The laser TV industry has focused on the transition to broadcasting in recent years, but that doesn’t mean the linear aspect is being ignored or neglected.
That was the message on Thursday from Karim Daniel, chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, the unit that oversees all television and film distribution and monetization within the Disney empire. Daniel was a keynote speaker at diverseThe pinnacle of entertainment and technology in one hotel in West Hollywood, presented by Citi National Bank.
“We’ve always had an internal focus on the variety of platforms we have on. [Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution], or a variety of touchpoints of the experiences we have across The Walt Disney Company with consumers – which are as important now as ever. And we tie these organizations together in such a way that, again, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” he said.
“If you look historically at what the Walt Disney Company has done, we have outgrown and maybe even led those industries though [changes] that may occur in the industries we are involved in,” he added in his keynote conversation with Cynthia Littleton, miscellaneous Co-Editor-in-chief.
ESPN has grabbed the headlines recently, as Disney faced some pressure from investors to consider selling or offering part of the sporting powerhouse while the traditional pay-TV ecosystem feels the pain of cutting wires. But ESPN is still a huge part of Disney’s business and it’s also still the most watched cable channel. Daniel acknowledged that there are difficult long-term distribution talks with ESPN’s external cable partners. But he said the idea that Disney is giving up its linear channels — from FX to Disney Channel to Freeform — is misleading.
A notable example of how Disney has made its linear and streaming assets work together is the new FX drama series “The Old Man.” The detective drama, starring Jeff Bridges, premiered on June 16 on linear FX and was available to stream on Hulu after midnight. He said subsequent episodes will also follow the same “non-cannibal” windows process.
“We’re actually reaching more parts of the audience than we used to reach with just a stream or linear component. The importance of DMED is that we are able to look across all of these platforms, not at the expense of another platform,” Daniel said. . We have our goals, we will achieve those goals. But we can also be a huge hit in networks and on stage.”
Daniel was promoted to his current position in October 2020, as part of a massive restructuring of Disney’s operations into two core units: DMED Content and Disney Parks, and experiences and products for theme parks, cruises and consumer products. Daniel has charted his path through Mouse over the past two decades as he explains how he forged his initial relationship with Bob Chappe, who was the division’s president and now CEO.
Daniel worked his way through the company’s strategy and business development teams. He worked with Chapek on distribution and consumer products, before moving to Walt Disney Imagineering as chief operating officer in 2017. This job, Daniel said, was the best preparation for managing the large revenue-producing responsibilities he has today.
Being in one of the most creative Walt Disney Company organizations in the world has been invaluable and really getting a sense of the passion and heart making things that have entertained people for 50 years and will enjoy for the next 50 years,” he said.
Daniel has been pressed on how to handle green content and cancellation within Disney in the new structure, given the separation between DMED and content production groups led by Dana Walden on the TV side and Alan Bergman on the film. It’s a collaborative process based on data and insights as well as the needs of the many individual platforms that Disney has, both linear and streaming, Danielle said.
Daniel noted that he was in a similar situation when he was running the business side of Imagineering Group.
“This experience gave me more insight and preparation for this role than I thought I was in a creative group and another group with business decisions,” he said.
“I learned a lot about the creative process,” Daniel added. “But I’ve also been able to understand what it feels like to not be in control of the final business decisions. So you’re fast-tracking into this new two-year-old organization next month… There are incredibly talented content teams making things that entertain people all over the world. I feel like I have A little understanding of what it’s like to spend time in a creative organization without that ultimate authority, as I know collaboration is crucial. You can’t run a business without having a real appreciation and connection to that creative group.”
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