by Jonathan Liebasman. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was a recreation of the original comic series. On its opening weekend, this summer blockbuster locked in a staggering $65 million [16]. Since its release, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” has made $191 million in the US and $286 million in the international market. This film surprisingly remained number 1 in the box office on its first two weeks of release [16].Unlike many films released this summer, this film managed to surpass its budget within 3 weeks of its release, proving to be a major success [16].

interstellar

[17] Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan

Interstellar

“Interstellar” is a Sci-Fi thriller starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. The film is based on a team of explorers who travel to space on an adventure to search for a habitable planet that could potentially save the human race [17 . The film was director by Christopher Nolan.  Unfortunately, “Interstellar” failed to reach its predicted $50 million on its opening weekend, and only made $47.5 million instead [18]. Although, “Interstellar” has not done quite as well domestically by only making $138 million since its premiere, it has been a major success in the foreign market making a whopping $331 million, surpassing its $165 million budget. Since its opening weekend, the film has made over $468 million worldwide proving to be a global success [19].

Upcoming Releases

eye_candy_key_art_mtv_a_p

[20] Eye Candy, MTV’s New Thriller

MTV Announces New Scripted Thriller

MTV announced a new scripted thriller series called “Eye Candy.” The new series is based on R.L Stine’s popular novel “Eye Candy.” The series is produced by Jason Blum and Catherine Hardwicke. “Eye Candy” revolves around tech genius, Lindy who is played by Victoria Justice [21]. Lindy begins online dating and suspects one of her strange suitors to be a potential serial killer. Lindy then partners with a team of hackers to solve these mysterious murders on the streets of New York. “Eye Candy” is an 10-episode, hour-long thriller that is set to premiere on January 12, 2015 [21].

Trailer [22].

Mission-Impossible-5-starring-Tome-Cruise

[23] Mission Impossible 5, directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Mission Impossible To Release Fifth Film

The fifth instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise is hitting theatres next winter. The film is directed by Christopher McQuarrie and written by Drew Pearce. “Mission Impossible 5” is produced by Paramount and J.J Abrams’ Production Company, Bad Robot. In “Mission Impossible 5“, Tom Cruise will be returning to his role of Ethan Hunt. The previous film, “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” set the record very high after grossing a staggering $695 million globally [24]. Mission Impossible 5 is set to release on December 25th, 2015. The film’s trailer has not been released [25].

Sources

[1] Viacom’s Logo, Variety.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[2] About Viacom, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[3] “Advertising Revenue Drive Media Networks Business“, Marketrealist.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[4] Viacom Brands, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[5] Paramount Pictures’s Logo, Paramountguilds.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[6] Studio Market Share, Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[7] Paramount’s All Time Box Office Results, Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[8] Viacom’s Fiscal Report 2014, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[9] Philippe Dauman, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[10] Thomas E. Dooley, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[11] Wade Davis,Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[12] Viacom Closes Acquisition of Channel 5, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[13] Viacom and Sony Partnership,Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[14] Viacom Inks Pact with Sony, Variety.com, 9/10/2014, RT: 11/30/2014

[15] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Poster, Teenagemutantninjaturtlesmovie.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[16] Box Office Results, Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[17] Interstellar Poster, Interstellar-movie.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[18] “Interstellar Final Box Office Fails to Hit $50 Million Estimates”, Variety.com, 11/10/2014, RT: 11/30/2014

[19] Box Office Results, Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[20] Eye Candy Poster, Hollywoordreporter.com, 11/02/2014, RT: 11/30/2014

[21] MTV’s New Scripted Thriller, Viacom.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[22] Eye Candy Trailer, Youtube.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[23] Mission Impossible 5 Poster, Screenrant.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[24] Box Office Results, Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/30/2014

[25] “Mission: Impossible 5 to Hit Theaters in December 2015”, Hollywoodreporter.com, 11/13/2014, RT: 11/30/2014

Buenavista/Disney Pictures

Posted on by 
by Lynn Walek
disney

Image Courtesy of the Official Disney Fan Club (www.d23.com)

Key Executives

Robert “Bob” Iger                                                                    Alan F. Horn
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer                                      Chairman
The Walt Disney Company                                                    The Walt Disney Studios

Robert "Bob" Iger - Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Robert “Bob” Iger – Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Alan F. Horn - Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Alan F. Horn – Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

 

History

The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 when Disney brothers Roy and Walt sold the Alice Comedies. The star of the company, Mickey Mouse, was not seen until five years later when Steamboat Willie, the first sound cartoon, was released in 1928. The Disney Company continued to push boundaries releasing the first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. [1] The company has grown and expanded into many aspects of entertainment. [2] Currently Walt Disney Studios owns Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel, Touchstone, and Disneynature. In 2012 Disney purchased Lucasfilm, which most notably includes the Star Wars franchise. [3] [4] 

