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Tag: Walt Disney Company

  • Neville Bastawalla to take over as marketing head of SPN India sports cluster

    Neville Bastawalla to take over as marketing head of SPN India sports cluster

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network (SPN) has made some internal changes and handed the responsibility of heading marketing for the sports cluster to Neville Bastawalla, a source close to the development informed Indiantelevision.com. He is currently the head of marketing of the English cluster at the company.

    Prior to SPNI, he was the AVP and head marketing Hindi movies cluster at Star India where he spent close to three years. 

    Bastawalla is a die-hard marketing professional with over 19 years of multi brand experience. He has been a successful brand custodian across brands in various categories and has been responsible for charting the direction and launching/managing growth for the brands basis research, consumer insights, innovative marketing and communication strategies.

    He strongly believes in the power of innovation in the marketing place and has been practicing “the innovation theory” successfully across brands.

    He started his carrier with the DDB India’s Mudra communications as an account manager. After DDB India, he did stints at a couple of other media organisations, including Contract Advertising, Walt Disney Company, Nickelodeon and Mid Day before joining SPNI.  

    Recently, SPN India’s head of marketing and On-Air Promotions (OAP)- sports Kedar Teny left the organisation.

    Bastawalla holds a masters degree in management studies (marketing) from University of Mumbai.

  • Disney’s Stay Fit Initiative makes a splash across Schools’ in India

    Disney’s Stay Fit Initiative makes a splash across Schools’ in India

    The Walt Disney Company believes in filling kids’ lives with hope and imagination through the magic of storytelling. As a part of our healthy living initiative, we, at Disney, have identified fitness as one of the key themes and want to propagate the idea ‘Staying Fit can be fun’ amongst kids. 
    Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are leading this ‘Stay Fit’ activity by teaching children various fun-filled, easy-to-follow dance steps. We have screened a ‘dance along’ Mickey and Minnie video, demonstrating the specially choreographed dance routine which the kids can watch, follow and perform together with their friends. With a little help from choreographer Dhiraj have put together 9 simple signature dance steps on a special foot-tapping song which are fun and easy and will help strengthen the young muscles; paving way for a healthy future
    We are taking this initiative to 3000+ schools; reaching out to 1.2+ million kids across the cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, and its a unique activity not done before!
    Devika Prabhu, Executive Director and Head – Product, Media Networks, Disney India  was quoted saying, “At Disney, we are consistently working towards creating interesting engagement opportunities that can fill the kids’ lives with fun, laughter and optimism. Celebrating Mickey’s 90th Anniversary this year, we embarked on a unique initiative  to propagate the idea that ‘Staying Fit can be fun’. We are thrilled with the response we have received from kids, their families and their teachers so far; and we hope they will spread the fun so we have many more kids and families joining Mickey and Minnie as they dance their way into fitness.”  

  • Amit Malhotra to head Disney ops in Singapore, Malaysia

    Amit Malhotra to head Disney ops in Singapore, Malaysia

    As part of its corporate restructuring, the Walt Disney Company has promoted Amit Malhotra as its country head for Singapore and Malaysia. Reporting to Mahesh Samat, executive vice president and managing director for Walt Disney International, South Asia, Malhotra will be responsible for all of Disney’s businesses in the two countries.

    As part of his responsibility, Malhotra will focus on building and strengthening consumer engagement with Disney brands across digital platforms, creating localised content and accelerating the growth of Marvel and Star Wars brands to better connect with the audience in Singapore and Malaysia.

    He will, however, continue to oversee the operations of the linear television business and local content production for Southeast Asia (SEA).

    A veteran of 13 years with Disney, Malhotra has worked in various leadership roles across media and the studios businesses throughout Asia for the company. Prior to this appointment, Malhotra was Disney’s vice president and general manager for media networks, responsible for businesses across all functions in the media networks portfolio in SEA. He was also responsible for the Maker Studios business in the region.

    Disney’s South Asia hub was recently merged to integrate its Southeast Asian regional markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam with Disney India under the leadership of Mahesh Samat.

