Disney/ABC– (TV broadcast & cable properties only)

by Jessica Mendelson
Image courtesy of Deadline

Image courtesy of Deadline

HISTORY

Founded in 2004 Disney/ABC Television Group is a large division of The Walt Disney Company that is in charge of, “global entertainment and news television properties, owned television stations group and a radio business [1].” The Group is currently run by Disney Media Networks President Anne Sweeney [3] but by the end of this year she will be succeeded by Ben Sherwood [6].

Photo courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Anne Sweeney – Photo courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Photo courtesy of Disney ABC TV

Ben Sherwood – Photo courtesy of Disney ABC TV

FINANCIALS

DIS Stock Price 2014 - Image courtesy of Etrade

DIS Stock Price 2014 – Image courtesy of Etrade

The Group is a division of the much larger Walt Disney Company, which is a publicly traded New York Stock Exchange Company labeled as DIS. Their market cap, how much the company is worth, is $156.87 billion. Their most current stock price is $92.51. They pay annual dividends, and at the end of their fiscal year on September 27, 2014 their net income was $7.5 billion. The companies Media Networks (which Disney/ABC TV Group falls under) consist of 45% of their revenue. The Network’s 4th quarter net income increased 5% to 5.2 billion, after a $10 million loss in cable and a $5 million gain in broadcast. [27] [28]

THE BUSINESS

The Group is divided into 6 different businesses that run ABC and Disney Television, production and distribution, and radio development. These include: ABC Entertainment Group (which is a joint business of ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios), ABC Family, ABC News, ABC Owned Television Stations Group, Disney/ABC Television Group Digital Media, and Disney/ABC Domestic Television [7].

The biggest part of the Group’s fall primetime season is 6 new shows created by the ABC Entertainment Group. The shows are; “Forever,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “‘black-ish,” “Cristela,” “Manhattan Love Story,” and “Selfie.” In the past this division has produced shows such as: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Modern Family,” “Scandal, and “Dancing with the Stars [4].”

Image courtesy of abcmedianet.com

Image courtesy of abcmedianet.com

FALL SEASON

In the Nielsen November Sweeps period ABC had the most impressive numbers across the board for non-sports programming for adults 18-49. ABC’s press release on November 25, 2014 [5] showed that ABC beat out CBS by 31%, NBC by 31% and Fox by 61% in terms of overall viewers.

  • Up 1% in Viewership (Adults 18-49) from last November – which is equal to 100,000 more sets of eyeballs.
  • Number one for 4 of 7 nights in any week in November – this also includes the top spot for every Thursday thanks to their 8:00-10:00 lineup.
  • Highest Rated TV Series – out of the Top 15 series for the sweeps ABC boasts 6 of them. They also have the two top dramas which are tied for number 1, “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder.”
  • ABC is number one in 10pm hour for second year – this year (2014) and last year (2013), for Monday-Friday, ABC is top for this hour, which is an important lead-in to local news at affiliate stations. [5]

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Successes

1. How to Get Away with Murder

Image courtesy of Google Play

Image courtesy of Google Play

From executive producer Shonda Rhimes this drama follows law Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) as she involves herself with four of her students [10].

  • Latest Thursday rating was 3.1 and viewers were 9.82 million in adults 18-49 [18].
  • Part of the, “Shondaland” Thursday lineup in the 1 hour 10:00pm spot [19].
  • In ratings and total viewers the show was up 7% in it’s last week [20].
  • The show is currently on a holiday break until 1/29/15 [10].

Thursday has been a HUGE night for ABC this fall. “Grey’s Anatomy” is 8-9, “Scandal” is 9-10 and then the newcomer “HTGAWM” follows that at 10. Each show shares executive producer Shonda Rhimes. For all of November sweeps ABC won Thursday Nights for the 4 consecutive weeks of the period.

2. Forever

Image courtesy CinemaBlend

Image courtesy CinemaBlend

Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffud) is the top medical examiner in NYC, the secret behind his success? He examines the dead to try to find an answer to his own immortality [11].

  • 1.0 rating in adults 18-49 which is up from the previous weeks 0.9 [21].
  • Tuesday 10:00 1-hour time slot.

3. ‘black-ish

Image courtesy jezebel.com

Image courtesy jezebel.com

In this comedy Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) wonders if his quintessential life in the suburbs with his wife, daughter and son have, “brought too much assimilation for [his] black family [12].”

  • 2.6 rating and 7.82 million viewers in adults 18-49 [22].
  • Wednesday 9:30 half-hour time slot.