Finances

With the end of the 2014 fiscal year, Disney announced a record year. The fourth quarter earning report quotes CEO Bob Iger as saying: “Our results for Fiscal 2014 were the highest in the Company’s history, marking our fourth consecutive year of record performance.” [5] This year’s revenues are up from 45 billion to 48.8 billion, an eight percent increase. Net income increased from 6.1 billion in 2013 to 7.5 billion in 2014, a 22 percent increase. With the future slate Disney is set to release “21 tentpole movies…over the next three years, compared to only 13 in the last three”. [6] The increase in “tentpole” movies means Disney has the opportunity to continue breaking records as it expands franchises under its many banners. [5] [6]

Current Slate

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Released October 10, 2014 this film is based on the popular children’s book of the same title. Despite comedy giant Steve Carell and well known actress Jennifer Garner headlining the film, it was only a mild success. It opened at number three at the box office and quickly fell out of the top five. It grossed 63 million domestically and 82 million worldwide with a production budget of 28 million. [7]

 

 

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Big Hero 6
Released November 7, 2014, this is the first animated Marvel film. Disney CEO Bob Iger had high hopes for the film when he spoke to investors the day before its release, and it did not disappoint. [6] It grossed more than 205 million worldwide with a production budget of 165 million. It opened as number one at the box office and then held second place during its second and third weeks. The film follows the adventures of Hiro, a young boy, and his robot best friend, Baymax who according to IMDb “team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.” [8] Big Hero 6 has faced little direct competition until the November 26 release of Penguins of Madagascar. [8] [9] [10]

 

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

 

Into the Woods
This film will be released on December 25, 2014 (see trailer below [a]). This is a big screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical and boasts big name actors Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. The film will feature a new song written for Streep. The film focuses on a witch (Streep) teaching lessons to various fairytale characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Rapunzel. The film will be up against another family musical, Annie, as well as the third installment of family comedy franchise Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. Both of these competing films will be released before Christmas on December 19. [10] [11]

 

 

Future Slate

Because Disney’s fiscal 2014 is over, the emphasis is on what is to come in the next fiscal year. In his address to investors on November 6, 2014, Bob Iger emphasized the future slate and franchise expansion. Disney has released several long term plans. [6]

Marvel

Image Courtesy of marvel.com

Image Courtesy of marvel.com

Marvel was acquired in 2009 and has become an instrumental part of Walt Disney Studios success. Currently Disney is working on two Marvel franchises, The Avengers (2012) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). There are 11 Marvel films planned for the next five years (see table 1). [6]

Table 1 Table created in Microsoft Word by Lynn Walek [6]

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

The next release on the Marvel docket is Avengers sequel Age of Ultron, which hits theaters in May 2015. Director Joss Whedon will return to lead stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Mark Ruffalo who will reprise their superhero roles. The trailer (see below [b])  which was originally set to air on October 28 during Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was leaked on October 22. Marvel and Disney responded by quickly posting the official trailer which got 34.3 million global views in its first 24 hours. This number shattered the previous record held by the Iron Man 3 trailer. [12] [13]

In the 2014 fiscal year, Guardians of the Galaxy had the highest domestic gross and the second highest worldwide gross. It grossed more than 770 million dollars worldwide. [14] Additionally, the success of Big Hero 6 proves that Marvel can produce successful animated films and they will likely continue to do so. [9]

Star Wars

Image Courtesy of lucasfilm.com/starwars

Image Courtesy of lucasfilm.com/starwars

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Disney will produce a new trilogy of Star Wars movies: Episodes VII, VIII and IX. The title and teaser trailer for Episode VII have now been released. It will be called Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the trailer can be seen below [c]. This film will be released December 18, 2015. Episode VIII will be released in 2017 and Episode IX will be released in 2019. In 2016 Disney will release the first of their “stand alone” films within the Star Wars universe. [6]

 

 

 Pixar

Image Courtesy of official Disney Pixar Facebook

Image Courtesy of official Disney Pixar Facebook

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Noticeably absent from the 2014 slate Pixar will be back in June 2015 with Inside Out. This film is not a franchise expansion but it lists big name stars, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, and Bill Hader. Poehler, Kaling and Hader will voice three of five emotions from inside the mind of a little girl. Pixar will continue two successful franchises in 2016 and 2017. Finding Dory, sequel to Finding Nemo, will be released in 2016. The recently announced Toy Story 4 will be released in June 2017 and boasts the return of director John Lasseter who was at the helm of the first two installments of the Toy Story franchise. Lasseter is also the chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and principal creative advisor of Walt Disney Imagineering. [6] [15]

 

Disney Pictures

Image Courtesy of waltdisneystdudios.com

Image Courtesy of waltdisneystdudios.com

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Following the success of Maleficent, which grossed 757 million dollars worldwide, Disney will continue to produce live action fairy tales. [16] The official Cinderella trailer was released on November 19 (see below [d]). This film is scheduled to be released in March 2015. Other live action fairy tales announced are The Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland 2. Disney will also release another film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. [6]

 

 

 

 

 

Sources*

[1] History of The Walt Disney Studios

[2] List of Disney Businesses

[3] List of Walt Disney Studio Businesses 

[4] USA Today Disney’s Lucasfilm Purchase 

[5] Walt Disney Fourth Quarter Earnings Press Release

[6] Walt Disney Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call Transcript 

