Disney teams up with ‘Simpsons’ creators in new animation series

Times are good for Disney, thanks to the smash success of “High School Musical” in particular, a movie and musical likened to “Grease” that has “launched its characters into super-stardom status,” as Marsh notes.

“It was a phenomenon, completely unexpected. I know it’s hard to believe if you’re outside of the States,” Marsh said, “but roughly 10 million DVDs were sold in the U.S. alone, it was seen by 250 million viewers worldwide, it was No. 1 on the billboard charts, the No. 1 album of 2006, and the fastest-selling DVD of a TV movie ever. It even broke a record for having the most number of singles from an album — nine — on billboard charts,” he added.

“High School Musical 2,” which premiered in the U.S. in August 2007 was the highest-rated telecast ever on Disney Channel. “High School Musical 3” is set to premiere in October this year.

Taiwan presents an attractive market for the Disney Channel, as it has the highest cable penetration rate in Asia, estimated at 80 percent.

“We’ve had great success in Taiwan,” Marsh says. “It’s been the No. 1 channel for 10- to 14-year-olds, with 5.5 million viewers — a good indicator to us that Disney can relate to smaller kids.”

The expansion in Asia is part of a wider push into global markets. The Disney Channel also wants to “localize programming,” tailoring shows for local viewerships, for example local Indian sitcoms. Disney is in discussions for a new animated series primarily for the Chinese market, although securing landing rights as a foreign television channel is far trickier than in “wired” Taiwan.

“We’re trying to be a truly global network, with global vision and philosophy,” he says. “Historically, the U.S. has been an exporter of programming, but we want to make it so that it can become an importer of programs, developed by our colleagues.”

Marsh next heads to Shanghai for more meetings and a cultural visit.

1|2

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email