‘black-ish” has an excellent lead in with “Modern Family” being in the half-hour slot before it. “Modern Family” has around 10 million viewers, so that’s helping boost numbers for “‘black-ish.”

4. Cristela

Image courtesy of subscene.com

Image courtesy of subscene.com

Cristela (Cristela Alonzo) is in her sixth and final year of law school but her traditional Mexican-American family is having trouble understanding her pursuit of this career. Cristela tries to balance old traditions with the modern world that she is working and living in [13].

  • 1.0 rating and 5.19 million viewers in adults 18-49 [23].
  • Fridays at 8:30, half-hour time slot.

The full season has been ordered for the show, meaning 9 new episodes are on its way for the freshman comedy [24].

 

 

Flops

1. Selfie

Image courtesy of kenlevine.blogspot.com

Image courtesy of ABC Network

Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) has tons of social media ‘friends’ but seems to be missing some actual friends. She asks the help of a marketing guru played by John Cho in order to ‘rebrand’ herself to make real-life connections [15].

  • The show order was for 13 shows, but it was canceled after 6 airings [9].
  • It’s been rumored by the shows executive producer, Emily Kapnek, that the entire series, including the 7 un-aired shows, will be released on Hulu [8].
  • Its last rating was 1.5, 4.7 million viewers in adults 18-49 [9].

2. Manhattan Love Story

Image courtesy of www.broadwayworld.com

Image courtesy of ABC Network

This comedy exposes the differences in thought between men and women as they begin dating. This leads to opposing thoughts, and differing actions between new couple Dana (Analeigh Tipton) and Peter (Jake McDorman) [14].

  • After 4 episodes aired the show was pulled [16].
  • Premiered with a 1.3, 4.3 million viewers in adults 18-49

Selfie” and “Love Story” were back-to-back half hour-comedies that filled up the 9:00 hour on Tuesdays. It was a tough lead-in for ABC’s drama “Forever” at 10:00 [17]. However, “Forever” hung-on for a full season where as the comedies got the axe.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

ABC has 3 new dramas, “American Crime,” “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “Secrets and Lies,” and a comedy, “Galavant,” slated to premiere in early 2015. There’s also the drama “The Whispers” and the comedy “Fresh Off the Boat” which have yet to be slated [2].

Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Under the ABC Owned Station Groups, Disney/ABC is launching a new syndicated talk show with host Tyra Banks. The title as of now is, “The F-A-B,” which stands for Fun and Beautiful. It will include a panel of lifestyle gurus who will answer questions and talk to celebrities about what’s going on in social media, food, fashion and more [25].

ABC and producer Mark Gordon are writing a comedy with, and starring Iliza Schlesinger, called “Forever 31.” The hope is to make Schlesinger the top female in primetime comedy. The show depicts the struggles of her and her friends trying to become adults and the comedic trials of their everyday lives [26].

Sources

[1] Disney/ABC Television Group Homepage, disneyabctv.com, RT: 11/25/14

[2] ABC Unveils 2014-15 Primetime Lineup, 5/12/14, abcmedianet.com, RT: 11/25/14

[3] Disney/ABC Television Group Executivesdisneyabctv.com, RT: 11/25/14

[4] Disney/ABC Entertainment Group Overviewdisneyabctv.com, RT: 11/25/14

[5] ABC November 2014 Sweeps Press Release, 11/25/14, abcmedianet.com, RT: 11/29/14

[6] Ben Sherwood to Succeed Anne Sweeney, 3/24/14, abcmedianet.com, RT: 11/29/14

[7] The Walt Disney Company Media Networksthewaltdisneycompany.com, RT: 11/29/14

[8] ‘Selfie’ Unaired ABC Episodes Head to Hulu, 11/24/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[9] ABC Cancels ‘Selfie’, 11/7/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[10] How to Get Away with Murderabc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[11] Foreverabc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[12] black-ishabc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[13] Cristelaabc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[14] Manhattan Love Storyabc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[15] Selfieabc.go.com, RT: 11/29/14

[16] ABC Cancels ‘Manhattan Love Story,’ 10/24/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[17] ABC Tuesday Comedies Premiere Low, 10/1/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[18] ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ Goes Out On a High as ABC Dominates Thursday, 11/21/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[19] ABC Wins Third Straight Thursday as ‘Scandal’ Hits A 6-Week High & ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ a Three-Week High, 11/14/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[20] ABC Hits a Season High in Adults 18-49 and Claims 7 of the Top 20 TV Shows the Week of November 17, 2014, 11/25/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[21] TV Ratings Tuesday, 11/19/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[22] Wednesday Final Ratings, 11/20/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[23] Friday Final Ratings, 11/24/14, tvbythenumbers.com, RT: 11/29/14