[7] Box Office Mojo – Alexander…Bad Day

[8] IMDb – Big Hero 6

[9] Box Office Mojo – Big Hero 6

[10] Box Office Mojo Release Dates 

[11] Playbill – Into the Woods New Song

[12] IMDb – Avengers: Age of Ultron

[13] Deadline – Age of Ultron Trailer Leak

[14] Box Office Mojo – Guardians of the Galaxy 

[15] Walt Disney Exec Bio – John Lasseter

[16] Box Office Mojo – Maleficient

Trailer Sources*

[a] Disney Movie Trailers YouTube – Into the Woods

[b] Marvel Entertainment YouTube – Avengers: Age of Ultron

[c] Star Wars YouTube – The Force Awakens

[d] Disney Movie Trailers YouTube – Cinderella

*Note: All sources were last accessed on December 1, 2014.

Buenavista/Disney Pictures

Posted on by 
by Izzy Lynch

Courtesy of www.waltdisneystudios.com

Photo Courtesy of [1]  www.waltdisneystudios.com

Contact

Address: 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA. 91506

Phone: (818) 560-1000

Twitter: @DisneyPictures

 

History and Properties

Snow White Original Vintage Film Poster. Photo Courtesy of www.animationartstudio.com

Snow White Original Vintage Film Poster. Photo Courtesy of www.animationartstudio.com

The Walt Disney Studios is the world-renowned film division of the film-turned-lifestyle corporation, The Walt Disney Company (NASDAQ: DIS) [2]. Founded in 1923 under the name The Disney Brothers Studios by brothers Walter E. Disney and Roy O. Disney, the company gained recognition for Walt’s impressive art in second dimension animation and the rich character portrayals [3]. The company has become the most successful animation brand in the world, crafting iconic characters such as Mickey Mouse, and producing timeless features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Mary Poppins (1964), Lion King (1994) and many more. Since the studios’ inception, the company has grown to host multiple lucrative businesses, including resorts, theme parks, and merchandise, all utilizing the characters created through the company’s television and film productions. The studios have expanded their reach to include The Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, The Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios (2006), Lucasfilm Limited LLC (2012), Marvel Studios (2009), Touchstone Pictures, Disneynature, and Disneytoon Studios. Films produced by these subsidiaries are distributed through The Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures [3].

 

CEO and Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, Robert A. Iger. Photo Courtesy of www.waltdisneystudios.com

CEO and Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, Robert A. Iger. Photo Courtesy of [4] www.waltdisneystudios.com

Management

As of 2005, Robert A. Iger has headed The Walt Disney Company, serving as both Chief Executive Officer and Chairman [4]. Iger reinstated the company’s relationship with the previously affiliated Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, which led to the hiring of Pixar Chief Executive Officer John Lasseter and Pixar President Edwin Catmull to head the then floundering Disney Animation sector of the studios. Since incorporating the two as Chief Creative Officer and President of the Walt Disney Animation Studios respectively in 2008, the company has seen an incredible improvement in the quality of content, producing blockbuster hits including Wreck It Ralph (2012), Frozen (2013), and Big Hero 6 (2014) [5].

 

Financial Information

The Walt Disney Company, which became a publicly traded entity in 1940 [6], released its Q4 and 2014 financial reports on November 6th, 2014 to reveal record-breaking numbers for the fourth year in a row. Along with impressive numbers from the overall company, Studio Entertainment revenues soared 22% from last year, earning nearly $7.3 billion out of the nearly $49 billion company revenue total, garnering the largest increase in revenue of the Company’s other business ventures [7].

The Walt Disney Company's 52 Week Stock Price Chart. Photo Courtesy of Businessweek.com

The Walt Disney Company’s 52 Week Stock Price Chart. Photo Courtesy of Businessweek.com

Recently, the company experienced an impressive increase in their current trading price with the release of their eighty-eight second Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser. Trading prices for the company rose to a share price of $92.96 on Friday, November 28th [8], which has proven to be not only a 52-week high, but also an all time high for the company [9]. While stock prices represent the entire Walt Disney Company, it is important to note that the characters from the film productions are an integral part of what keeps the company relevant and popular, which has a significant impact on the stock price.

 

Current Projects

The Walt Disney Studios operates their production of films in the format of larger tent-pole franchises supporting the lower budget features. The company tends to produce films that fulfill the requirements of the four quadrants of moviegoers: both male and female, over and under 25 years of age.

After Disney’s overwhelming domestic and international success of 2013’s animated hit Frozen, the company has continued to produce high quality and exceptionally profitable films throughout its current slate [10], which includes both live action and animated features. Towards the closing of a strong summer for the company, with releases such as Maleficent and Planes: Fire and Rescue, Marvel Studios released the tent-pole live action film Guardians of the Galaxy [10], which has garnered the title of being the top grossing film of 2014 with a total earning of $331.1 million at the global box office; a considerable achievement for its $170 million budget [11]. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Bradley Cooper, the film explores the uniting of a motley crew attempting to save the galaxy at the hands of an evil villain [12]. The film premiered on August 1st, 2014, and was highly praised by critics and audiences alike, scoring a 90% critic approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes [13].

