Disney Mobile to Sell Phones, Services With Family Focus
Walt Disney Co. is going mobile.
The Burbank entertainment company said Wednesday that it planned to sell by next year Disney-brand mobile phones and services that use the Sprint Corp. wireless network, targeting families as customers.
Under the arrangement, Disney would be responsible for all aspects of the Disney Mobile service, including marketing, customer relations and billing. Disney Mobile would feature entertainment and services tailored for parents and children.
“It’s a big bet,” said Forrester Research Inc. analyst Charles Golvin. “But it has the potential to have a big payoff.”
Roger Entner, vice president of wireless telecoms for Ovum, a global research and consulting firm, estimates that Disney may have to invest as much as $100 million on the venture.
Among the challenges will be to run an efficient billing and customer service operation, a complex undertaking in the wireless industry.
“There is a sizable risk,” Entner said. “What happens if the phone doesn’t work? Suddenly, it’s not Sprint’s problem; it’s Mickey Mouse’s problem.”
Disney executives believe that they are in a unique position to target families because of the global reach of the company’s name.
“We’ve heard loud and clear that there is a need for mobile services to keep families connected,” said Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Internet Group. “There is no service out there that is specifically targeting this segment.”
Disney is joining several other companies that have “affinity” deals with the wireless industry. Last year, Disney’s ESPN sports network announced plans for a wireless phone service with Sprint targeted at sports fans.
Sprint also is a wholesale provider to such companies as Qwest Communications International Inc., AT&T; Corp. and Virgin Mobile.
Unlike other affinity deals, Disney’s plan to market to families could be “pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable age group for wireless usage,” Ovum’s Entner said.
But Wadsworth said the company would carefully market the phones.
“We’re not looking to push this to young kids,” he said.
