Disney is looking at Latin America as a place of possible growth for the Disney Channel, per VARIETY. As it gets harder to earn money in Europe, execs predict that Latin America will be the place to be.
President of Disney Channels Worldwide, Rich Ross, in talking to reporters during a visit to London for the Disney Channel movie premiere of CAMP ROCK, said, "In the next five years Latin America is going to be an economic powerhouse for us. Poland and Australia are other growth markets for us."
In the main European territories, platforms are paying less to distribute the Disney Channel, the advertising market has slowed and a restriction on junk food ads aimed at children has forced the company to rethink how it operates the channels. "It's a little chilly out there right now," Ross said.
A new experiment launched recently in Spain, where Ross was enthusiastic about a soft re-launch of the Disney Channel in Spain as a free-to-air web, following 10 years as a pay channel. It has its official launch on September 19 and is the first time Disney has offered any of its channels free-to-air supported by advertising.
The upcoming re-branding of Jetix in the U.S. to Disney XD, set to launch next February, will not happen in Europe for the moment, but Ross did not rule it out in the long term.
Another shift is one toward globalized local programming, including a new animated series GWYN co-written by PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN actor Giles New for the U.K. market.
"Our strategy is to seek out the best creative talent from around the world to make shows for Disney Channel," he said. "The U.K. has incredible heritage in kids' TV and we're constantly impressed by the depth of the talent pool here."
GWYN, originally written for BBC Radio, is "Narnia in reverse." A child's life is transformed when a giant elf, Gwyn, bursts out of a wardrobe pursued by a mob of mythical creatures. BBC sitcom star Keiron Self is the co-writer.
