disney

Report: Antipiracy coalition of big media, tech on the way

The announcement has been made--read CNET News.com's full coverage here.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that an impressive cast of major media and technology companies plans to announce a high-profile list of joint guidelines for preserving copyright and fighting piracy online. Sources told The Journal that the companies involved include media moguls CBS Corp., NBC Universal, News Corp.'s Fox (and its MySpace social network), Viacom, and Disney, as well as tech icon Microsoft and French video-sharing site DailyMotion.

It's unclear whether these are the only parties involved in the deal. Inquiries to several of … Read more

DisneySea blends Disney imagination and Japanese style

This week (parent.thesis) is reporting from Japan

For some Americans visiting Japan, Tokyo Disney would be the resort of last resort, but for our family, we decided that spending our first two days and nights there would be a good way to motivate our 8-year old to tackle the 11-hour jet lag head-on. The resort is made up of two parks, Disneyland, which is a near-exact replica of the California original, and DisneySea, a unique park that opened in 2001.

I have read that DisneySea was a design originally considered and rejected for an additional park in California, but to me DisneySea melds perfectly with Japanese style. It is amazing to see what can be done with current technology and design--going well beyond the 1960's "magic" used to create Disneyland. Instead of Sleeping Beauty's castle, there is an erupting volcano anchoring the center of the park, containing one of the best rides I have ever been on. Journey to the Center of the Earth is a combination themed attraction/roller coaster that culminates in a simulated free-fall shot "up and out" of the volcano.… Read more

Disney Mobile bites the dust

The Walt Disney Co. pulled the plug Thursday on its Disney Mobile phone service.

Disney said the service will no longer be available after December 31, but it might offer some of the specially designed software and applications through another wireless operator.

Disney came on the mobile scene about 18 months ago with a special phone service designed to disseminate its content and create a slew of applications designed for parents and families. Its Family Center allows parents to track their kids and limit how and when they can use their phones. It also allows parents to set spending limits … Read more

HP Disney-fies its executive team

Hewlett-Packard filled out its executive ranks Tuesday, naming Michael Mendenhall as its new senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

Mendenhall, 45, will take on HP's global corporate marketing, communications and customer intelligence duties officially October 1. He will report to Shane Robison, HP's chief strategy and technology officer.

Prior to joining HP, Mendenhall had worked 17 years for the Walt Disney Company, most recently as director of marketing for the company's $10-billion global parks and resorts business.

He steps into a job that had been open since May, when former head marketer Cathy Lyons moved over … Read more

Two new Samsungs

The DM-S110 and DM-S105 are based largely on the earlier Samsung SPH-M300 and are the first Samsungs for Disney Mobile. Though they sport the same dimensions and the same exterior features Disney put its personal stamp on both phones. The DM-S110 is pink and the DM-S105 is silver, and both have a design of interlocking stars on the front face. Features are standard Disney Mobile with Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a VGA camera and lots of Disney content. Read more about it in our DM-S110 review or take a gander in our slide show.

Blu-ray camp fires back at latest HD DVD announcements

Ah, the emails and voice mails were flying fast and furious yesterday after Paramount and DreamWorks made their little announcement about going HD DVD exclusive. At just after 4 p.m. in New York, Fox and MGM put out a press release saying they were unveiling "an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy, including 29 new release and 'must-have' catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year."

The release went on to say that Fox intends to put out "at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD 'firsts'" and highlighted the fact that "Blu-ray was out-performing HD DVD 2-to-1 at retail in 2007." Among the 29 new releases, my eye was drawn to Master & Commander, Ronin, Cast Away, Independence Day, A Bridge Too Far, 28 Days Later, The Day After Tomorrow, and the Die Hard trilogy.

After the email went out, the phone started ringing: All the CNET the home-theater editors were contacted, so the PR folks at GCI Group in LA were working overtime, trying to do a little damage control. The basic message was, they may have this, but we have a whole more of that. And, did you hear that the Paramount deal doesn't include any of Spielberg's movies and that the deal only ran for 18 months? Tit for tat. Tat for tit. The war was raging.

Then, thanks to a New York Times article, word got out this morning that indeed (as I suspected), someone was getting paid off. The article noted that, "Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, according to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified." Microsoft denied paying anything, but wouldn't rule it out as a tactic in the future. There was no word on who might be paying Universal for its exclusive HD DVD agreement, but you gotta think there's a pretty sweet deal in place there, too.

… Read more

Magic Kingdom opens the floodgates

As Friday's release of High School Musical 2 looms--to the dread of hapless parents already forced to endure daily doses of Radio Disney--the requisite product merchandizing has been wholly expected. But we didn't know that the locker-themed TV and clock radio we cited earlier were just the beginning of an entire fall line of gadgets aimed at kids and tweens, including cameras, camcorders, MP3 players, HDTVs and enough accessories to choke an elf. (The "Disney Flix Video Camera" pictured here goes for about $100.) Gizmodiva recommends the Hannah Montana-themed line. And we already know, of course, … Read more

New Samsungs for Disney Mobile

MVNO Disney Mobile added two new cell phones today with the Samsung DM-S105 and DM-S110. These are the first Samsung phones for the family-focused carrier and they bear the common marks of their maker. Like just about every Samsung handset these days, the DM-S105 and DM-S110 sport thin profiles (0.7 inches) and come in flashy colors. The feature set, which is identical on both phones, offers something that both adults and kids will appreciate. Inside you'll find Bluetooth, a VGA camera, text and multimedia messaging, voice dialing and a speakerphone. So what's the difference between the two … Read more

Relive 10th grade with locker HDTV

As many a deafened parent of pre-teen kids will tell you, Disney's High School Musical is a force to be reckoned with. It has gone well beyond its TV-movie origins to become an international phenemenon, with live shows, DVDs, CDs and maddeningly repetitive pop tunes that are driving innumerable moms and dads to the brink of insanity.

All of which makes it a perfect storm, of course, for a major merchandizing blitz. Never one to shy away from a marketing challenge, Amazon is offering a "High School Musical Wii Bundle With Microphone" next month. But Gizmodo notes … Read more