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Tag: WDIG

  • Disney to broaden mobile distribution channel in Southern Europe via Buongiorno

    Disney to broaden mobile distribution channel in Southern Europe via Buongiorno

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) has inked a mobile content agreement with Buongiorno, a company in the field of multimedia content for telephony and digital channels. This move supports Disney’s strategy to make its highly creative and engaging content available to consumers in a wide variety of ways.

    Under the terms of the deal, Buongiorno will make Disney mobile content such as screensavers, wallpapers, ringtones and games available to consumers across Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Content includes Mickey Mouse and Friends (e.g. Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck), Disney Classics (e.g. Cinderella, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Finding Nemo and The Lion King.

    “This agreement with Buongiorno gives consumers another means to access Disney’s popular mobile content in southern Europe. Buongiorno’s expertise and local market reach will help consumers find Disney mobile content anytime and anywhere, and we are pleased to add them to our network of distributors,” said WDIG Europe vice president of mobile Sunil Gunderia.

    “We are delighted to be associated with a leading entertainment company like Disney to help bring their properties to market. Disney content will allow Buongiorno to offer several million customers in southern Europe a unique experience of entertainment on the move. We are looking forward to widening our collaboration to new markets, exploiting Buongiorno and its consumer brand Blinko’s global network,” said Buongiorno Group head of global products Matteo Montan.

    According to Informa, an international provider of specialist information and services, the fast-growing mobile entertainment market will be worth $42.8 billion by 2010, of which $11.2 billion will be generated from mobile games.

    Disney content will become part of Buongiorno’s portfolio of over 300,000 services and licensed contents, marketed to a potential target of more than one billion wired and wireless telephone users globally, through a multi-channel strategy that includes direct distribution through the brand Blinko as well as through partnerships with telecom companies and the most important media groups.

    All of Disney’s mobile content will be managed by Buongiorno through B!3A, its proprietary technology platform conceived to design, build, manage and provide high quality services to leading businesses and to mobile consumers globally. B!3A provides a full-blown set of components that allow performing all the main tasks to create a complete digital content marketplace embracing content acquisition, presentation, delivery, reporting, billing and CRM.

  • WDIG and Shanda to bring Disney content to China’s online game market

    WDIG and Shanda to bring Disney content to China’s online game market

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) and Shanda Interactive Entertainment have entered into an agreement to bring Disney’s branded entertainment content to China’s online game industry via Shanda’s online game operating platform. The agreement with Shanda marks Disney’s entrance into China’s online game market.

    The agreement calls for Shanda to develop, distribute and operate an online casual game based on the magical worlds of Disney and featuring some of Disney’s most popular animated characters.
    The game, which will be developed for a broader demographic than traditional online games, as well as China’s burgeoning segment of female online gamers, will be available in China for open beta in the spring of 2007.

    “The market for online games in China is large and growing, and it was important for us to find the right partner. We’re pleased to have found that in Shanda. Disney’s rich content library, combined with Shanda’s capabilities as a leading online game operator, will bring a new, unique and fun experience for the online game consumer. We actively look to bring more of our content to the online interactive entertainment market in China,” said WDIG executive vice president and managing director, international Mark Handler.

    “The Disney brand and its lineup of animated characters are already popular in China, and through this agreement we bring this well-known content to China’s online game community in the form of an exciting new casual game. We remain firmly committed to providing our users with new and compelling entertainment content that will keep their online experience fresh and enjoyable, and we believe the addition of Disney’s wholesome content will further broaden our user demographic, thus making a significant contribution to the implementation of our home strategy. We look forward to a successful collaboration with the Walt Disney Internet Group and are excited about bringing Disney’s content to China’s online game community,” said Shanda chairman and CEO Tianqiao Chen.

    “China is a priority for the entire company, and this announcement is part of our strategy to expand our presence here. We have a huge competitive advantage, thanks to the strength of the Disney brand, which is embraced and sought-after around the world. The combination of Shanda’s strong capability in developing and operating online games with Disney’s expertise in providing compelling content breaks new ground in China, as this will be yet another way for consumers to interact with and experience the magic of Disney,” said The Walt Disney Company (China) managing director Stanley Cheung.

  • Eric Freeman named Walt Disney Internet Group vice president technology

    Eric Freeman named Walt Disney Internet Group vice president technology

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) has appointed Eric Freeman as vice president, technology, with responsibility for the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online.

    Freeman will lead the charge in driving technology development of the web properties and new media activities for The Walt Disney company’s theme parks and resort hotel properties, including information websites, e-commerce and online attractions.

    Freeman returns to the Walt Disney Internet Group after a two-year stint with O’Reilly Media Inc., where he co-directed and co-authored the publishing firm’s “Head First” series of technical reference books, including the award-winning Head First Design Patterns and the bestselling Head First HTML.

    “We’re thrilled to welcome Eric back to our team. There are few people with his level of credentials in theoretical and practical technology, and his forward-thinking abilities will be a valuable asset in helping us stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly growing and changing category,” said Walt Disney Internet Group executive vice president and chief technology officer Douglas Parish.

    Freeman originally joined the Walt Disney Internet Group in 2000, where he initially acted as a director in the company’s portal division. He later served as director of engineering, driving development in the areas of broadband, wireless, media content distribution, wireless technology and content syndication. This includes co-inventing WDIG Motion, a proprietary, patent-pending Internet technology allowing broadband users to view high-quality video, embedded in standard Web pages, without impacting narrowband users’ experiences.