 Carolina Lightcap, president of Disney Channels Worldwide, talks to The Korea Times during an interview in Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
‘High multi-channel penetration makes Korea notable emerging market’
By Kwon Mee-yooFrom Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to Hanna Montana and Captain Jack Sparrow, all-time favorite Disney characters will hit the small screen here on the 100 percent Korean-language Disney Channel and Disney Junior.
The Disney Channel began airing Friday, featuring worldwide hits such as “Phineas and Ferb” and “Good Luck Charlie” via satellite, digital cable and IPTV. The channel is available in HD multiplex as well as SD format.
Targeting children aged six to 14 and their families, the channel strikes a balance between animation and live action programs. The channel also offers Disney movies from classic franchises such as “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” as well as Pixar’s “Wall-E” and “Finding Nemo” — every evening.Disney Junior is poised to embark on July 11. The channel targets a younger audience from two- to seven-year-olds and offers programs stressing storytelling, including Korean-dubbed “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and “Jake and the Never Land Pirates”.
The Disney Channel Worldwide is composed of 95 entertainment channels for children and family, available in 169 countries in 35 languages, reaching more than 300 million homes.
The Disney-branded channels are operated here through Television Media Korea (TMK), a joint venture of Disney Channel International and SK Telecom.
This is the first time for the Disney Channel to establish a joint-venture company. Carolina Lightcap, president of Disney Channels Worldwide said the company was looking for the right partner to launch the channel in Korea.
“SK Telecom is the partner that would complement our own strength in content with their own strength in telecommunications and digital media,” she said in an interview in Seoul last week.
The Disney Channel has been available in Korea since 2002 as a rebroadcast of Disney Channel Asia and all programs were in English.
“We are so excited now to be launching these channels in Korean. Until now, the channel was available only in English and obviously it doesn’t have the same level of resonance with the local market,” Lightcap said.
“Everywhere around the world where we launch, we are always in the local language. This is a major move for us and the market.”
She said the company saw high potential here.
“Korea is one of the emerging markets. Multi-channel penetration is so high in Korea and it is a great opportunity for us and for the Disney brand overall with our local presence.”
Localization is a key feature in Disney Channels Worldwide. Lightcap said they found that children really respond to programming in their local language.
“The connection with the kids has to be in their local language.”
The channel tends to keep a balance in Korea, offering linear channels in Korean and SVOD in English, basically covering both needs.
“For those who want to expose their children to English, we are still going to offer the English programming in SVOD,” she added. “I think it is a good solution in this market.”
Lightcap also emphasized that the Disney channels embrace families.
“Disney channels tend to bring the whole family together to watch television. We are kid-driven, but family inclusive.”
After launching the channels, the company will also produce programs locally.
“That’s something definitely we are going to pursue in the near future. We don’t know if it is going to be a live action or an animation because Korea is quite a unique market,” she said.
“We will see what shows the Korean kids love the most. We always start with our strongest programs, but we also get the local markets opportunity to tell us what they like.
“Disney channels do have local productions around the world. We have units in Europe, Japan, Latin America and India,” she added.
For instance, “Stitch!” was produced by Walt Disney Animation Japan, featuring alien Stitch from the “Lilo & Stitch” and Japanese girl Yuna in place of Lilo and set on a fictional island in Asia. Disney Channel India premiered “Best of Luck Nikki” in April, an Indian adaptation of “Good Luck Charlie” based on the family dynamics of Indians.
The content created in local units also travels the world. “Jungle Junction,” an animated children’s series developed and produced in the United Kingdom has made its way to other countries’ Disney Junior channels.
“We are very open to finding content that resonates anywhere in the world. We are a truly global company.” Though now she is focused on the launch of the linear channel here, Lightcap hinted at possible mobile distribution of the content.
“Obviously with the strength of SKT, we certainly look forward to looking at all the opportunities in Korea since it is such an advanced market technologically,” she said. “There are many opportunities that are unique to this market and we will be exploring them very soon.”
It has been four days since the Disney Channel started Korean-dubbed programs and the company is waiting for the response from local viewers.
“I would really like to know what they think of our channels. After the launch day, we can start to understand the audience better and better, as we see what they respond to,” Lightcap said.
“We will work hard to deliver what Koreans want on Disney Channel and Disney Junior.”