Big Hero 6 Promotional Poster. Photo Courtesy of www.marvel.wikia.com

Big Hero 6 Promotional Poster. Photo Courtesy of www.marvel.wikia.com

Guardians of the Galaxy served as the ideal primer for the November 7th release of Big Hero 6, a collaboration of the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Marvel Studios. Big Hero 6, with its $165 million production budget [14], incorporated characters from Marvel’s 5,000-character bank into the Animation Studios’ computer generated imagery format [15]. The result was a success; the film garnering a $50 million domestic box office in its opening weekend, as well as gaining the top spot of the weekend box office ahead of highly anticipated films, such as Warner Brothers’ Interstellar [16]. The film has netted $224.1 million in the worldwide box office to date [16].

 

Future Projects

The Walt Disney Studios have many high profile projects planned for release through 2019, having announced multiple films from each of its accompanying brands. Many of these films include live-action reboots of past Disney classics, continuations of prior franchises, or new franchise launches.

The most highly anticipated upcoming releases include the reboots of the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by the talented J.J. Abrams, utilizes the Lucasfilm-constructed universe to continue the saga and is scheduled for release in December, 2015. The film, which takes place in a time after Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and others from the first installment of the series, has generated great interest. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has announced that his contract has been extended from terminating in March 2015 to June 2018 to oversee the release of two of the three upcoming Star Wars films [17].

Walt Disney Studios has also announced the continuation of the wildly popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, with a new film scheduled to be released in the summer of 2017.  The film will be titled Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales [18].

Marvel plans to continue the producing widely profitable Avengers, Thor, Captain America, and Guardian of the Galaxy franchises, scheduling to release sequels to the films through 2018.  Marvel has multiple other first-appearance films set to premier as well [19].

Pixar Animation Studios has announced the production of Toy Story 4, which came as a shock to many after the seemingly neat conclusion of the franchise with the release of Toy Story 3 (2010) [20]. Pixar has also announced plans to revive The Incredibles and Finding Nemo films with sequels, including the anticipated release of the film Finding Dory in 2016 [21].  Pixar is anticipating the release of their next film, Inside Out, a story told through a child’s emotions, in June of 2015 [21].

 

Sources

[1] “The Walt Disney Studios >> Walt Disney Studios Home” The Walt Disney Studios Retrieved 28 November 2014

[2] “DIS-NASDAQ.com” NASDAQ.com Retrieved 30 November 2014

[3] “Disney History” The Walt Disney Company Retrieved 29 November 2014

[4] “Rober A. Iger – The Walt Disney Company” The Walt Disney Company Retrieved 29 November 2014

[5] “Big Hero 6 Proves it: Pixar’s Gurus Have Brought the Magic back to Disney” Wired.com Retrieved 29 November 2014

[6] “Chronology of The Walt Disney Company” Chronology of The Walt Disney Company Retrieved 26 November 2014

[7] “Disney Fiscal Report 2014”  The Walt Disney Company Retrieved 22 November 2014

[8] “DIS: Stock Information”  Businessweek.com Retrieved 28 November November 2014

[9] “‘Star Wars’ Trailer Awakens Walt Disney Stock” TheGuardian.com Retrieved 30 November 2014

[10] “The Walt Disney Studios Current Slate The Walt Disney Studios Retrieved 28 November 2014

[11] “2014 Top Grossing Films” BoxOfficeMojo.com Retrieved 1 December 2014

[12] “Guardians of the Galaxy – IMDB” IMDB.com Retrieved 1 December 2014

[13] “Guardians of the Galaxy Review – Rotten Tomatoes” RottenTomatoes.com Retrieved 28 November 2014

[14] “Big Hero 6 Box Office” BoxOfficeMojo.com Retrieved 30 November 2014

[15] “Disney Buys Marvel Entertainment” TheGuardian.com Retrieved 26 November 2014

[16] “Nov. 7th 2014 Weekend Results” BoxOfficeMojo.com Retrieved 30 November 2014

[17] “Bob Iger to Remain Disney Chief through 2018” Variety.com Retrieved 26 November 2014

[18] “‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’ Set for Summer 2017” The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved 23 November 2014

[19] “Marvel Studios Announcements” The Slate Retrieved 27 November 2014

[20] “Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 4’ Set to Play in Theaters in 2017” Variety.com 07 November 2014

[21] “Pixar Animation Studios Official Slate” Pixar Retrieved 30 November

 

Disney-ABC

Posted on by 
By Nicolas Claro

Company History

On January 4th, 1996, Michael Eisner and the Walt Disney Company came to an agreement with Capital Cities/ABC on a merger between the two companies, forming what is known today as Disney-ABC TV [1]. In addition to ABC Television Network, Disney-ABC owns multiple cable channels including Disney Channel Disney XD, ABC Family and ABC News, as well as a controlling stake in ESPN and an equity holding in A+E Networks.