    “We continue to push the boundaries of creativity and the use of technology across all our businesses. I am excited to lead our immensely talented teams in Singapore and Malaysia as we continue to grow and engage the fan base of Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars,” said Malhotra.

  • Mahesh Samat gets expanded role in Disney Asia restructure

    Mahesh Samat gets expanded role in Disney Asia restructure

    MUMBAI: A lot is happening at Disney.

    Walt Disney International (WDI), a part of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for managing the company’s businesses outside of the US excluding Theme Parks and ESPN businesses) today announced a new Asia management structure that will see the creation of the North Asia and South Asia regional hubs. 

    The latter merges India with the company’s integrated south east Asian regional markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam under the leadership of Walt Disney International, South Asia, senior vice-president & managing director Mahesh Samat.

    North Asia will merge Japan, South Korea and Greater China under the leadership of  Walt Disney International, North Asia, executie vice-president & managing director Luke Kang.

    “Our international leadership teams are tasked to increase Disney brand affinity and awareness in key markets around the world,” said  WDI chairman Andy Bird . “Luke and Mahesh have an acute understanding of our brands and franchises and long-standing expertise in our broader operations. This, combined with their understanding of the uniqueness of their markets, and intense entrepreneurial spirit, will continue the momentum we are experiencing in these dynamic regions.” . 

    “This new structure aligns and maximizes efficiencies around regions with similar opportunities and creates the momentum to accelerate growth for the Company in these markets,” he added.

    With operations in 45 countries throughout the world, WDI has implemented integrated structures in international markets that have greatly accelerated revenue in China, produced growth across Japan and Europe and provided unparalleled access to emerging markets throughout Latin America and South East Asia.

    Samat returned to lead The Walt Disney Company India in November 2016, a position he previously held from 2008-2012. Since returning to the role, he has implemented vast organizational changes, creating a clear strategy for the Company and its brands in the Indian entertainment market.  Samat also has more than twenty-five years of experience in FMCG and Healthcare across India, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

    “The South East Asian region is characterized by its dynamic growth and extreme diversity. I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead both teams to create new, innovative ways for audiences to engage with our stories, brands and characters, and drive growth across our businesses,”  said  Samat.

    In his current capacity as The Walt Disney Company Greater China of managing director, Kang has led the organization (excluding Disney’s Parks and Resorts division) to achieve consistent record growth across all business segments. In 2016, Disney was the number one foreign studio at the Chinese box office, and the organization also successfully expanded its reach into new cities and to new consumer groups across China. Throughout his career,  Kang held various management roles across the region.

    “It is an honor to lead Walt Disney International in North Asia, which includes two of the biggest and most dynamic economies in the world.  The region’s ever-changing media and entertainment landscape as well as dynamic consumer products market provides incredible opportunity to continue to forge connections with our brands and franchises to drive growth,” said  Kang.

    Both positions report directly to Bird.

  • Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    MUMBAI: World’s biggest media and entertainment group with over US$22 billion in annual revenue The Walt Disney Company is prepared to restructure its India operations under the recently-appointed managing director Mahesh Samat, who rejoined in October.

    Disney has lately been working towards a lean structure, aligned more to the international organisational set-up. The India operations will be focusing on consumer products business and Hollywood films — its main strengths.

    After sustaining major losses, Disney has planned to temporarily drop its Hindi film production business that includes interactives, media networks, licensing and merchandising.

    Disney India head of revenue – media networks Nikhil Gandhi and head of interactive Sameer Ganapathy have resigned already. Also, Disney India may reportedly trim its workforce by 35-40 per cent in a couple of months.

    It was earlier reported that Disney India may be closing down game development at Indiagames. Ganapathy, who had replaced Indiagames co-founder Vishal Gondal after Indiagames was acquired by Disney, lead the interactive business which included development and delivery of multiplatform games and digital products including apps for multi-brands under The Walt Disney Company – Indiagames, Disney, Marvel, UTV, and Disney Pixar.

  • Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    Lean Disney to focus on core strengths

    MUMBAI: World’s biggest media and entertainment group with over US$22 billion in annual revenue The Walt Disney Company is prepared to restructure its India operations under the recently-appointed managing director Mahesh Samat, who rejoined in October.

    Disney has lately been working towards a lean structure, aligned more to the international organisational set-up. The India operations will be focusing on consumer products business and Hollywood films — its main strengths.

    After sustaining major losses, Disney has planned to temporarily drop its Hindi film production business that includes interactives, media networks, licensing and merchandising.

    Disney India head of revenue – media networks Nikhil Gandhi and head of interactive Sameer Ganapathy have resigned already. Also, Disney India may reportedly trim its workforce by 35-40 per cent in a couple of months.

    It was earlier reported that Disney India may be closing down game development at Indiagames. Ganapathy, who had replaced Indiagames co-founder Vishal Gondal after Indiagames was acquired by Disney, lead the interactive business which included development and delivery of multiplatform games and digital products including apps for multi-brands under The Walt Disney Company – Indiagames, Disney, Marvel, UTV, and Disney Pixar.

  • Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    MUMBAI: Hulu has announced pacts with The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox. This deal means that Hulu will offer content from Fox, ABC, FX, FXX, Freeform, Disney Channel, Fox News, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, making more than 35 networks available to stream live and watch on-demand through its new streaming service, set to debut in early 2017.

    It has already signed a deal with Time Warner, which will bring TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and CNN to the service as well.

    Though the date of the launch is not yet announced, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins has stated that there are additional partners to come.

    Hopkins and the team plans to build a service that can offer subscribers good quality programming on TV. With these two new deals in place, Hulu plans to provide TV fans of all ages live and on-demand access to their favourite programs in a whole new, more flexible, highly personalized way.

    Only time can say whether this service proves to become a threat to the cable companies.

  • Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    MUMBAI: Hulu has announced pacts with The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox. This deal means that Hulu will offer content from Fox, ABC, FX, FXX, Freeform, Disney Channel, Fox News, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, making more than 35 networks available to stream live and watch on-demand through its new streaming service, set to debut in early 2017.

    It has already signed a deal with Time Warner, which will bring TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and CNN to the service as well.

    Though the date of the launch is not yet announced, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins has stated that there are additional partners to come.

    Hopkins and the team plans to build a service that can offer subscribers good quality programming on TV. With these two new deals in place, Hulu plans to provide TV fans of all ages live and on-demand access to their favourite programs in a whole new, more flexible, highly personalized way.

    Only time can say whether this service proves to become a threat to the cable companies.

  • Disney CEO Robert Iger’s pay falls 3.4% to $44.9 million in 2015

    Disney CEO Robert Iger’s pay falls 3.4% to $44.9 million in 2015

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Robert Iger’s reported compensation drop 3.4 per cent to $44.9 million for the fiscal year ending October 2015, as his cash bonus depleted by $410,000 and the value of a pension declined due to an accounting change.

     

    Iger’s base salary of $2.5 million was unchanged from 2014, when his overall compensation came in at $46.5 million. That  was an increase as compared to his 2013 package of $34.3 million. He also earned $22.3 million in non-equity incentives, $8.9 million in stock awards and $8.4 million in option awards.

     

    As per a proxy filed by Disney, Iger’s bonus fell to $22.3 million in the fiscal year that ended on 29 Sept ember, 2015. The biggest factor was a change in a discount rate applied to his pension, which resulted in an almost 50 per cent drop in its reported value, to $1.42 million.

     

    Disney, which has seen a strong box office in 2015, is currently basking in the glory of record worldwide collections from the recently released Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

  • Disney FY-2104 op inc grows 21 per cent; Studio Entertainment segment op inc up 234 per cent

    Disney FY-2104 op inc grows 21 per cent; Studio Entertainment segment op inc up 234 per cent

    BENGALURU: The Walt Disney Company Inc (Disney) reported operating income (op inc) of $ 13,005 million (26.6 per cent of overall revenue or TIO) in the year ended 27 September 2014 (FY-2014), up 21.3 per cent from the $ 10,724 million (23.8 per cent of TIO) in FY-2013. The company’s TIO in FY-2014 at $ 48,813 million was 8.4 per cent more than the $ 45,041 million in 2013.

