Dana Walden and Josh D'Amaro Arturo Holmes/Getty Images; Jesse Grant/Getty Images Disney will continue to lean into short-form content under the new leadership of CEO Josh D’Amaro and push forward with investment in original IP and existing franchises under president Dana Walden.
On Disney’s earnings call Wednesday, D’Amaro’s first since being named as CEO, the chief noted that the company has already introduced vertical video onto Disney+, while noting that it’s still early, but “already driving deeper engagement,” and the ESPN app.
Disney also brought Predator and Lilo & Stitch videos from creators to its streaming platforms, and plans to “advance that work in the months ahead.” The company is also focused on “making sure that our IP shows up in relevant ways across social platforms,” D’Amaro said.
“It’s an area we’re focused on because we have deeply committed fans who love our brands and our franchises and characters, and they want to engage with them in this new way. And this is specifically important when we think about Gen Alpha, obviously, the newest generation of Disney fans,” D’Amaro said of the overall short-form strategy.
“We’re going to continue to advance that work in the months ahead, we’re also really focused on making sure that our IP shows up in relevant ways across social platforms,” he said.
Overall, when it comes to the content strategy under D’Amaro and now Dana Walden, who has been named president and chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Company, D’Amaro said the company will continue to invest in existing franchises, as well as work to “take creative risks to build brand new ones.” He cited Zootopia as an example of a franchise worth investing in, and the new Pixar film Hoppers as an example of a potential new area.
“We’re focused on investing in IP that really breaks through and that builds those fan connections and endures,” D’Amaro said.
As Walden was appointed to her role, Disney brought its games business under the same umbrella as its streaming, film and television teams. D’Amaro said this move will help “accelerate decision-making,” while praising Walden’s ability to run this new streamlined organization.
“What’s ahead? We centralize television programming within Disney Entertainment, DTC. So we’re programming for Disney Plus and Hulu, while being smart about window and content to linear so that we can expand reach and maximize monetization. And we also integrated our games business into Disney entertainment. And this creates new opportunities to cross-promote franchises and use games to extend storytelling and ultimately develop new IP. So essentially, Dana is making sure that every decision we make in content, from development all the way through how we distribute, that it’s optimized for the fan and for the long-term strength of our brands,” D’Amaro said.
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