 

Corporate

ANNE SWEENEY

Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2005-2015)

KEVIN BROCKMAN

Executive Vice President, Global Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group

REBECCA CAMPBELL

President, ABC Owned Television Stations Group

PAUL LEE

President, ABC Entertainment Group

GARY MARSH

President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channels Worldwide

BEN SHERWOOD

Co-President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2010-2015),

Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2015-)

 [2]

 

Q1 EARNINGS

The Walt Disney Company’s first quarter of the fiscal year ended on December 28, 2013. Since the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, The Walt Disney Company’s media networks have seen a 4% increase in revenue, and an operating income increase of nearly 20%. However, the company saw a decrease of almost $85 million in income, due in large part to contractual rate increases to Modern Family and other long-tenured shows on the network. [3]

Screen Shot 2014-04-21 at 2.51.16 PM

 

PROGRAMMING

The cast and crew of Modern Family winning their fourth Emmy in four years. [4]

Disney-ABC has done a very fine job of diversifying their TV offerings, broadcasting programs for every sort of viewer imaginable. The company’s two most popular offerings are 4-time Emmy winner Modern Family [4] and the company’s longest running primetime drama, Grey’s Anatomy. In addition, ABC has created successful shows based on existing third-party content, such as Once Upon a Time and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ABC also airs a large number of successful unscripted shows, such as The Bachelor and Dancing With The Stars, talk-shows in both the morning (The View) and late-night (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), live college football and NBA games, and national news shows such as Good Morning America.

Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes (left) and the show’s star Kerry Washington. Rhimes also created ABC’s long running Grey’s Anatomy. [5]

ABC Family and the various Disney channels offer popular youth-oriented series such as Pretty Little Liars and the cartoon Gravity Falls.

In this upcoming season, Disney-ABC plans to bolster its broadcast schedule even further by collaborating with well-respected directors and producers such as David O. Russell and Bryan Singer on the shows The Club [6]  and Black Box [7] , respectively.

 

Director Bryan Singer, well known for his directorial work on the X-Men films, is bringing a show to ABC this year. [8]

New King of Late Night?

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (Left) and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (Right) [9]

On April 3, 2014, Late Night host David Letterman announced his retirement from the show, and from late-night TV in 2015. Stephen Colbert will replace him on CBS in the same time slot after his departure. [10] With David Letterman’s retirement in 2015, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel will have the longest active run of late night hosting on broadcast TV with a consecutive 11 years on the air. Along with Colbert, Kimmel has already begun competing with the recently appointed Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on NBC, who’s show shares a timeslot with Kimmel.

So far, among the two shows, The Tonight Show has dominated in TV ratings. However, Jimmy Kimmel Live is fast on Fallon’s heels in the digital department. After a stellar debut week (avg 6.2 million viewers), Fallon’s ratings have come back to Earth (avg 1.8 million viewers in its 2nd week). A report from Nielsen “SocialGuide”’s data, the number of impressions on Twitter for each show are comparable, and Kimmel’s uptick in viewership means that the margin between the two shows is closer than you think. These two talk-show stalwarts look to be set to compete for years to come, and ready to take on all challengers. [11].

 

The End of an Era?

Will this Aereo antennae (left) be the end of TV as we know it? [12]

On February 14, 2012, a company called Aereo created a product that was designed, in their eyes, to be the future of television. Aereo created a mini-sized antennae that effectively replaced a cable box and allowed consumers to “break free” from cable companies [12], all for a very affordable price of $80 a year. However, by doing so, Aereo was breaking many rules by not paying retransmission fees to the networks it carried, something that the cable providers are required to do. As such, cable companies swarmed Aereo with suits and injunctions within months, but to no avail [13]. 2+ years later, Aereo is still operational, and now more faces have joined in the fight against them, including ABC.

Aereo founder Chet Kanojia [15]

Specifically, their case against Aereo is set to go to Supreme Court review on April 22, 2014, and will likely be resolved by the end of June. If they lose, Aereo could be a signal of what is to come, with other startups following suit, and ducking retransmission fees. However, even if the networks win this battle, has the issue gained enough traction that it has gone down an irreversible path? Many Aereo subscribers, and consumers fed up with their cable companies, are embracing this new technology and championing it as the next big thing. Nobody knows just how this case will play out, but everyone knows that the repercussions will be massive [15][14]

 

Fighting Fire with Fire

Scandal’s growing social media numbers

Scandal’s growing social media numbers [16]

Recent advances in broadcast technology have seriously hindered TV’s chances at remaining a top broadcast medium in the past few years. Internet piracy, DVR and online streaming services have all impeded on the television’s reign atop the media market. However, it seems that ABC has found a way to turn the tables and use these new developments to their advantage.

The best example of this is ABC’s smash hit show Scandal. ABC has allowed the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, to run rampant on social media, and she does so with finesse. Her constant involvement and interaction with fans throughout the show’s run has led to a massive social media following for everyone from Rhimes, to the show’s star, Kerry Washington, to Scandal’s official social media accounts.