[24] ABC Gives ‘Cristela’ Full-Season Pickup, 11/24/14, Variety, RT: 11/29/14

[25] Syndicated Daytime Talker, ‘The F-A-B,’ 10/20/14, thefutoncritic.com, RT: 11/25/14

[26] Iliza Shlesinger To Topline ABC Comedy, 11/20/14, Deadline, RT: 11/25/14

[27] The Walt Disney Company Quarter Four and Fiscal Year 2014 Reports, 11/6/14, thewaltdisneycompany.com, RT: 11/29/14

[28] Disney Stock Information, thewaltdisneycompany.com, RT: 11/29/14

Disney-ABC

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’

Disney/ABC

By Emily Kelberman

 

Print

Courtesy: Disney/ABC

Disney/ABC Television Group

500 Buena Vista Street

Burbank, CA 91521

818.560.1000

About the Company:

Disney/ABC Television Group operates many different platforms of media including entertainment properties, news properties, owned television stations, radio, and publishing businesses. The group includes ABC Entertainment Group, ABC News, ABC owned television properties, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family, SOAPnet, as well as Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Disney Media Distribution. The company also has equity interest in A+E Networks[1] [2] [3]

Key Executives [4]:

Iger_1

Courtesy: Walt Disney Company
Bob Iger

Robert Iger – Chairman & CEO of Walt Disney Company

Courtesy of Disney/ABC

Courtesy: Disney/ABC
Anne Sweeney

Anne Sweeney – President & Co-Chair of Disney/ABC Television Group

paullee

Courtesy: Disney/ABC
Paul Lee

Paul Lee – President, ABC Entertainment Group

marsh

Courtesy: Disney/ABC
Gary Marsh

Gary Marsh – President, Disney Channels Worldwide

For more information on Disney/ABC Television Group’s executives click here.

Financials:

Disney/ABC Television Group is apart of The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS). This includes the company’s global entertainment, broadcast news, owned television stations, distribution, publishing, and radio business. The Walt Disney Company is also made up of other segments such as Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products, and Interactive. [5]

The company delivered strong results for the third quarter of 2013. Disney’s Media Networks Group had an operating income of $2.3 billion, up 8% from the previous quarter. Revenue rose 5% to $5.35 billion. The broadcasting division of the group fell 20% due to higher programming costs, yet Disney/ABC’s cable networks operating income was up 12% to $2.09 billion. [6]

Disney & Technology [7]:

  • Disney Using Tablet

lead

Courtesy: Disney Channel [9]

Disney/ABC Television Group is taking advantage of the new technology of tablets, beginning to use it for television purposes. Disney is going to launch the first nine episodes of a new series on mobile devices and tablets before it airs on television. The show, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West, features a cat in pink cowboy hat and it hopes to reach a pre-school audience on a screen like the iPad, in which many kids have been brought up viewing. The series will premiere on the Watch Disney Junior App and also on a related website in late November 2013. The television show will then premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior early next year. The application keeps audiences linked to their cable operators. Viewers must enter their subscriber information in order to watch the shows on the tablet. [8] [9]

  • Disney Teams with Roku

roku1

Courtesy: Variety [10]

Disney and ESPN have recently reached a new deal with Roku, which is a streaming player that can deliver movies instantly from Netflix onto a television using the Internet. Now, viewers can stream live cable-TV channels and programming to their televisions if they are currently subscribing to a participating TV provider. Participating viewers can watch their programming on the devices of their choice, creating a more enjoyable viewing experience. [10]

Disney/ABC & Marvel [11]:

527b1c93c190e

Courtesy: Marvel [14]

Disney has recently acquired the rights to Marvel, which allows the Disney company to use that franchise in all aspects of the company. It has been recently announced that Disney and Netflix have partnered together to bring viewers a new miniseries based on Marvel’s most popular characters.

It will exclusively start streaming on Netflix in 2015 with four serialized programs, preparing the way for a miniseries programming event. The miniseries is produced by Marvel Television and ABC Television Studios and is said to have groundbreaking live-action storytelling. This is following a previous deal with Netflix, which allows members to watch a wide range of Disney, ABC TV, and Disney channel movies wherever Netflix is available. Marvel is a well-known and loved brand with movies such as ‘Iron Man’ and ‘The Avengers’, so pioneering the new miniseries idea will hopefully take this form of live-action television viewing to the next level.

