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Disney To Use Expo to Boost TV Projects

The leadership at Walt Disney Co. is moving forward with the D23 Expo, a four-day event next month in Anaheim, Calif., that will promote all things Disney. Included are celebrity appearances and sneak previews of upcoming television shows, films and theme-park attractions.

ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson and stars Patricia Heaton, Kelsey Grammer and Ed O'Neill will have a major presence at the expo which will also have a screening room and exhibit dedicated to "Lost." The Disney Channel will bring the cast of "Wizards of Waverly Place," screen an upcoming episode and stage a musical performance.

The expo's approach is similar to Comic-Con, the pop-culture festival that has become one of Hollywood's most potent megaphones by providing hard-core fans with insider-access experiences. Robert Iger, Disney's CEO, says that his company has enjoyed decades of support from "very passionate, very ardent" über-fans and in this digital age, that constituency has newfound tastemaker power thanks to the Internet and social media.

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