It doesn’t get much clearer than that. But such is the public fascination with both Disney and the Superhighway that when the company even glances up the on-ramp, it is presumed – wrongly – to be gunning toward the hardware future. When the company announced this month that it would enter a development deal with Ameritech, BellSouth and Southwestern Bell to pursue opportunities in movies, home shopping, interactive videos and educational programming, industry wags smiled smugly and proclaimed that Disney had finally joined its competitors in the hardware traffic jam. But Disney execs insist they have no plans to become techno-tycoons. The phone companies will wire homes and provide other technological muscle. Disney will stick to providing “software” – movies, CDs, TV programs. Even with “synergy” as the corporate mantra, Disney is letting its partners take the hardware risks. As Jef- frey Katzenberg was fond of saying after yet another tide of idle talk about Disney’s “true” intentions, “It’s the product, stupid.”
Disney has endured the same onslaught of speculation regarding its television connections. Disney owns a single TV station, KCAL in Los Angeles – and, of course, the Disney Channel. But the CBS deal in July – or the lack thereof – unleashed another round of whispers about Disney approaching the Tiffany network or even NBC as an outlet for its ever-increasing roster of TV shows and movies. Last week Eisner announced another classic, software-only Disney deal, with the European satellite-and-cable company CLT Multi Media. He called it another “window” for the company product. But the partnership may well spark more talk about a Disney network, though even analysts who say Disney might want such a deal don’t think one is imminent.
But while the speculation continues, Disney is certainly not turning its back on the future. Its interactive “Aladdin” game is the corporate equivalent of finding a genie in a bottle – at least 3 million copies have been sold in the past year. Disney hopes a similar version of “The Lion King” will become this year’s preteen Christmas present of choice. And the company is working quickly amid great competition to develop the “navigator,” which will help viewers find their favorite programs on the soon-to-be 500-channel TV universe. The company won’t discuss when this couch potato’s dream will be ready. But when it is, you can bet it will get people debating Disney’s master plan for the future all over again.