The series is going to focus on “Daredevil”, “Jessica Jones”, “Iron Fist”, and “Luke Cage” separately, leading up to an Avenger-style combination of the characters to create the miniseries titled The Defenders. This new platform that Disney is testing will enable the viewers to watch when and where they want, granting flexibility. ABC’s new show, “Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” has become a hit for the network, giving the new miniseries a promising outlook [12] [13] [14]

 ESPN & College Basketball:

kentucky-michigan-state-ncaa-ratings-espn

Courtesy: Variety [15]

Fall is the season of college basketball, which is great news for ESPN, a Disney owned company. The first game of the season, Kentucky vs. Michigan, attracted four million viewers. According to Nielson, this is the second largest audience ESPN has had for a non-conference game. The Duke vs. Kansas game averaged 2.98 million viewers, which is higher than in previous years. ESPN is also thriving in the local markets. The only cable show program that was higher in the men’s 18-49 bracket was “Sons of Anarchy” on FX. The interest in college basketball seems to be growing, which will benefit Disney and ESPN. [15] [16]

Programming:

The fall season is a showcase of all the new shows ABC and other networks have to offer for the new season. Disney/ABC has recently confirmed a new singing competition called “Rising Star”. It is a show that has been breaking records in Israel, with more than half of TV audiences tuning in to watch the show. ABC is planning on airing the show in Summer 2014 with a 10-episode run. With the summer slot, it will not compete with other singing competition shows, such as Fox’s “American Idol” and NBC’s “The Voice”, seeing as those occupy fall spots. This show differs from other singing competition shows because viewers vote for live performances during real time through an application. The show reinvents the reality singing competition model with the use of new technology. Disney/ABC acquired the show from Keshet DP, parent company of Dick Clark Productions[17] [18]

  • Shows to be Canceled/Renewed:

For the current 2013 season, ABC has canceled “Lucky Seven” and “Back in the Game”. A few shows such as “Betrayal”, “The Neighbors”, “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland”, “Trophy Wife”, and “Super Fun Night” with Rebel Wilson are likely to be canceled by the end of the season in May, depending on ratings.

“Last Man Standing”, “Nashville”, and “The Goldbergs” are likely to get a renewal for next season, but it will depend on the ratings. “Castle”, “The Middle”, “Once Upon a Time”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Revenge”, “Modern Family”, “Scandal”, and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” are certain to be renewed by May. [19]

ABC is now getting ready for its midseason premiere with returning shows like “The Bachelor” and “Suburgatory”, as well as four new shows. The new shows include “Resurrection”, “Killer Women”, “Mixology”, and “Mind Games”. The TV group has decided to push “Revenge” back to the 10pm slot for the midseason. [20][21][22]

Sources:

[1] About Disney/ABC Television Group

[2] Disney/ABC Careers

[3] Business Week Snapshot of Disney/ABC

[4] About Disney/ABC Executives

[5] Disney Financials

[6] LA Times – Disney Financials

[7] NY Times – Disney & Tablet

[8] Sheriff Callie – IMDB

[9] Disney Channel – About Sheriff Callie

[10] Variety- Disney Lands a Deal With Roku

[11] Yahoo Finance – Disney Press Release Regarding Marvel

[12] Wired – Marvel and Netflix Deal

[13] Variety – Marvel and Netflix

[14] Marvel Website – Logo

[15] Variety – Ratings for ESPN 2013

[16] TV by the Numbers – ESPN Ratings

[17] Variety – ABC Greenlights New Singing Competition Show

[18] TV by the Numbers – ABC’s ‘Rising Star’

[19] TV by the Numbers – ABC’s Recent Ratings

[20] Variety – ABC Midseason Premieres

[21] Hollywood Reporter – ‘Revenge’ Pushed Back

[22] Huffington Post – ABC Full Midseason Schedule

Disney/ABC Television Group

By Mila Morgensztern

 2000px-Disney-ABC_International_Television_logo (1)

 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521-4581, United States. (2)

Tel: 818-560-1000

Fax: 818-560-1930

www.disneyabctv.com

COMPANY OVERVIEW: (3)

The Walt Disney company is one of the most diversify international entertainment company. They operate in many different sectors such as Disney media Network( broadcasting, cable, publishing…), Disney Parks and Resorts, The Walt Disney Studios (Movies, Music, TV), Disney Consumer Products (merchandising) and Disney Interactive (digital media platforms). Overall, all those segments have been added overtime. Furthermore, this corporation is established in a variety of Countries such as Japan, France, Australia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Romania and many others. However, this report will only focus on a section of The Walt Disney Studios as it will only explore the recent TV department news.

