• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, January 8, 2009 10:50 AM

Having captured the fancies of girls with the likes of Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers, Walt Disney is out to vanquish the market for boys whose longings have yet to turn to things other than action, adventure and sport -- namely, those aged 6 to 14, although some ladies I know would argue that the market is much broader than that.

It is rebranding its animation channel, Toon Disney, as a boy-focused entertainment brand called Disney XD next month, Peter Sander reports. The offerings will consist of a new cable channel and a comprehensive Web site with games, music, videos and social networking. The TV show "Aaron Stone," which blends action, adventure and videogames, will be the centerpiece of the TV programming. Another new show, "Zeke & Luther," will be a comedy filmed about two boys trying to become world-famous skateboarders.

"We looked at the landscape and feel that girls are being served -- if not super-served, and preschoolers are also well served, but boys really haven't been," says Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide. "

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