     

    “Our results for fiscal 2014 were the highest in the company’s history, marking our fourth consecutive year of record performance,” said Disney chairman and CEO Robert A Iger. “We’re obviously very pleased with this achievement and believe it reflects the extraordinary quality of our content and our unique ability to leverage success across the company to create significant value, as well as our focus on embracing and adapting to emerging consumer trends and technology.”

     

    Disney’s Studio Entertainment segment reported a 234.3 per cent growth in op inc in FY-2014 at $ 1,549 million (11.9 per cent of all op inc) from $ 661 million (6.2 per cent of all op inc) in FY-2013. This segment’s revenue in FY-2014 at $ 7,278 million (14.9 per cent of TIO) grew 21.7 per cent to $ 5,979 million (13.3 per cent of TIO) in the previous year.

     

    Here is what Disney has to say about Studio Entertainment numbers: 

     

    Higher operating income was driven by increases in worldwide theatrical distribution and worldwide home entertainment. Higher worldwide theatrical distribution results were due to the success of Guardians of the Galaxy and Maleficent in the current quarter compared to Monsters University and The Lone Ranger in the prior year quarter.

     

    The increase in worldwide home entertainment was due to higher unit sales, lower per unit costs and higher net effective price resulting from the success of Frozen. Other significant titles included Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier in the current quarter and Iron Man 3 in the prior-year quarter. 

     

    Let us look at the results for FY-2014 and Q4-2014 reported by Disney.

     

     Overall Revenue:

     

    In Q4-2014 (quarter ended September 27, 2014), Disney reported a 7.1 growth of TIO to $ 12,389 million from US$ 11568 million in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, but was marginally less (0.6 per cent less) than the $ 12,466 million in Q3-2014. 

     

    Q4-2014 op inc at $ 2,775 million (22.4 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014 was 11.7 per cent more than the $ 2,484 million (21.5 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013, but 28.1 per cent lower than the $ 3,857 million (30.9 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. 

     

    Segment Revenue: 

     

    Five segments contribute to Disney’s numbers – Media Networks; Parks and resorts; Studio entertainment; Consumer products; and Interactive.

     

    Media Networks Segment:

     

    The company’s Media Network segment is the largest in terms of contribution to overall revenue (TIO) and op inc This segment consists of two sub-segments – Cable Networks and Broadcasting.

     

    In FY-2014, Disney’s Media Network segment reported revenue of $ 21,152 million (43.3 per cent of TIO), up 3.9 per cent from the $ 20,356 million (45.2 per cent of TIO) in FY-2013. Op inc from this segment rose 7.4 per cent to $ 7,321 million (56.3 per cent of overall op inc) in FY-2014 from $ 6,818 million (63.6 per cent of overall op inc) in FY-2013.

     

    Disney’s Media Network segment reported 5.5 per cent rise in revenue from $ 4,946 million (42.8 per cent of TIO)  in Q4-2013 to $ 5,217 million (42.1 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014, but was 5.3 per cent less than $ 5,511 million (44.2 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. Op inc dropped marginally by 0.3 per cent from $ 1,443 million (58.1 per cent of overall op inc) in Q4-2013 to $ 1,437 million in Q4-2014, but was 37.2 per cent lower than the $ 2,296 million (59.5 per cent of overall Op Inc) in Q3-2014 (51.8 per cent of op rev).

     

    Parks and Resorts

     

    In FY-2014, this segment’s revenue at $ 15,099 million (30.9 per cent of TIO) grew 7.2 per cent from $ 14,087 million (31.3 per cent of TIO) in FY-2013. Op inc increased 20 per cent in FY-2014 to $ 2,663 million (20.5 per cent of overall op inc) from $ 2,220 million (20 per cent of overall op inc) in FY-2013.

