Posts Tagged ‘Business’

Disney Shows You How to Shop Like a Celebrity

Connecticut-based Fanzter announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement with Disney’s venture capital group Steamboat Ventures to invest $2million into Fanzter’s Coolspotters, a site devoted to directing visitors to the clothing and gadgets used by their favorite celebs. SVC managing director Dan Beldy joins the Fanzter board.

Bob Iger on Movies, Piracy, American Idol, the Economy and.. D23!? (Audio Included)

Speaking from the Deutsche Bank Media and Telecom Conference on March 3, Disney President and CEO Robert Iger had a lot to say during a Q&A session on the current state of the company and its potential future. Read more…

Disney Announces Webcasts of Shareholder Meeting and Iger Q&A

* Bob Iger, president and chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) will participate in a question-and-answer session at the Deutsche Bank Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. PST. To listen to a live audio Webcast of the session, please point your browser to www.disney.com/investors approximately fifteen minutes prior to the start time. A re-play will be provided through Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. PDT.

* The annual meeting of shareholders of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), including remarks by management regarding the Company, will be available live via audio webcast at www.disney.com/investors beginning at 10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT on March 10, 2009. A re-play will be provided through March 24, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. PDT.

Disney U.S. Parks to Consolidate Some Operations

LOS ANGELES, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co said on Wednesday it will streamline some behind-the-scenes operations, including menu planning and ride design, at its two U.S. theme parks to try to offset the effects of the global economic downturn. Read more…

Walt Dismal World – Disney Releases First Quarter

(SK Note: You can access the report directly here)

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co reported a sharply lower-than-expected quarterly profit as the global downturn hurt its TV advertising, DVD sales and theme parks, pushing its shares 9 percent lower. Read more…

Universal Orlando Cuts 70 Jobs

From the Orlando Business Journal:

Universal Orlando laid off about 70 workers — less than 1 percent of its work force — in an effort to adapt to slowing business conditions.

Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said the layoffs took place Jan.22.

“This has not been easy for us,” Schroder said. “It’s taken much thought and review. We are doing everything possible to ease the process for those affected and ease their transition.”

Most were management workers. Universal didn’t provide a specific number of positions, nor did comment on severance for the workers.

The move came a day after Walt Disney Parks and Resorts said it would offer buy out packages more than 300 upper-level management workers at Walt Disney World.

Universal is proceeding with two new park attractions, the Hollywood, Rip, Ride, Rockit rollercoaster, scheduled to open this spring, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter scheduled to open next year.

Wondertime’s Up for Magazine

Despite a relatively strong performance in ad revenue in 2008 versus most other magazines, AdAge is reporting that Disney’s Wondertime magazine has become the next victim of the economic climate. The March issue will be the last and it’s not clear at this time how many jobs will be lost as some content is diverted to other like-properties.

Disney says to combine two ABC units

LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said on Thursday it would combine two divisions, ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios.

A spokesman said no job cuts would be involved. Read more…

Disney to Trim Fat at Parks

MarketWatch is reporting on a Wall Street Journal article that talks about Disney offering buyouts to nearly 600 executives in the domestic resorts and park division with more than half in Orlando.