Disney is new methods to interact younger followers, Dana Walden informed the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Tuesday. Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment on the Walt Disney Co., informed media analyst Ben Swinburne that the corporate is aiming to focus on children and younger households on the social media platforms the place they eat loads of content material — particularly YouTube.
“They’re clearly on YouTube,” Walden mentioned. “And we have a meaningful and great partnership with YouTube. We produce thousands of videos based on our series specifically for YouTube. Disney Junior, I think, has 22 million subscribers. We do that because we know that’s where kids like to consume content. Along with Disney+, we want to keep them engaged. We want to keep incubating IP on a platform that’s important to creators and kids.”
To that finish, Walden hinted at “the work we’re doing now, although I have nothing specific to announce on the technology side, are features that will specifically address how kids are interacting with content right now in a very contemporary way… looking holistically at that kids audience, we know we have the stories that they love. We’re working on the technology that will allow them to engage with them in a in the way they want.”
Beyond that, Walden touched on the upcoming launch of the ESPN over-the-top service — presently dubbed “ESPN Flagship” — which is able to function the ESPN networks exterior of the cable bundle for the primary time, along with ESPN+. Walden instructed ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro would have extra info, however added, “I’ve seen a little bit and it’s incredibly exciting. The new features that they’ll bring to market with the launch of Flagship, I think are really going to blow people away.”
Walden added that sports activities can be an necessary ingredient for Disney+, particularly now that the service contains an ESPN tile (which options programming like “30 For 30”). “It’s of enormous value to these subscribers,” she mentioned. “It’s over 3000 hours of long form programming. And then yesterday, we actually launched something I’m very excited about, which is SC+. It is a daily ‘SportsCenter’ show produced by SportsCenter and ESPN. It is going to help us, I think, to include people who are casual sports fans in this conversation that is obviously dominating cultures around the world. A daily touch point for sports on Disney+, a reason every day to open the app.”
Touting the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ choices, Walden mentioned the corporate was “enormously proud of all we’ve accomplished in streaming, especially over the past two years. As you well know, not too long ago, we were losing over a billion dollars a quarter. We are now profitable, growing revenue and delivering, with visibility towards double digit margins.” That contains the current launch of Hulu on Disney+. “It’s an extraordinary value for subscribers,” she mentioned. “It’s driving engagement… and cause for extreme optimism about our future.”
On the worldwide entrance, Walden additionally sees “tremendous opportunity” for progress: “It’s nonetheless a really younger platform. We’re engaged on our native originals in order that we’ve content material world wide that’s related to native subscribers, together with our large international hits. Our firm is producing and releasing in streaming an enormous variety of hits that journey world wide.
“Creating a pipeline of content takes some time, but the great news is, in each of the regions, we found bonafide hits,” she mentioned. “For example, in Korea last year, we released a show called ‘Moving’ that signed up over a million and a half subscribers and created a huge event in that market — along with all of the rest of the content from the United States. We’re doing local for local, and then local for regional, and then global for the whole world.”
As for home hits, Walden pointed to the great success of FX’s “Shogun,” which has simply accomplished a formidable Season 1 string of wins on the Emmys, Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG Awards and extra. And, with the writers’ room now wrapped for Season 2, anticipate agency information on the subsequent season very quickly.
“We like to bake it carefully,” she mentioned. “We will not release the Season 2 until it’s ready.”