BUT WHERE DOES SUCH A MAJOR CORPORATION COMES FROM? (4)

Originally, this company was called Buena Vista Television Communications and was launched in September 1995. But the following year the company acquired Capital Cities Communications. In addition, in 2001, Disney/ Buena Vista Television group also acquired Saban entertainment and Fox Family Worldwide. And in 2002, the company changed its name to Disney/ABC Television Group. Additionally,today due to their collaboration with Apple, the company was the first to benefit from the hit TV series via Itunes.

EXECUTIVES: (5)

President ABC entertainment groupPaul Lee

Management team (5)

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Disney/ABC groupPeter Seymour

Management Team (5)

President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channels Worldwide – Gary Marsh:

Management team (5)

Executive Vice President, Global Communications, Disney ABC group – Kevin Brockman:

Management team (5)

FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT OF 2012: 

12% increase net income from the previous year. It rose to nearly 1.2 billion dollars with a revenue of 4.8 billion dollars. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley and Benjamin Swinburn, explained that it might be due to improvements in attraction parks. In addition, the parks revenues keep increasing and went up to 3.2 billion dollars for this quarter. (6) In addition, below you can see The Walt Disney company Quarterly Data Comparison. Overall, it can be said that this company main aspect is that, it is constant in term or revenues and net incomes.

 

chart
Additionally, Disney/ABC consists of all the Walt Disney company and ABC branded Television properties; which includes ABC television network and ABC entertainment.
 (7)
Picture Walt Disney Studio (6)
 
OVERALL, IT HAS ASSETS IN MANY INDUSTRIES: (8)
DISNEY/ABC MAIN COMPETITORS:
                    DISNEY/ABC TV SHOWS’ DIFFUSION, LATEST NEWS AND RELEASES.

ABC, ABC familly winter/spring TV diffusion: (10) 

  • Modern Family, Comedy – Teenagers – TV show about a big family.
  • Grey’s Anatomy, Drama – Teenagers and Adults – TV show about the life in a hospital.
  • Once upon a time, Fantazy/Drama – Teenagers and Adults – TV show about an imaginary world.
  • Revenge, Drama – Teenagers and Adults – TV show about a young woman that wants to revenge her father.
  • Pretty Little Liars, Drama – Teenagers – Tv show about 5 girls in high school.

Disney Channel TV shows 2012-2013: (11) 

  • Special episode of “Wizards of Waverly Place” on September 27.                     Comedy – Teenager- TV show on Wizards
  • On Disney Junior, on January 11th: “Sofia the first”.                                                                    Cartoon – Kids – TV show on Princess
  • Order of thrid season of “A.N.T. Farm” October 2012.                                                   Sitcom – Kids – Comedy
  • Order of second season of “Dog with a Blog” on February 4th.                                     Comedy – Teenagers – TV show about a Dog and a Family


IN ADDITION, SOME NEW RELEASES TOOK PLACE IN 2012.

For instance:

” Last resort “ American military drama TV show, put on air the 27th of September 2012 until January 14th 2013 as it was originally a 13-episodes run. It was created by Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek(12)

 Actors: Andre Braugher, Scott Speedman and Daisy Betts. (13)

 

“666 Park Avenue”: Drama TV show that started September 30th, 2012 on ABC. It was created by David Wilcox and is about the tenants of a building in Manhattan NYC. (12)

Picture (12)

 Actors: Rachel Taylor, Dave Annable and Robert Buckley. (13)

 

“Nashville” : American musical drama TV show created by Callie Khouri. The serie first releases was on ABC, the 10 October 2012. Overall, the TV show is about two female singers trying to become stars. (12)

Picture (12)

Actors: Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere and Clare Bowen(13)

 

And the “Neighbors” is what is called a science fiction sitcom. The TV shows talks about a family living with an extraterrestrial community. The serie was created by Dan Fogelman(12)

Picture (12)

 Actors: Dan Fogelman, Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger(13)

 

HOWEVER, ABC AND DISNEY WILL ALSO HOST TV PREMIERES AND NEW SEASONS, THAT HAS OR WIILL BE RELEASED LATER IN 2013.

