The force is strong in this firm

From the economist web site:

Disney is making a fortune and safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

AS AUDIENCES left the premiere of the new Star Wars film, “The Force Awakens”, in Los Angeles on December 14th, its last image still alive in their imaginations, it became obvious that the hit of the year had arrived. Those at the screening saw plenty that is familiar from the original three episodes of the saga. Old characters from the 1980s Star Wars films are joined by a fresh generation of heroes to battle stormtroopers of a new evil galactic order. There is even a new hope of mysterious parentage on a desert planet, though now it is a woman, Rey, instead of Luke Skywalker. After three disappointing prequels the film is a return to form.

If “The Force Awakens” evokes the past, but on a grander canvas, Bob Iger, boss of the Walt Disney Company since 2005, has also set about remaking an original formula on a more ambitious scale. An intricate flow chart drawn in 1957 (pictured) elegantly lays out the company’s strategy, with films at the centre surrounded by theme parks, merchandise, music, publishing and television. Each piece of the business provides content and leads to sales for the others. Putting films back at the heart of the business is a reboot of the Disney family’s original scheme to dominate the entertainment industry by using content to appeal to a bigger, global audience.

In remodelling itself to prize content over the means to distribute it, Disney has become the envy of the industry. Profits have more than doubled over the past five years, to $8.4 billion, and Disney’s share price has risen nearly fivefold in a little over a decade, easily beating its rivals. Comcast comes closest. Its share price has tripled in the same period; that of 21st Century Fox has doubled. Time Warner’s is up by only 20% and Viacom’s is lower. Disney is the most valuable of the lot, worth a star-studded $187 billion.

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h++p://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21684138-disney-making-fortune-and-safeguarding-its-future-buying-childhood-piece-piece

Interesting article and nice work by Iger. Any ideas who might be in the pipeline to replace him in 2018? He's certainly got the Disney magic, but does John Lasseter have enough business knowledge to take the helm?

Tom Staggs will probably replace Iger.

What really struck me is the anticipation of getting $5 billion in merchandise revenue from Star Wars stuff in the next year alone.

Looking around our house Christmas morning, though, I guess I'm not surprised.

although I read ESPN might b losing some of its luster, because of how much they paid for rights to broadcast some of the sports etc