Disney Plus, a new streaming service, was arriving on Nov. 12, he told the seven million people watching at home. With his voice rising, he added, “It’s available for you to pre-enroll right now!”At that moment, Disney Plus employees, watching the live broadcast from Disney headquarters in Burbank, Calif., broke into applause. Anything for a corporate sibling: ABC, which is owned by Disney, has been blowing trumpets for Disney Plus as part of a kingdom-wide advertising offensive — one that Ricky Strauss, president for content and marketing at Disney Plus, has described as “a synergy campaign of a magnitude that is unprecedented in the history of the Walt Disney Company.” That is quite a statement given the gusto with which Disney typically approaches cross-promotions. Two years ago, when Disney unveiled plans for a Netflix-style video platform, Robert A. Iger, the chief executive, made a bold proclamation: “We’re going to launch big, and we’re going to launch hot,” he said. What did Disney know about streaming and the complex technology needed to pull off that kind of service?

Source: New York Times October 28, 2019 01:07 UTC