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Is Disney Focusing On Elusive Teenage Boys?

Is Disney trying to appeal to teenagers? More to the point, is it hoping to reach teenage boys more effectively? That is the question raised by The Times' coverage of the $500m purchase of Maker Studios. The company, mainly known for its YouTube channel, is famed for pitching unlikely figures from the present and past in rap battles, such as Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc. It claims to have 380m subscribers across 55,000 channels which bring in 5.5 billion views per month.

This gives Maker Studios a massive reach among teenagers who crave entertaining short-form videos online. On the other hand, there is Disney with its vast penetration in family and children's entertainment -- but it has yet to establish a short-form hold on teenagers surfing the likes of YouTube.

So, the big takeout for advertisers, The Times concludes, is that Disney is most definitely motivated by appealing to an age group that may have outgrown the movies they loved as children. In particular, a Maker Studios partnership with PewDiePie will help to bring in the most elusive consumer yet; teenage boys. PewDiePie is the online name of video gamer Felix Kjellberg whose 25 million YouTube subscribers makes him the most subscribed personality on the channel.



Read the whole story at The Times of London »

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