     

    Disney’s Parks and resorts segment reported 6.6 per cent growth in y-o-y revenue to $ 3,960 million (32 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014 from $ 3,716 million (32.1 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013, but marginally less (0.5 per cent less) than the $ 3,980 million (31.8 per cent of overall revenue) in Q3-2014. This segment’s op inc grew 6.6 per cent to $ 687 million (24.8 per cent of overall op inc) in Q4-2014 from $ 571 million (23 per cent of overall op inc), but was 19 per cent less than the $ 848 million (22 per cent of overall op inc) in Q3-2014.

     

    Here is what Disney has to say about Parks and Resorts numbers:

     

    Operating income growth for the quarter was due to an increase at our domestic operations, partially offset by a decrease at our international operations.

     

    Higher operating income at our domestic operations was driven by increased guest spending and attendance, partially offset by higher costs and lower vacation club ownership sales. The increase in guest spending was primarily due to higher average ticket prices for theme park admissions and for sailings at our cruise line and increased food, beverage and merchandise spending. Higher costs reflected increased costs for MyMagic+ and the absence of an offset in the prior-year quarter from a property sale, partially offset by lower pension and post-retirement medical costs. Decreased vacation club ownership sales reflected the prior-year success of The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, for which sales commenced at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

     

    The decrease at our international operations was due to lower operating performance at Disneyland.

     

    Lower operating income at Disneyland Paris was driven by higher operating and marketing costs and lower attendance, partially offset by increased guest spending, due to higher average ticket prices, and higher real estate sales.

     

    Studio Entertainment

     

    Three sub-segments of the Studio entertainment segment contribute to Disney’s revenue – Theatrical distribution; Home entertainment; and TV/SVOD distribution and other.

     

    Annual figures for this segment have been mentioned above.

     

    Disney’s Studio entertainment segment reported 18.1 per cent jump in revenue in Q4-2014 at $ 1,778 million (14.4 per cent of TIO) from $ 1,506 million (13 per cent of TIO), but was 1.6 per cent lower than the $ 1,807 million (14.5 per cent of TIO). This segment reported more than double (2.35 times) growth in op Inc in Q4-2014 at $ 254 million (9.2 per cent of overall op inc), but was 38.2 per cent lower than the $ 411 million (10.7 per cent of overall revenue) in Q3-2014. 

     

    Consumer Products 

     

    This segment has two revenue streams – licensing and publishing (licensing); and retail and other (retail).

     

    Consumer products segment reported 12.1 per cent growth in consumer products to $ 3,985 million (8.2 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014 from $ 3,555 million (7.9 per cent of TIO) in the last year. Op inc from this segment for FY-2014 grew 21.9 per cent to $ 1,356 million (10.4 per cent of overall op inc) from $ 1,112 million (10.4 per cent of overall op inc).

     

     Disney’s Consumer products segment reported 6.8 per cent increase in revenue in Q4-2014 to $ 1,072 million (8.7 per cent of TIO) from $ 1,004 million (8.7 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013 and 18.8 per cent more than the $ 902 million (7.2 per cent of all revenues) in Q3-2014. This segment reported 9.2 per cent hike in op inc to $ 379 million (13.7 per cent of overall op inc) from $ 347 million (14 per cent of overall revenue) in Q4-2013 and 38.8 per cent more than the $ 273 million (7.1 per cent of overall Op Inc) in Q3-2014. 

     

    Disney says that higher operating income from Consumer products was due to an increase at its Merchandise Licensing business driven by the performance of Frozen and Spider-Man merchandise partially offset by lower revenues from Monsters and Iron Man merchandise.

     

    Interactive 

     

    Disney says that Interactive revenues for the quarter (Q4-2014) decreased by $34 million to $362 million, and segment operating income increased to $18 million driven by the success of our mobile game Tsum Tsum and recognition of a minimum guarantee for a games licensing contract. These increases were partially offset by lower Disney Infinity performance due to the timing of the launch of Disney Infinity 2.0, which was launched on 23 September 2014, compared to Disney Infinity 1.0, which was launched on 18 August 2013.

     

     

    Please click here for financial results