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Disney Racks Up 120 Million Digital Plays, Iger Says

Jan 8, 2007  •  Post A Comment

Disney content has been played and downloaded more than 120 million times on digital venues such as iTunes, ABC.com and Disneychannel.com, company CEO Bob Iger said.

Part of Disney’s motivation in offering its shows online and on mobile devices is to fight piracy, Mr. Iger said during his keynote address Monday evening at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“The best way to combat piracy is to bring content to the market on a well-timed and well-priced basis,” he said. “Disney has taken a major step in that direction by making our product available on nearly every digital device.”

Digital distribution like this is giving fans, rather than actors, a bigger voice in a show’s storyline, said “Lost” star Evangeline Lilly, who joined Mr. Iger on stage during his keynote.

“We’re at the mercy of the fans,” she said. “Our producers are constantly going online and checking out what the fans want and what they want to see.”

Next up for Disney is the new Disney.com Web site, slated to relaunch later this month. The new site will include opportunities for users to create virtual worlds centered on different Disney properties.

“We plan to build more virtual worlds, like Buzz and Woody’s toy universe, perhaps racing Lightning McQueen through Radiator Springs or engaging in the magic world of Cinderella and the other Disney princesses,” Mr. Jobs said.

Paul Yanover, executive VP and managing director, Disney Online, previewed the new site for CES attendees. It’s stuffed full of rich media, video, intuitive navigation buttons and a broadband video player in the middle of the site. The site also include an “Extreme Disney” section that lets users control various “widgets” on the site, such as playlists of video and icons for characters, Mr. Yanover said.

(Editor: Baumann)