A beleaguered stock for years, The Walt Disney Company is showing some bounce again on Wall Street thanks to aggressive efforts to move into new media like free Web programming and mobile phone
content. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, since Bob Iger took the helm, investors have rewarded the company for its bold new strategies, which have included selling hit ABC shows at Apple's
iTunes Music Store as well as offering streaming ad-supported versions on the Web for free. Three million people streamed a quartet of hit ABC shows like "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" during the
company's two-week trial run of a new service. While these certainly aren't overwhelming numbers, "the mere perception that it is aggressively repositioning itself for new-media fortunes is enough to
create market momentum," says the
Reporter's Diane Mermigas. In fact, provided the company can navigate the tricky course of maintaining the traditional media status quo while growing its
new-media options--all this without one cannibalizing on the other-- these should be rosy times at the Mouse House, Mermigas says. Don't forget it's in the process of integrating Steve Jobs and Pixar
(and possibly Apple?), and that its 7 percent hike in upfront ad sales was a standout performance during an underwhelming upfront season for most of it network competitors.
Read the whole story at Hollywood Reporter »
