[opendtv] News: Move Over Mickey: A New Franchise at Disney
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:05:48 -0400
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/20/business/media/20disney.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1187607695-bXNPy9JYNYCNozLP0t8gTQ
August 20, 2007
Move Over Mickey: A New Franchise at Disney
By DAVE ITZKOFF
When "High School Musical 2," the sequel to the hit 2006
made-for-television movie, made its debut on the Disney Channel on
Friday night, it was a highly anticipated moment for millions of
children across the nation.
It was also a satisfying one for the Disney Channel and its parent,
the Walt Disney Company. Despite lukewarm reviews, the film's debut
drew 17.2 million viewers, according to preliminary ratings estimates
from the channel. If those estimates hold up, it would make the debut
of "High School Musical 2" the No. 1 television program of the week,
on cable or network, as well as the most watched show of any kind in
basic cable history.
The success of "High School Musical 2" is an indication of Disney's
long-term efforts to reposition its cable channel to appeal to the
underserved 9-to-14 age group and to rope in youngsters for whom
Mickey Mouse seems too babyish. For the time being at least, the
movie has made a trio of fictional high school students named Troy,
Gabriella and Sharpay as recognizably Disney as that 79-year-old
mouse.
Rich Ross, the president of Disney Channel Worldwide, argued that the
ratings achievements of the sequel pointed to the larger strength of
the channel's television movie business. He noted that "High School
Musical" had been the channel's 61st original movie. "People talk
about 'High School Musical' as a franchise," he said. "The franchise
is the Disney Channel original movie."
Nevertheless, sustaining interest in "High School Musical" required
Disney and its promotional partners to bombard capricious young
viewers with a relentless stream of merchandise and marketing in the
18 months between the first and second movies.
And now some analysts wonder if Disney is risking the health of this
budding franchise by expanding it too quickly.
"It's all about how you steer the ship," said Matt Britton, chief of
brand development for Mr. Youth, a New York marketing firm. "You want
to satisfy demand but not overdo it. They are coming right up to that
line."
From the moment the first "High School Musical," a
made-for-television, totally wholesome confection about a hunky jock
and a cherubic straight-A girl who discover a mutual passion for
performing, had its premiere in January 2006, a sequel was assured:
the film made its debut to an audience of 7.8 million viewers, and
generated $100 million in profits from DVD and soundtrack sales,
touring concerts and ice shows, and numerous other brand extensions
over the next two years.
The sequel continues the characters' adventures during a vacation at
a New Mexico resort.
Virginia Heffernan, a television critic for The New York Times, wrote
that although the sequel had a haphazard charm, "the movie is
mediocre, and should be skipped." But she added, "I can't wait to buy
the soundtrack and do the karaoke."
When Mr. Ross joined the Disney Channel, in 1996, its prospects were
not uniformly bright. As it tried to shift from being a premium
service, the Disney Channel was best known for its cartoon shows -
and as a perpetual also-ran to its basic-cable rival Nickelodeon.
And when Mr. Ross and his colleague Anne Sweeney, now the president
of the Disney-ABC Television Group, sought to create a Disney Channel
line of made-for-television movies, they were second-guessed within
their own company: the channel was already associated with a film
studio that could supply it with theatrical releases. But with the R
rating in ascendance and an emerging demographic of 9-to-14-year-olds
craving pop culture to call their own, they persevered.
A decade later, the Disney Channel is now the biggest kid on the
block: for two years, it has been the highest-rated basic cable
channel among children 6 to 11 and 9 to 14. It is a sea change from
2000-1 when Nickelodeon had all of the Top 10 most-watched cable
programs among children 6 to 14.
In the 18-month lead-up to "High School Musical 2," Disney executives
did not want to repeat their missteps with the original, when they
were surprised by the degree of success: they did not have enough
merchandise to sell the Monday morning after its premiere. And the
cast was not yet signed for the sequel.
This time the channel subdivided its audience into the narrowest of
niches and sought out each razor-thin slice wherever it could be
found: cross-promotions were created with Major League Baseball,
Wal-Mart, Sprint and Dannon yogurt, among others. Gossip and updates
on the making of the sequel were doled out to magazines like
CosmoGirl and People, and every star of the film had an official
presence on YouTube, MySpace or elsewhere on the Internet - a
strategy that was largely absent from the promotion of the first film.
Even the gradual unveiling of the sequel's poster on the Disney.com
Web site was turned into its own event. "The poster was released in
pieces," said Danielle Chiara, the deputy editor of J-14, a
tween-oriented entertainment magazine. "Every week you would see a
piece from it, and then kids could print it out once it was entirely
revealed."
Meanwhile, a global marketing plan was devised for the movie,
beginning with an almost-24-hour-long conference call between
American executives at the Disney Channel and its partners in more
than 100 countries. "We started with India, and we ended with
Australia," Mr. Ross said.
And, oh yes, there was merchandising, from apparel to pencil cases to
melodic toothbrushes. Fans could choose from three different DVD
versions, and at least as many soundtracks. Disney's Consumer
Products group estimates that in the 2008 fiscal year "High School
Musical" should generate some $650 million in retail sales.
Some observers of the fickle tween marketplace say they are surprised
that "High School Musical" has been able to maintain its popularity
as long as it has. "It's taken over everything, and everybody's under
the assumption that what goes up must come down," Ms. Chiara of J-14
said. "But it's on such a height right now that I don't see that
coming down happening any time soon."
By now, even the franchise's most loyal fans are aware of how
persistently "High School Musical" has been marketed to them.
"I always think that it's way too much," said Bridget Lavin, an
11-year-old from Manhasset, N.Y., wearing earrings in the shape of
Mickey Mouse. "That doesn't make me any less excited."
And some of the parents who pay for all the merchandise say they do
not mind, as long as it is in the service of something so squeaky
clean.
"What can I complain about?" said Andrea Doherty of Manhasset, the
mother of two daughters, 10 and 13. "In a regular teen movie, they'd
be jumping all over each other and you'd have to bleep things out."
There will be plenty of additional "High School Musical" products to
put on wish lists in the months ahead.
And a third movie is in the works, a feature film that will make its
debut in theaters in late 2008, once negotiations with principal cast
members are complete.
Mr. Ross gave no sign that the film franchise will end as a trilogy,
pointing to the Harry Potter series as his inspiration. "You always
feel pretty good when there's a number seven after their last
sequel," he said, "and a two after yours. If you do it right, maybe
there's more to go."
Brooks Barnes contributed reporting.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
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