 

Red Widow – March 3rd 2013: Drama tv show created by Melissa Rosenberg. A thriller with the main character as a widow housewife trying to protect her family. (14)

Picture (15)
 
 
Dancing with the stars – March 8th 2013. A dance competition that comes from the United Kingdom. It is currently its 16th season and is on the air since the summer of 2005. (14)

Find the Best (16)

Host: Tom Bergeron(13)

Judges: Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman.(13)

 

How to live with your parents (for the rest of your life) – April 3rd 2013. It was created by Claudia Lonow and, it talks about a young mother recently divorced. (14)

Picture (17)

Actors: Sarah Chalke, Elizabeth Perkins and Rachel Eggleston. (13)

 

Family tools – May 1st 2013. Sitcom created by Bobby Bowman. Based on British sitcom called White Van Man and the story is about a man with no luck. (14)

The Family tools picture (18)

Actors: Chris Bruno and Sergio Enrique. (13)

 

Teen Beach Musical – Summer 2013. Tv show created by Jeffrey Hornaday and produced by Disney Channel. The story talks about a young women that likes surfing and has problems with her parents. (19)

Picture (20)

Actors: Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell and Grace Phipps(13)

 

Code 9 – This summer. It is a reality TV show that does practical jokes with a hidden camera. (19)

Code 9 season 1 French (21)

Actors: Andrew Knott, Heshima Thompson and Liam Boyle. (13)

 

Good luck Charlie – April 2013. TV show on Disney Channel created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen. It talks about a newborn baby coming in the family. (19)

Picture (22)

Actors: Jason Dolley, Bridgit Mendler and Mia Talerico(13)

 

LASTLY, THE CORPORATE NEWS RELATED TO DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP.

In November, They increased their cash dividend by 25%. (22)

In December, The corporation finally acquired completely LucasFilm. (22)

In February, Walt Disney released fiscal information about the first quarter of 2013. It was made on December 29th 2012. (22)

  • Revenues: $11,341 million. (23)
  • Net income: $1,382 million. (23)
  • Free cash flow: $599 million. (23)
  • Compared to the previous year: 5%, 6%, 46% increase respectively.(23)

In February, the company webcasted fiscal earnings results. (22)

In May, there will be the annual shareholders’ meeting. (22)

Furthermore, the main news related to the entire television corporation, was that in the fall of 2013, several television groups are going to launch programs for US-Hispanics, on their networks. (24)

 

REFERENCES:

  1. http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/File:2000px-Disney-ABC_International_Television_logo.png
  2. http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=disney.
  3. http://www.disneyinternational.com/.
  4. http://combosaurus.com/interest/disney-abc-television-group.
  5. http://www.disneyabctv.com/division/index_executives.shtml.
  6. http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/2012-12-06/story/fantasyland-comes-life-magic-kingdom.
  7. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=13728276.
  8. http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.Disney-ABC_Television_Group.daa325c7c7ed5f02.html.
  9. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/02/disney-reports-first-quarter-2012-results.html.
  10. http://www.hypable.com/2012/12/17/winterspring-2013-tv-schedule-see-when-your-favorite-shows-will-return/.
  11. http://www.deadline.com/tag/disney-channel/.
  12. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/abc-shows-fall-tv-2012-2013_n_1581796.html.
  13. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2197797/fullcredits.
  14. http://www.allyourscreens.com/index.php/features2/73-2013-tv-premiere-and-finale-dates.
  15. http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2012/05/upfronts-2012-first-look-at-abcs-red-widow/.
  16. http://reality-tv.findthebest.com/q/45/1544/When-did-Dancing-with-the-Stars-start.
  17. http://www.telechargementz.org/video/series/vf/583548-code-9-saison-01-french-e01-df.html.
  18. http://kinobastion.ru/trejler-the-family-tools-data-vyxoda-seriala/.
  19. http://kidscreen.com/2012/03/13/disney-reveals-programming-slate/.
  20. http://mynewanimatedlife.blogspot.com/2013/02/teen-beach-musical-il-nuovo-disney.html.
  21. http://hookedonhouses.net/2011/05/02/the-duncans-denver-home-on-disneys-good-luck-charlie/.
  22. http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/.
  23. http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/press-releases/pdfs/q1-fy13-earnings.pdf.
  24. http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2012/05/upfronts-2012-first-look-at-abcs-how-to-live-with-your-parents-for-the-rest-of-your-life/.