Walt Disney Europa Boss on The Lion King, Streaming, Movie, TV

The Walt Disney Company has been making a lot of effort to get its creative juices flowing again since Bob Iger returned as CEO and recently fended off a challenge from dissident shareholder Nelson Peltz. In fact, The Hollywood Group is focused on ensuring its position as a producer of successful content that can form long-lasting, deep “connections” with consumers, with its portfolio of cross-platform work and experiences helping to create lasting engagement with fans of franchises over a long period. Throughout life and across generations.

That was the message sent by Jan Koppen, the entertainment giant’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), at Deloitte’s Media and Communications Conference 2024 and Beyond on Tuesday as he shared his view on what makes a company “stand out in the industry” This is always competitive and always changing. .

His conclusion was: “These differences have served us well over the past 100 years. They have prepared us for continued growth in the years to come.” The executive then noted the king lion A prime example of Disney’s advantage is creating “epic stories and characters that not only stand the test of time, but grow over time and become part of the culture.”

Other examples he cited include “timeless Disney classics such as Peter Pan, beauty and the beastor Moana“,”The epic saga of star Warsand expanding to include not only movies, but TV series such as The Mandalorian“, and “To underscore the breadth of Disney content, there’s a different kind of epic storytelling from Marvel Studios.”

While some critics expressed concern about franchise fatigue among fans, Disney’s EMEA president was optimistic about successful characters when they were managed well. “What all these examples show us is that the best stories and beloved characters can last for many years. They open up the possibility of new adventures and connection with new generations,” he said.

On Tuesday, Coben also cited the upcoming summer blockbuster Deadpool Wolverine As examples of the power of the Disney franchise. The latter was released in cinemas in July, and has already attracted more than 365 million views of the trailer, making it the most viewed trailer of all time.

while, the king lion Coppen is a perfect example of storytelling that leverages the breadth of Disney’s business, ensuring multiple touchpoints with consumers, from movie theaters and linear channels to streaming and other forms of distribution. It may already have been 30 years since the original the king lion The movie has been released, but Disney will do it Mufasa: The Lion King In cinemas this December, as its West End theatrical run celebrates 25 years^y The anniversary has attracted 20 million visitors so far. in addition to, the king lion He noted that the franchise also includes experiences at Disney theme parks, consumer products and a presence on Disney+, among other things.

The executive on Tuesday also highlighted Disney’s long-term commitment to the UK and wider EMEA region, arguing that the company is focused on working with its partners, including creative, distribution and marketing partners, to best achieve its goals. Coben expressed his confidence in Disney’s position in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and expected continued growth.

A pre-appearance video confirmed that over the past five years, Disney has spent £3.5 billion ($4.5 billion) on production in the UK, supported more than 32,000 UK jobs, and produced 29 feature films, and 41 shows for TV and Disney+. In addition to 90 National Geographic shows in the country, in addition to 17 theatrical productions.

He also noted Disney’s commitment to the theatrical movie window despite the advent of streaming. “And that starts with our belief in the importance of theatrical distribution. Everyone at Disney loves movies, and we love making them big,” Cobain said. “Audiences seem to love it, too. In fact, since the inception of the film industry, at least eight of the ten highest-grossing films are Disney titles.

Overall, the box office success “has a positive impact across the rest of our portfolio,” the executive explained. “This goes beyond the screen to include live events, consumer products and theme parks.”

As streaming has accelerated cord-cutting, Coben noted Tuesday that Disney remains a believer in traditional TV networks. “After the theatrical release, our approach to distribution for films and TV series will vary from title to title and from market to market,” he said. “Our linear networks are an important part of this mix. Evidence tells us that people are still watching a lot of broadcast TV across genres, including entertainment, reality and drama.

Content licensing has been all the rage in Hollywood thanks to the success of people like it suit After the conglomerates’ initial streaming strategies focused on keeping all the content to themselves in a walled garden approach. Coppen praised this change in strategy, noting that “we are licensing some of our content in subsequent windows to partners, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and UKTV.” “This not only generates revenue, but also helps build headline awareness. We firmly believe that the breadth of our business is a major source of advantage. It brings strength, flexibility and opportunity,” he explained.

Naturally, the broadcast also featured prominently in its main appearance. Disney’s EMEA president said at the Deloitte conference that the Disney+ streaming service, four years after its launch, has tens of millions of customers in 85 countries across the region. And we shared some data points that might surprise people. Among them is the fact that about half of Disney+ customers in EMEA are families without children and that general entertainment programming accounts for about two-thirds of total viewing hours on the streaming device in the region.

Shogun Cobain noted that the series has become the most-watched general entertainment series premiere ever in the EMEA region, adding that the original series in the United Kingdom Colin Rooney: The True Story of Wagatha In second place only Kardashians As the most watched unscripted series in the United Kingdom. One final data point shared by Koeppen: the average Gray’s Anatomy The viewer has watched over 120 hours of this show on Disney+.

Disney’s most recent quarterly earnings report in early May and management’s conference call had a lot to like for Wall Street, including progress toward streaming profitability and an increase in full-year earnings expectations.

Koeppen indicated more streaming improvements to come, without sharing details on Tueaday. “Disney+ will play a bigger role in Disney’s future, and we have plans to continue improving the service,” he said.