Welcome to the
wonderful world of Disney in India.
For over 85 years, The Walt Disney Company
has been the preeminent name in the field of family entertainment; the Disney
name has symbolized
creativity, innovation, trust, decency, optimism and quality.
Disney, together with its subsidiaries and
affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and
media enterprise with five business segments:
·
Media Networks – Walt Disney Television
International, Disney Media Distribution, ESPN
·
Disney
Interactive Media Group-Disney
Interactive Studios; Disney Online; Disney Online
Studios; Disney Mobile; Playdom;
·
Studio Entertainment– Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
International, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Disney Music Group,
Disney Theatrical Group
·
Disney Consumer Products – Consumer Products, Publishing
·
Parks and Resorts –DisneyDestinations International
Disney is a Dow
30 Company, had annual revenues of over US$40.9billion in its most recent
fiscal year. Worldwide, The Walt Disney Company has approximately 156,000
employees.
In 2011, Disney
was named #1 in Entertainment on World's Most Admired Companies by Fortune for
the second year in a row[1],
#9 in Interbrand Best Global Brands study[2],
and #1 in the media entertainment category. The Landor Company’s 2010 Breakaway
Brands survey ranks Disney as the 10th fastest brand value growth
company from 2006 to 2009 [3]and
in July 2010, Forbes named Disney at #20 in The World's Most Valuable Brands
survey, the only entertainment company to appear in the top 50 list[4].
Disney’s Strategic
Priorities
Since its founding in 1923, Disney has remained
faithful to its commitment to produce unparalleled entertainment experiences
based on the rich legacy of quality creative content and exceptional
storytelling. The Disney brand name resonates with families around the world
through universal family values that are at the heart of all Disney content:
Quality, Storytelling, Innovation, Decency, Community, and Optimism.Across all of our businesses, Disney is
focused on three strategic priorities:
·
Creating quality and
innovative content that continues to differentiate Disney as best-in-class;
·
Deploying cutting
edge technologies to showcase our content for early competitive advantage while
enhancing the customer experience; and
·
Expanding and adding
depth to our global presence, particularly in emerging markets
Disney’s International
Focus
The Walt Disney Company in India
opened in July 2004 with its head office located in Mumbai and significantly
expanded its footprint in India in January 2012after acquiring,through a
subsidiary, a controlling interest in UTV, one of India’s premier media and
entertainment companies.With
Disney and UTV assets combined, Disney is one of the leading film studios and film distributors in India,
one of the largest TV networks with nine popular channels and full local
production capabilities, and a strong player in the area of digital media and mobile
and social games. Building around five core brands – Disney, Marvel, UTV,
Bindass and Hungama – the new organization is dedicated to developing and
distributing the best entertainment for Indian consumers of all ages.The
expanded portfolio of brands and franchises presents a broad range of
opportunities in a number of established businesses including consumer
products, publishing, live and home entertainment.
MEDIA NETWORKS
The combined network of nine Disney and UTV channels is
one of the leading entertainment destinations for kids, youth and families,
with more than 100 million viewers each week[5]. The
Disney network, consisting of
Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama is India’s #1 kids network. The network
reached over 161 million viewers across age groups in India in 2011, including
over 41 million kids age 4-14 and 17 million mums age 25-44. UTV, with 20+
years of legacy in the TV business, presents a compelling mix of local
content andglobally acclaimed shows and movies in multiple Indian languages
across its six acclaimed channels.
·
Disney Channel India offers aengaging
blend of quality Disney entertainment and distinctive, original programs that
kids love and families trust and enjoy. Featuring popular animated series such
as Phineas &Ferb, Best of Luck Nikki, Art Attack, as well as Disney movies. The channel’s multi-genre
programming is available in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu, targeting kids
age 4 to 14 and their families.
·
Disney XD showcases live-action and animated
programming for kids age 6-14, targeting boys and their quest for discovery,
accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor. Spanning TV and online platforms,
Disney XD branded content includes series, movies, short-form, as well as
sports-themed programming, and was the first kid’s channel available
in 6 language feeds: Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi. It is
also the only kids channel to be associated with cricket, with hugely
successful partnerships with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the Champions
League T20.
·
Hungama TV is India’s first 24-hour kids channel
(age 4-14) that offers multi-genre, localized and acquired programming in
Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Developed for kids and also featuring kids, the
channel’s broad range of shows include drama, action, game shows and animation
that appeal to all sub segments.
·
UTV Bindass is a leading youth channel and has
developed a strong following with its many new show formats, integral focus on
music and innovative campus programs. Bindass has brought a stream of hit shows
to young audiences, including Shakira,
Sun Yaar Chill Maar, 3rd Degree, Dadagiri, and also initiatives like Campus Attack, Bindass Buddies and the I
Change movement that inspires change on key youth issues.
·
UTV Action caters to male audiences looking for
mainstream Hollywood action movies in Hindi, and is known for marketing
initiatives that get audiences talking, ranging from mass skydiving to fantasy
cricket games. UTV Action also offers Indian advertisers an alternative to
cricket to reach the elusive male viewer.