To show just how astronomical its rise has been, take Scandal’s social media growth from its premiere up to the third season finale on April 17, 2014. At the former, Scandal had about 500,000 connections on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube combined. As of the third season finale, Scandal has 1.4 million views on its official Youtube page, 2.6 million followers on Twitter and almost 5 million fans on Facebook. As you would expect, Scandal’s most popular demographic is in the 18-49 range, who – not so coincidentally – are the demographic most present on social media networks [16].

Works Cited

[1] THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Disney and ABC Shareholders Solidly Approve Merger Deal

[2] All portraits courtesy of disneyabctv.com

[3] THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY REPORTS FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS FOR FISCAL 2014

[4] Modern Family – The Television Academy

[5] girltalkhq – ‘Scandal’ & ‘Greys Anatomy’ Creator Shonda Rhimes To Receive Diversity Award

[6] Deadline – Soapy Drama From David O. Russell & Susannah Grant Gets ABC Series Order

[7] Deadline – Bryan Singer To Direct & Exec Produce CBS Series ‘Battle Creek’ From Vince Gilligan & David Shore

[8] IMDB – Bryan Singer photos

[9] tvovermind – Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Agree To Play Nice

[10] CBSNews – Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman on “Late Show”

[11] thewrap.com – Jimmy Fallon vs. Jimmy Kimmel: The New Late Night Fight, by the Numbers

[12] “Love is in the Aereo” – Aereo.com press release

[13] “Aereo Prevails” – Aereo.com press release

[14] USAToday – Supreme Court case could test future of broadcast TV

[15] Fortune – What happens if broadcasters lose the Aereo case?

[16] How Social Media Helps Drive ABC’s ‘Scandal’

Buenavista/Disney Pictures

Posted on by 
By Ahmed Sabih

Image courtesy of thewaltdisneystudios.com

Company History

The Walt Disney Studios was founded in 1923 under the moniker “The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio”. The company built its early success on its slate of animated classics such as Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and maintaining success with these animated pictures with hits like The Lion King and Aladdin. [1] Buena Vista is the company, owned by Disney, which distributes the content from the divisions under Disney. These divisions include Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios, Touchstone Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and others. Disney also has subsidiaries in Pixar Animation Studios and recently acquired Lucasfilm. [2] [3]

Key Executives

Robert A. Iger – Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company

BOB IGER

Bob Iger – Photo courtesy of thewaltdisneycompany.com

 Alan F. Horn – Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios

Alan Horn - Photo courtesy of thewaltdisneycompany.com

Alan Horn – Photo courtesy of thewaltdisneycompany.com

 Alan Bergman – President, The Walt Disney Studios

Alan Bergman - Photo courtesy of waltdisneystudios.com

Alan Bergman – Photo courtesy of waltdisneystudios.com

Financials

Disney has begun its fiscal 2014 (Oct-Dec) strong, with revenues hitting just above $12.3 billion, an increase from fourth quarter fiscal 2013 revenues of $11.5 billion. Highlights of the past fiscal year include Earnings Per Share (EPS) values increasing 8 percent to a record $3.38. Disney also set records for Net Income, which increased rose 8 percent to  $6.1 billion. [4] [5]

Current Slate

Frozen

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Frozen, Disney’s big animated hit of the holiday season, released on November 27th, 2013.  Led by the voices of Kirsten Bell and Idina Menzel, Frozen is the tale of Anna and Elsa, two sisters whose lives change when Elsa’s magical wintery powers accidentally set off an eternal winter. Elsa retreats to the mountains and it is up to Anna, her friend Kristoff with his reindeer Sven, and childhood snowman come-alive Olaf to help Elsa tame her powers and rescue the village. [6] [7]

Much of Disney’s success during the past quarter can be attributed to Frozen, which saw record-breaking numbers. With a production budget of $150 million, Frozen‘s opening weekend saw domestic totals of $67.3 million. However, as of April 20th, Frozen is about to eclipse a whopping $400 million domestic total. Worldwide, Frozen has reached over $1.1 billion, which is the highest ever gross for an animated film. [8] With further windows opening later down the road, DVD sales, merchandise and soundtrack sales should help Disney cash in fully on the success of Frozen.

The film did well with regards to reviews. Metacritic gave it 74 out of 100 based on 43 critic reviews. [9] Many critics lauded Frozen as a return to the excellence of Disney’s pedigree. Certainly the numbers can back that statement. In addition, reviews praised the technical aspect of the film, citing the 3-D Animation to be top notch. Frozen won two Academy Awards — Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Kicking off the blockbuster season, Disney continued the big-time Marvel franchise starting on April 4th. With big name stars such as Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson,  the film follows the story of Steve Rogers, Captain America, as he must adapt to modern times and modern crimes. When a colleague at S.H.I.E.L.D is attacked, a conspiracy web is revealed, the consequences of which are dire. Captain America teams up with the Black Widow and Falcon in order to put an end to the plot, but they are met by unexpected foes. [10]

As the summer season is starting up, Captain America started strong on its opening weekend, grossing $95 million domestically. Its budget is estimated at $170 million, and as of April 20th, The Winter Soldier has grossed over $201 million domestically, with a worldwide gross of over $586 million. As we get into the thick of the summer season, it should have the legs to gain more money for Disney and deliver on its blockbuster potential. [11] One way Disney is helping to promote its long-term success is by offering fans their own S.H.I.E.L.D badge through May 25th and spreading the word of the film into the midst of the summer. [12]

