[Park Hopper]

Disney is contemplating getting into the cell-phone business, offering its own phones and service. Here's the latest:

Dialing Disney
The company is thinking about getting into the cell-phone business, but would Disney fans switch from their current plans?
By Greg Groeller
Sentinel Staff Writer

August 8, 2004

Julianne Killian represents the kind of challenge the Walt Disney Co. could face if it decides to enter the wireless-phone business.

Killian, a 27-year-old resident of Pittsburgh, frequents Internet message boards dedicated to Disney, collects expensive Disney art, and travels to Walt Disney World at least twice a year.

Yet the self-proclaimed Disney fanatic says it might take some persuading to get her to switch to a Disney wireless plan and cell phone.

"If I was assured that it was the same level of service that I'm getting now, it might be something I'd be interested in," said Killian, an elementary-school teacher.

Even then, she wouldn't be inclined to buy a Mickey Mouse cell phone. "I don't wear Disney jewelry or watches," she said.

Disney officials acknowledge that the company is considering the possibility of offering cell phones and wireless service tied to its Disney characters and its ESPN Inc. sports subsidiary.

Some experts and even some Disney fans are ambivalent about the plan. While they predict that a phone service backed by ESPN, the nation's leading cable-TV sports network, could be wildly popular, they wonder if a service based on Disney characters would have trouble finding an audience.

Disney could offer either or both plans by buying cell-phone service from a leading wireless carrier such as Sprint, Cingular or Verizon and reselling it under the Disney or ESPN brands.

Both plans would probably offer designer phones and special content such as music from Disney movies or sports scores and news from ESPN. And as cell-phone technology advances during the next few years, such plans could add full-motion video clips for an extra fee.

Already provides content

Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Internet Group, acknowledged last week that the company would be catering to a niche audience.

"The premise is that, by crafting a highly targeted cell-phone service for a very specific target audience with a strong affinity for our brands, we can provide a differentiated service that has high appeal to that audience and delivers exactly what they need," he said.

"We believe there is a need for such services, and we may be able to deliver them with our brands."

The company's Disney Mobile already has agreements with wireless companies and cell-phone manufacturers in 20 nations, including the United States, that allow customers of those companies to download sports scores, headlines from ABC News, music, games and Disney images. In Japan alone, nearly 4 million cell-phone users have access to Disney content.

But offering its own wireless service and cell phones would be new territory for Disney.

Big brands trying wireless

Reselling agreements are the latest trend in the wireless-phone industry.

Billionaire Richard Branson was one of the first to enter the market when his British conglomerate, Virgin Group, founded Virgin Mobile in 1999.

Virgin Mobile, which entered the U.S. market in 2002 by reselling Sprint's service, has taken aim squarely at the youth market, offering downloadable hip-hop songs and other music from MTV. Virgin Mobile USA already has more than 1.75 million subscribers and is the nation's fastest-growing wireless service.

7-Eleven Inc., the nation's largest convenience-store chain, recently began offering a prepaid cell-phone plan, 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless, through a reselling agreement with Cingular. And Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is mulling a branded wireless plan to be marketed nationwide through its stores.

Home run for sports fans

James Simmons, a 34-year-old Kissimmee resident and the Web-site administrator of addictsports.com, said he thinks sports fans would be very interested in an ESPN service plan, particularly if it offered up-to-the-minute scores.

"I am always on the go and sometimes cannot get in front of a TV or computer to see how my teams are doing," Simmons said. "I would definitely be interested."

ESPN-brand cell phones and service plans could be tailored to individual sports teams, allowing users to view sports scores, news and video clips, said Robert Entner, an analyst at The Yankee Group, a Boston-based telecommunications consulting firm.

While ESPN should have an easy time finding fans among the nation's millions of cell-phone users, Mickey Mouse and Disney's other characters might appeal to only hard-core Disney fans and pre-adolescents, Entner said.

"With Disney you have cutesy intellectual property," Entner said. "I have difficulty seeing the appeal of such a plan."

But Disney could partially overcome that hurdle with a little creative marketing and by offering more adult-oriented content, such as news headlines, that would appeal to a wider audience, said Allan Keiter, president of myrateplan.com, a consumer Web site for comparing wireless plans.

"Disney has to come up with its own cool stuff to offer, but it's doable," Keiter said. Still, "in terms of the adult market, that [ESPN] is probably a better place for them to go."

Service woes to consider

Another potential problem, according to Entner, is that image-conscious Disney may be unwilling to endure the inevitable complaints of lost or static-filled calls endemic to most of the wireless business.

People could blame Disney for any service problems rather than the company from which Disney buys it wireless air time, he said.

"Disney really tries to have the sterling brand, and if your call drops all the time, it's Disney's fault, not the other guy's," Entner said.

[Dana]

I can see the up-to-the-minute sports scores being a big time plus for a lot of sports fans, but I hope Disney in thinking on a very low-budget plan or they will never gain the customer plan they seek. Wireless competition is pretty feirce. I want ot see how this one plays out. Thanks for the news PH!

[mickaholic4077]

I can just imagine Donal's voice saying,"Can you hear me now!!!!"

[geeman]

"low budget" and "Disney" in the same sentence?
That would indeed be a "magical experience"

[dznygrl]

Hmmm...I don't think it would take much to persuade me to change to a Disney plan! Cell phone companies already want an arm and a leg from me just to start up a plan (because I'm only 19), so it probably wouldn't end up costing me much more! Besides, I've spent sooooo much money on downloading Disney ringtones & wallpapers, maybe this would actually save me some moola! LOL.

[ZarSu]

I am just the opposite, it would take allot for me to give up my Verizon accounts (have 3 home and 5 @ work). I have never had a dropped call, bad service, or any problems at all. Now my Nextel (work, have 7 through them) one is horrible, 75% of the time there is no service in this area and overcharges are a normal thing from them. I even tried to stand on my roof to get a signal and could not connect, the Verizon one if almost always full bars. The only way I would consider changing is if they were going through Verizon. I have customers that have phones from most of the other providers (T mobile, AT&T, Cellular, etc.) and they are a little better than Nextel but still does not come close to Verizon service in this area.