|
As we look to the future, we expect the ongoing digital transformation
of the entertainment industry to provide significant drivers of
growth for the company. New digital technologies present an enormous
opportunity for Disney, so much so that we have informally dubbed
this Disney’s Digital Decade (I guess now it’s been
formally dubbed). Digital technology offers important advantages
on two fronts – to distribute content more efficiently and
effectively, and to create more compelling content.
With regard to distribution, digital is creating new ways to deliver
our products to our customers. I’ve already mentioned the
impact DVD is having. One reason this format is booming is because
it allows us to enhance our films in ways that were never possible
on analog VHS tapes. The sharper image, the ability to skip directly
to specific scenes, the interactive “extras,” the option
of viewing a film with the filmmakers’ commentary …
these are all exciting improvements to the entertainment experience
and they are all thanks to the abilities inherent in digital delivery.
In the fall, we launched a new movies-on-demand service called
MovieBeam in three cities. The service always offers 100 movies
on demand with 10 new movies updated weekly. MovieBeam uses part
of the broadcast spectrum to deliver movies to a small receiver
on the customer’s television. Rather than driving to the video
store, MovieBeam customers have 100 digital quality movies-on-demand
at their fingertips, creating something of a video store-in-a-box.
The initial results in these three cities are very promising. This
is part of our ongoing drive to take advantage of the remarkable
possibilities of mobile wireless technologies.
Many wireless systems in Japan and Europe are technologically ahead
of those in the United States, making it possible for cell phone
users to easily subscribe to Disney ring tones, images and games
on their cell phones. We have all seen cell phones evolve from mere
portable telephones to sophisticated communications devices with
screens … and screens are something Disney fills, whether
in theaters, on TVs, computers or, now, on wireless units. Other
digital distribution initiatives include High Definition Television,
which I’ve already mentioned, and ultra-High Definition digital
projection of motion pictures in theaters. In mentioning these initiatives,
it is important to note that not every one will be a winner; however,
the ones that are should put us ahead of the curve and underpin
meaningful growth.
As for creating more compelling content, the examples abound. The
computer-generated imagery of Finding Nemo, the space flight
simulation of Mission: SPACE, the 3-D wizardry of Mickey’s
PhilharMagic, the worldwide interactivity of Toontown Online,
the walking dinosaur Lucky, and the ability of a plush Mickey Mouse
called Pal Mickey to serve as a tour guide for guests at our parks
at Walt Disney World demonstrate the range of possibilities. Just
as no one envisioned the ubiquitous nature of computers a few years
ago, it is impossible to foresee all the possibilities of the Digital
Decade, but they are coming and Disney will be there.
|