Review-wise, The Winter Soldier has done well, scoring a 70 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 44 critic reviews. Generally, the film is praised among critics for its acting, and special effects and ability to deliver as a sequel in the superhero genre. However, the general consensus is that the film isn’t truly remarkable enough to stay in the memories of audiences for too long. [13]

What Lies Ahead

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Disney’s summer slate looks to fill the summer with star power. Million Dollar Arm, set to release May 16th, stars Mad Men’s front man Jon Hamm. Inspired by true events, the story follows baseball scout JB Bernstein’s quest to find the next star pitcher. He travels to India to make a reality-show competition to find a cricket player that will sign a league contract as a pitcher. The film co-stars Slumdog Millionaire actor Madhur Mittal, and it will likely look to capitalize on his international presence. [14]

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Opposite Million Dollar Arm is Disney’s Maleficent, starring blockbuster specialist Angelina Jolie. An homage to Disney’s roots, the film is about the untold story of Maleficent, the villain from the 1959 classic, Sleeping Beauty, and her transformation of heart to stone, revealing her reasoning to curse the baby Aurora. Elle Fanning brings extra star power in a supporting role, as does Charlto Copley and Sam Riley. [15] The soundtrack will feature hit-artist Lana Del Rey, with early commercials featuring her re-imagining of the song, “Once Upon A Dream” from the 1959 film.

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Looking even further ahead, Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm brings the biggest blockbuster of them all, Star Wars, to the horizon of Disney. Buzz is already being generated for the films, bringing out the big guns by signing J.J. Abrams as the director for the new trilogy. As of now, the first of the trilogy is set to release around December 2015. [16]

 

Sources

[1] The Walt Disney Studios Company History

[2] The Studios of Disney

[3] Disney acquires Lucasfilm Ltd

[4] Disney First Quarter Earnings 2014

[5] Disney Fourth Quarter Earnings 2014

[6] IMDB – Frozen

[7] Box Office Mojo – Frozen

[8] Deadline: Frozen Highest International Grossing Animated Picture of All Time

[9] Metacritic – Frozen

[10] IMDB – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

[11] Box Office Mojo – Captain America

[12] SHIELD Badge Promotion

[13] Metacritic – Captain America

[14] IMDB – Million Dollar Arm

[15] IMDB – Maleficent

[16] IMDB – Star Wars (2015)

Netflix

Link

By Carly Goldstein
Company Logo

Company Logo

100 Winchester Circle

Los Gatos, CA 95032

(408) 540-3700

www.netflix.com

Executives [1]

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Kelley Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Tawni Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Courtesy of Netflix.com

David Wells, Chief Financial Officer

About [2]

netflix_jpg_280x280_crop_q95

Courtesy of internettrailer.com

As a leader in internet television, Netflix not only allows its members to instantly stream movies and television for a monthly fee, but also provides customers with original content. Users can also choose to select and receive content through the mail for an additional monthly cost. Competitors of the service include Hulu and Amazon.

History [3]

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Courtesy of http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/

Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. The company provided online movie rentals that would be delivered to the costumer’s home within several business days. In 2007, Netflix introduced streaming, allowing subscribers to instantly watch movies and television shows on their electronic devices. Netflix began to introduce original content in 2012.   As of 2013, the service has over 40 million users globally.

Financials

Domestically, the company reported an increase in net additions of 2.33 million in the fourth quarter, 14% above the 2.05 million of the same quarter of the previous year.[4] Internationally, Netflix reported a net addition of 1.74 million in the fourth quarter, increasing the number of international members to 10.93 million. [4] In the coming months, Netflix aims to broaden its international presence by offering its services in Germany. [5]

Courtesy of Google Finance

Courtesy of Google Finance

In April of 2013, the company tested a new membership plan in which subscribers could simultaneously stream on four different devices for $11.99 per month. [6] Netflix continues to adjust their prices and aims to offer three different membership options for new members in the coming year. The options include the $11.99 price as well as a $6.99 subscription for those who only require instant streaming on one device.[4]

The first quarterly report of 2014 will be shared on April 21st. However, consensus estimates a dramatic increase from the first quarterly report of 2013. [7] Currently, the Netflix stock rests at 346.73. 

Original Content 

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Courtesy of http://o.aolcdn.com/

Beginning in 2012, Netflix has produced a variety of original programming including television series, documentaries and children’s programs. Lillyhammer, a Norwegian drama starring Steven Van Zandt, is considered Netflix’s first series and premiered on February 6, 2012.[8] Other original content includes The Ropes, Bad Samaritans, Hemlock Grove, and Turbo FAST. The site has also premiered a variety of documentaries and comedy specials such as Mitt and The Square. The later was the first movie of its kind to be nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary. [9]

Courtesy of upload.wikimedia.org

Courtesy of upload.wikimedia.org

Netflix also produces material that no longer has a place on television. Several years after it’s cancellation, Arrested Development was resurrected for a fourth season on the streaming service in May of 2013. [10]  In 2014, the season earned a Golden Globe nomination for Jason Bateman for best actor in a comedy series. [11] Netflix will also be reviving The Killing after it’s cancellation on AMC. [12] The show’s final season will premiere on the site some time this year.

