The Mouse wants more channels............................
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VOLUME 18 NUMBER 47 NOVEMBER 24, 1997
The Mouse Eyes Digital
Disney Plots Four New Nets, Laybourne Says
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Following in the footsteps of several other programmers, The Walt Disney Co. plans to launch four digital networks, reportedly including one with soap operas and another for kids.
<Picture: G. Laybourne>As part of its digital initiative, Disney is looking into repackaging programming from the existing analog services that it owns stakes in -- Lifetime Television, A&E Network and Disney Channel -- on new digital networks, Geraldine Laybourne, president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks, said last week.
In fact, sources familiar with the network's plans said Lifetime intends to launch a digital-movie network next year. Lifetime officials declined comment. It's unclear if the Lifetime movie service is one of the four that Laybourne referred to last week. Lifetime, which is owned by Disney and Hearst Broadcasting Corp., has apparently scrapped plans to spin off an analog channel based on a programming block called "The Place," aimed at women 18 to 34 years old.
In addition, Leo J. Hindery Jr., Tele-Communications Inc.'s president and chief operating officer, said he met recently with Laybourne to discuss Disney's digital channels. As a result, TCI plans to test two of them -- one carrying soap operas, and another with kids' programming -- in two markets, Hindery said.
A kids' channel would be a natural for Laybourne, who helped to build Nickelodeon into the kids' powerhouse that it is now.
In very sketchy terms, she disclosed Disney's plans for digital networks last week during a speech before the Washington Metropolitan Cable Association in Washington, D.C.
"We have four [digital networks] on the drawing boards," she said. "They will be announced shortly."
Laybourne said Disney is being "very pragmatic" in terms of its digital ambitions. "What are the things that people really love from Lifetime, what are the things that people really love from A&E, what are the things that people really love from Disney that we can package inexpensively and get rolled out?" she said.
Laybourne declined to discuss any additional details about Disney's digital plans, such as a launch date or what all four channels will carry. She also did not explicitly mention a stand-alone Lifetime digital channel.
It is unclear whether the kids' digital channel that TCI plans to test for Disney is the children's channel that Laybourne has had in the works for at least a year now, so-called ABZ. The concept was for ABZ to target preschoolers and younger children during the day. A Disney/ABC Cable spokeswoman declined to comment.
Disney will face increased competition in the kids' arena next year, when Fox Kids Worldwide Inc. transforms The Family Channel into a kids' network during the day. A number of cable programmers are creating digital networks in order to secure shelf space on the digital-video platforms that are being launched this year by major MSOs such as TCI and Cox Communications Inc.
For example, Discovery Communications Inc. created and launched a package of four digital channels. Rainbow Media Holdings Inc. has a number of offerings targeted to digital, including Independent Film Channel and World Cinema next year. Other digital networks are also in the works, according to Rainbow officials.
"Operators for some time have been saying that they need high-quality products with low, inexpensive rates to drive digital boxes," said Bill Goodwyn, senior vice president of affiliate sales and marketing for Discovery Networks. "So, some networks, like Discovery, have gone out and staked a digital claim."
It is unclear whether the kids' digital channel that TCI plans to test for Disney is the children's channel that Laybourne has had in the works for at least a year now, so-called ABZ. The concept was for ABZ to target preschoolers and younger children during the day. A Disney/ABC Cable spokeswoman declined to comment. Disney will face increased competition in the kids' arena next year, when Fox Kids Worldwide Inc. transforms The Family Channel into a kids' network during the day. A number of cable programmers are creating digital networks in order to secure shelf space on the digital-video platforms that are being launched this year by major MSOs such as TCI and Cox Communications Inc.
For example, Discovery Communications Inc. created and launched a package of four digital channels. Rainbow Media Holdings Inc. has a number of offerings targeted to digital, including Independent Film Channel and World Cinema next year. Other digital networks are also in the works, according to Rainbow officials.
"Operators for some time have been saying that they need high-quality products with low, inexpensive rates to drive digital boxes," said Bill Goodwyn, senior vice president of affiliate sales and marketing for Discovery Networks. "So, some networks, like Discovery, have gone out and staked a digital claim."
Chris Dixon, an analyst at PaineWebber, said it's a natural for Disney to create digital channels that will extend its networks' brands. "It's easy to multiplex," he said.
In addition to a new kids' channel, Laybourne has previously discussed doing a network targeted toward teens, Dixon said.
The creation of a package of digital networks would mark Disney's first major expansion in the cable arena under Laybourne's tenure with the media giant. In December 1995, Laybourne announced that she was leaving Nickelodeon to head up the Capital Cities/ABC Inc. cable unit, but its initial planned ventures never materialized. The announcement of Laybourne's appointment was made just prior to Disney completing its acquisition of CapCities.
Back in 1996, Disney's ABC unit was talking to Comcast Corp. about airing reruns of network soap operas on Q2, which the MSO owns. But the plan never materialized.
And in May 1996, CapCities shelved its plans to create a 24-hour all-news cable network. ABC was daunted by competition from News Corp.'s Fox News Channel, which was paying operators $10 to $11 per subscriber for carriage, and from NBC, which was rolling out MSNBC with partner Microsoft Corp.
During her presentation in Washington, Laybourne talked about how Fox's expensive offer raised the ante for news channels.
"You now see MSNBC experiencing very low viewership," she said. "From an economic standpoint, we probably made the right decision for that period of time."
She suggested that in the future, ABC might attempt to create a news service that would serve the 18- to 49-year-old demographic.
It remains to be seen whether Disney will try to air any of its digital networks on its ABC platform by using the multicasting option offered through the digital spectrum that the government gave broadcasters, ostensibly for high-definition television. ABC Network president Preston Padden caused a stir in Washington, D.C., earlier this year by suggesting that ABC might multiplex its digital signal to offer pay TV programs instead of HDTV. He later backed away from that statement.
In terms of digital for cable, Laybourne said, "We need to examine opportunities for helping the cable operator to build out the digital tiers ... We need to come up with things that will be inexpensive to produce, because initially, there will not be critical mass in the digital tiers."
Describing her recent meeting with Hindery, Laybourne credited him with creating "a feeling of partnership with the programmers that I have never seen before."
Although Hindery said TCI will test two Disney digital channels, officials from TCI's Headend in the Sky service told a meeting of operators last week that they will soon be adding four "exciting" new channels to HITS' digital lineup.
Leslie Ellis contributed to this story. |