·
UTV Movies celebrates the passion for Bollywood,
offering more than 450 hit Hindi movie titles, including the latest
blockbusters including Guzaarish, No One Killed Jessica, Tere Bin Laden, Kartik Calling Kartik, Aisha,
and LSD – Love Sex AurDhoka& Kites.
Jeeyo Bollywood –to live Bollywood – is the channel’s brand philosophy.
·
UTV Action Telugu carries forward the success of
UTV Action and offers Telugu-dubbed Hollywood action blockbusters within three
months of its Indian television premiere, and now has a library of over 250
titles that is expanding to meet a growing demand from the Andhra market.
·
UTV World Movies offers India audiences looking
beyond Bollywood and conventional Hollywood a feast of world culture through
critically acclaimed movies from 40 countries around the globe. Through
distribution partner Shemaroo, the channel has also released over 30 titles on
home video.
·
UTV Stars is a leader in the Bollywood
Entertainment genre, a co-presenter of top events in India’s fashion world, and
the ‘intimate insider of Bollywood’. Endorsed by a prestigious line up of
industry bigwigs, the channel features unique shows like Live My Life that allows fans to live like their favorite stars for
a day, news and feature segments on the most watched Bollywood stars.
·
ESPN has a presence in India through ESPN
STAR Sports (ESS), ESPN’s joint venture with STAR that broadcasts under the
leading ESPN, Star Sports and STAR Cricket channel brands. ESS showcases a
variety of premier sports from around the globe and broadcasted the Cricket
World Cup in 2011.
Disney Media Distribution distributes more than 30,000 hours of programming in multiple languages to over 1,300 platform partners in 240 territories worldwide. DMD works closely with Indian broadcasters to provide dubbed content in local languages that appeal to local audiences and is the exclusive regional distributor of Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama TV. In 2010, DMD signed a multi-year agreement with Sun Distribution Services for channel distribution of Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama TV, taking Disney content across multiple platforms including Cable TV, Direct-to-Home (DTH) and IP-TV.When it comes to local content productions, UTV Productions hascreated some of the best known properties such as the dance reality show Dance India Dance, business reality show The Assignment and daily soap Dil se di dua…SaubhagyavatiBhava. In the south, UTV Productions is known for popular regional language shows such as RakthaSambandham, Athiradhi Singer, Amman and Deala No Deala.
DISNEY INTERACTIVE MEDIA GROUP (DIMG)
Disney
understands how technology plays a pivotal role in making its entertainment
more compelling and in extending its reach in the Indian market.With the
addition of UTV’s Indiagames, one of
the country’s leading gaming companies, to its portfolio, DIMG and UTV combined
representsone of India’s leading publisherin mobile content.
Known for its
immersive, connected, interactive experiences across console, online, mobile
and social networks, DIMG hasproduced a portfolio of popular digital content,
such as Where’s My Water?, the worldwide #1 game on the iTunes App
Store, and hit games like Aladdin
(India’s most purchased mobile game with over 7.5 million downloads), Jungle Book, and Disney Cricket. DIMG also manages Disney.in, disneyxd.in and hungamatv.com, which are
consistently among the top websites for Indian families and kids.[6]In 2010, DIMG
launched Club Penguin along with a localized rupee payment gateway, and it is
now the largest virtual world in the country.UTV’s Indiagamesdevelops and
publishes content for all major technology platforms and distributes content to
mobile operators in over 75 countries. UTV has also developed new interactive services
such as Audio Cinema, DivyaKathayein (devotional content on mobile in 7
languages), and UTV Digital Studio and Music with a library of over 15,000
songs.
STUDIO ENTERTAINMENT
Bringing
together the best of both worlds, Walt
Disney Studios Motion Pictures and UTV
Pictures represent one of the leading film studios in Indiameasured by box
office, with full capabilities to produce high quality Disney and UTV branded
films locally as well as distribute international releases from The Walt Disney
Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Studios.
Walt Disney
Studios Motion Pictures distributes films under Walt Disney Pictures, Walt
Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Nature, Touchstone
Pictures, Dreamworks and Marvel. The Studio’s recent box office successes
include Cars 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4, which are
also the biggest animation and live action title of all time in India. In 2010,Prince of Persiabecame the highest grossing
western film in India, and Disney’s first live action Hindi feature Do DooniChaar won 11 Industry awards
including the National Award for Best Film.UTV Motion
Pictures as a dominant player in Bollywood in the past decade has created,
developed, filmed, distributed and marketed some of India’s most successful
films, such as Swades, Rang De Basanti, No One Killed Jessica, Rajneeti,
andDelhi Belly.
The
magic of the big screen is transported into Indian homes through Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
(WDSHE), which allows for a greater access to the rich library of titles
under Walt Disney Studios and UTV Motion Pictures through rental and
sell-through home entertainment markets worldwide, as well as introducing them
directly to consumers through retail channels. In India, Disney’s most popular
Blue-ray and DVD titles include Up, Tinker Bell, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Lion King, Jungle Book,
Pirates of the Caribbean 2(the
highest selling DVDs of all time in India), as well as select UTV Motion
Pictures blockbuster titles, like Raajneeti
and Udaan.