House_of_Cards_title_card

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On February 1, 2013, Netflix released House of Cards. The show, based on the English television program of the same name, follows Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, a ruthless politician who does whatever it takes to gain more political power. House of Cards also stars Robin Wright and Kate Mara. The program received favorable reviews from critics, earning 3 Emmys and a Golden Globe after its first season[13], becoming the first show of its kind to do so.

As a result of the success of the first season, Netflix ordered a second season of House of Cards which was released on February 14, 2014. Utilizing Procera Network, it was reported that 15% of users of a particular internet service viewed the first episode within 14 hours of its release, an increase from the 2% of users who watched the first episode of the first season within the premiering weekend. [14]

10 days before the premiere of the second season, Netflix announced the renewal of House of Cards for a third season. [15]

Courtesy of www.galaticnewsone.com

Courtesy of www.galaticnewsone.com

Orange is the New Black premiered on Netflix on July 11, 2013. The program stars Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman, a thirty-year old woman sentenced to 15 months in jail after she is convicted of crime committed ten years before. The show is based on a memoir by Piper Kerman of the same name. The show was nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance by an Actress in a drama television series, as well as a Grammy for its theme song. [16]

Netflix announced the premiere date of the second season of Orange is the New Black after the credits of the final episode of House of Cards. [17] The show’s second season is set to be available on June 6, 2014.

Looking Ahead

Courtesy of www.wired.com

Courtesy of www.wired.com

Within this year, Netflix will be premiering numerous projects. Animated comedy, Bojack Horse, staring Will Arnett and Aaron Paul, will be released in the coming months.[18] As will Marco Polo, a adventure drama produced by The Weinstein Company.[19] The company will continue to show its interest in children’s programming when animated shows Puss in Boots, King Julien and Veggie Tales in the House are available for streaming later this year. [20] The second seasons of Orange is the New Black and Hemlock Grove will also premiere in June and July, respectively.

In 2015, Netflix will not only release its third season of House of Cards, but also release new original series. Science fiction drama Sense8, from the writers of The Matrix, will debut sometime in 2015. [21] Also set to be available for streaming in 2015, Narcos, a drama depicting the Medellin Cartel in Colombia, and Grace and Frankie a situational comedy staring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. [22]

Courtesy of http://www.digitaltrends.com/

Courtesy of http://www.digitaltrends.com/

In February of 2014, it was announced that Disney will collaborate with Netflix to create four original series for Marvel heroes: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. The Marvel’s Defenders project will cost over $200 million over a three year span and film predominately in New York City. Filming will begin July of 2014 and premiere on Netflix sometime in 2015. [23]

Sources

[1] “Officers and Directors”. netflix.com. RT: 4/10/14

[2] “Company Overview” . pr.netflix.com RT: 4/11/14

[3] “Company Timeline”. pr.netflix.com RT: 4/11/14

[4] “Letter to Shareholders” . ir.netflix.com. January 22, 2014. RT: 4/11/14

[5] “Netflix Inc. Will Arrive in Germany”. Value Walk. April 16, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[6] “Netflix Consumers Get Ready”. Bloomberg Businessweek. January 24, 2014. RT:    4/18/14

[7] “Earnings for Netflix Projected to Rise”. Forbes. April 16, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[8] “Lillyhammer”. wikipedia.org. RT: 4/15/14

[9] “The Square Awards”. IMDB.com. RT: 4/15/14

[10] “New Arrested Development Season”. The New York Times. April 4, 2013. RT: 4/15/14

[11] “Golden Globes 2014”. Los Angeles Times. January 12, 2014. RT: 4/15/14

[12] “The Killing Shock”. Entertainment Weekly. November 15, 2013. RT: 4/16/14

[13] “House of Cards Awards”. IMDB.com. RT: 4/13/14

[14] “House of Cards Viewing Soars”. Variety. February 14, 2014. RT: 4/13/14

[15] “Netflix Renews House of Cards”. The Hollywood Reporter. February 4, 2014. RT:  4/13/14

[16] “Orange is the New Black Awards”. IMDB.com. RT: 4/13/14

[17] “Orange is the New Black Season 2 Date Revealed”. eonline.com. February 15, 2014.  RT: 4/13/14

[18] “Netflix Adds Bojack Horseman”. Variety. December 11, 2013. RT: 4/18/14

[19] “Netflix Announces Pickup”. Variety. January 14, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[20] “DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots”. videoink.com. March 13, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[21] “Matrix Creators to Film Netflix Series”. Chicago Tribune. March 17, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[22] “Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin to Star in in Netflix Sitcom”. Los Angeles Times. March 19,  2014. RT: 4/20/14

[23] “Disney to Spend $200 Million on Marvel Series”. Variety. February 26, 2014. RT:  4/20/14