Offered under the Disney Live! and Disney On Ice brands, Disney Theatrical Group (DTG)in partnership with Feld Entertainment has brought a number of family-friendly shows including The Mickey Mouse Show to New Delhi and Mumbai, building relevance with Disney’s beloved characters and stories with once-in-a-lifetime stage performances.
DISNEY CONSUMER PRODUCTS (DCP)
Disney is the
largest retail character licensor in the world with US$28.6 billion in character
merchandising retail sales globally in 2010.Disney Consumer Products (DCP)works with over 90 licensees across
all categories inIndia to develop Disney franchises into everyday product
opportunities for consumers of all ages and lifestyles. In November 2010,
Disney and Net Distribution Services announced a multi-year E-commerce agreement, to sell authorized Disney branded
products on disney.in/shopping, extending DCP’s
reach beyond large cities and making a compelling Disney merchandise collection
online and just a few clicks away.
DCP’s lines of
business include: Disney Toys, Disney Fashion & Home and Disney Food, Health & Beauty (FHB),
Consumer Electronics, Stationery, Publishing and Retail Sales and Marketing
(RSM). Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW),
also the biggest publisher of children’s books in the world, has over 500
titles published through local licenseesand runs a growing direct retail
business with over 120 titles.
DISNEY DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL
When Disneyland
debuted in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, Walt Disney created a
destination built around unique storytelling experiences and ushered in a new
era of family entertainment. Disney Destinations is part of Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts and encompasses 11 theme parks at five of the world’s leading
family vacation destinations- Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort,
Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. In India, the team is responsible for the
promotion of the Anaheim, Orlando, Hong Kong and Paris Parks and Resorts as
well as the Disney Cruise Line and represented by AviaRepsbased in Mumbai.
DISNEY’S CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
Being a good
corporate citizen is a time-honored Disney tradition everywhere around the
world. Disney plays an active role in the communities where its employees work
and live. In India, Disney’s corporate citizenship efforts focus on three key
areas: Compassion, Conservation, and Creativity. In 2011, DisneyVoluntEARs
contributed more than 3,000 hours of service through key projects, including
nature conservation at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Chennai, with Exnora Green
Pammal that works with 17,000 households; a public park redevelopment in New
Delhi that benefitted over 1,200 families; and also by participating in key
community events like the Mumbai Marathon for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
A Timeline of The Walt Disney Company in
India
- 1901: Founder Walt Disney born.
- 1923: Disney Brothers Cartoon
Studio founded. Renamed The Walt Disney Company in 1986.
- 1928: Walt Disney creates Mickey
Mouse.
- 1929: Disney’s consumer products
business begins with the first Mickey Mouse writing tablet.
- 1955: Disneyland opens in
Anaheim, California, USA.
- 1983: Disney Channel launches in
the USA.
- 1983: Tokyo Disney Resort opens -
the first Disney theme park outside of the USA.
- 1990: UTV incorporated.
- 1992: Launch of Satellite TV in
India, UTV commissioned for 10 shows.
- 1994: UTV gives India its first
daily soap, ‘Shanti’.
- 1996: Disney acquires Capital
Cities/ABC.
- 1996: News Corp acquires
strategic stake in UTV. WarbugPincus makes first media investment in Asia with
UTV.
- 2004: The Walt Disney Company
(India) founded with its head office in Mumbai.
- 2004: Disney Channel, Playhouse
Disney Programming block and Toon Disney launch in India.
- 2004: UTV launches Hungama,
India’s first local kids channel.
- 2004: UTV launches India’s first
Movie Studio with ‘Lakshya’ and ‘Swades’.
- 2005: UTV goes public on NSE
& BSE.
- 2006: Disney acquires Pixar
Animation Studios.
- 2006: Disney acquires Hungama TV
India from UTV and a stake in UTV.
- 2007: UTV co-produces India’s
first crossover film ‘The Namesake’.
- 2007: UTV acquires Indiagames.
- 2007: UTV launches Bindass.
- 2007: Toon Disney rebrands to
Jetix.
-2008: Disney further increases its stake in UTV.
- 2008: UTV launches UTV Action,
UTV World Movies and UTV Movies.
- 2008: UTV enters the interactive
and digital space.
- 2009: Disney acquires Marvel
Entertainment.
- 2010: Jetix rebrands as Disney
XD.
- 2011: Playhouse Disney relaunches
as Disney Junior India.
- 2012: Disney acquires controlling
interest in UTV.
[1] Fortune Blue Ribbon Companies 2011
http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/02/news/companies/most_admired_intro_short.fortune/index.htm
[2]Interbrand 2010
http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/best-global-brands-2008/best-global-brands-2010.aspx
[3] Landor Breakaway
Brands® study
http://www.landor.com/index.cfm?do=thinking.article&storyid=821&bhcp=1
[4] Forbes Worlds Most Valuable Brands 2010 http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/28/apple-google-microsoft-ibm-nike-disney-bmw-forbes-cmo-network-most-valuable-brands_slide_21.html
[5] Source: Television Audience Measurement India (TAM
India) – most widely TV accepted audience measurement system in India.
[6]Based on rankings by independent third party online
tracker and rankings- www. alexa.com
