Walt Disney Co. stock has had a magical effect on investors’ portfolios over the long term. It’s returned 234% over the 10-year period through Oct. 12, more than twice the S&P 500’s 96.4% total return.
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Disney Accelerator Showcases Nine Startups at 2016 Demo Day
The Walt Disney Company concluded the 2016 Disney Accelerator program, hosting its third annual Demo Day. At the event, the nine participating companies presented their businesses to investors, Disney executives and other industry leaders.
Demo Day follows the three-month immersive Disney Accelerator program, which gave participants from around the world unprecedented guidance, access and opportunities to work with all divisions of The Walt Disney Company. In addition, leaders from participating companies received mentorship from Disney executives, including Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger, as well as leaders from The Walt Disney Company, including Disney|ABC Television Group, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI), ESPN, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and others.
“Technology and innovation are at the heart of every experience at The Walt Disney Company, and Disney Accelerator puts us on the ground floor with some of the most promising startups in the world through a program aimed at accelerating the future of media and entertainment,” said Kevin Mayer, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of The Walt Disney Company.
This year’s program builds on the success of past Disney Accelerator initiatives, which first launched in 2014. Past participants continue to work with Disney, including Sphero, which created the BB-8 droid toy, the number one Star Wars toy in 2015. Additionally, StatMuse , an AI-powered sports storytelling and knowledge platform, is currently providing ESPN with interactive statistical content, and Israel-based imperson launched The Muppets’ Miss Piggy and Disney’s Zootopia chat experiences on Facebook powered by the company’s artificial intelligence technology.
The Disney Accelerator 2016 companies and their announcements with The Walt Disney Company include:
- Ader – a marketplace connecting advertisers with esports talent. Through the Disney Accelerator, Ader is working on a pilot program with Maker Studios, a global leader in short form content and one of the largest influencer networks worldwide, to together offer unique esports opportunities to the world’s leading marketers. Maker Studios plans to also bring top gaming creators to live streaming through Ader’s marketplace. Additionally, Ader and ESPN are planning to bring some of the company’s top esports talent to ESPN.com in a 2017 pilot program to provide weekly video analyzing key updates to the top esports games.
- Atom Tickets – a new social mobile ticketing app for movies; Atom makes it easy to find your favorite movie, invite your friends, and preorder your favorite snacks. Atom helps you plan your night out to the movies and is available nationwide. Atom Tickets announced today that it will be working with The Walt Disney Studios and DCPI to offer consumers the opportunity to purchase merchandise with movie tickets for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with future titles under consideration.
- Hanson Robotics – a leader in creating human-like robots with a full range of facial expressions. Through the Disney Accelerator, Hanson Robotics is conducting research and development with DCPI and Walt Disney Imagineering to explore bringing Disney characters to life as consumer products that could be sold at retail.
- Jaunt – Pioneering end-to-end solutions for creating and publishing immersive cinematic virtual reality, Jaunt is a leading developer of the hardware, software, tools and applications that put the power of virtual reality in the hands of some of today’s best content creators. Today, Jaunt announced that it has licensed Disney Research’s cutting-edge VR video technology and will be collaborating with Disney Research to integrate it into Jaunt’s Cloud Services. Jaunt is also working with ESPN to film several of this season’s College GameDay stops in VR, offering viewers behind the scenes access to the iconic show, tailgates, interviews and sideline action.
- littleBits – littleBits is a platform of easy-to-use technology kits that empowers kids to invent anything, from a remote controlled car to a dancing robot to a smart home device. At Demo Day, littleBits shared that it is working with DCPI on a potential Star Wars collaboration. Additionally, littleBits announced that the company is working with DCPI to develop a short form online video series that features kids as everyday inventors, premiering this fall with a story featuring Disney characters.
- Nom – Nom is an online community where people who are passionate about food connect through live video and chat. Today, Nom announced it is working with ABC to bring video clips, behind-the-scenes content, and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes of The Chew to its audience of food lovers. Nom will also be working with DCPI’s Content and Media sites to feature amazing food videos from Disney Family and Babble. Additionally, Nom and VICE Media will bring the world of Munchies, Vice’s food platform, to Nom.
- OTOY – OTOY is a holographic content platform bringing the power of light field rendering and streaming to virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. Through OTOY’s new ORBX media player, Disney.com, Marvel.com, ABC.com, ABCNews.com and ESPN.com are now available to browse in Oculus Social and Samsung’s Web Browser for Gear VR. Users can now explore these web sites in a VR environment with their friends.
- Playbuzz – Playbuzz is a content-creation and audience-engagement platform that empowers thousands of publishers, marketers and brands to easily create engaging content using mobile-friendly formats that are optimized for social sharing. Through the Disney Accelerator, ABC.com, ESPN.com and DCPI’s Content and Media sites, including Oh My Disney, Disney Style, and Babble are now piloting Playbuzz content formats.
- Pley – a leading toy subscription company that is pioneering the next generation in e-commerce for toys. Pley is exploring an exciting relationship with Disney Store which will aim to bring to market a Disney Princess subscription package.
For more information about the Disney Accelerator program, please visit DisneyAccelerator.com.
Report: Disney Considers Twitter Bid
Twitter has been the subject of takeover speculation for months, with rumored prospects ranging from Google to Salesforce. Now, another potential bidder has surfaced.
Red Cross and Disney Help Half a Million Kids and Families Prepare for Disasters
During National Preparedness Month in September, the American Red Cross is celebrating the significant impact of its signature disaster preparedness program for youth –The Pillowcase Project – which has reached more than 500,000 students nationwide, resulting in six lives saved.
The program, which is taught to 3rd – 5th graders in schools, after-school programs and summer camps, teaches students how to create their own emergency supply kit by packing essential items in a pillowcase for easy transport during an emergency. Students also have the opportunity to decorate and personalize their pillowcases. The program is sponsored by The Walt Disney Company.
“Understanding the unique needs of children is an important part of disaster preparedness planning,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “Thanks to tremendous support from The Walt Disney Company over the past three years, The Pillowcase Project has grown significantly, enabling us to provide children nationwide with the necessary tools to remain safe during an emergency. We are extremely grateful for Disney’s commitment to this vital effort.”
The Pillowcase Project curriculum is structured by three core principles: Learn, Practice and Share. Students learn about hazards, how to prepare for emergencies, enhance coping skills, practice what they have learned and share their knowledge with friends and family. The program emphasizes the importance of developing an emergency communications plan, fire evacuation plan and emergency contact cards.
“It is vital to provide kids, families and communities with tools that make it simple to plan ahead for the unexpected,” said Kevin Callahan, vice president of community and engagement, Corporate Citizenship at Disney. “We are proud to work with the American Red Cross to inspire youth nationwide to take family preparedness action and help ease kids’ fears about emergencies.”
The Pillowcase Project was created in New Orleans, and was inspired by the story of local university students carrying their belongings in pillowcases during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Disney has helped the Red Cross expand the program nationwide by sponsoring The Pillowcase Project since 2013.
The Red Cross and The Walt Disney Company Encourage Disaster Preparedness:
In addition to The Pillowcase Project, the Red Cross worked with Disney to develop the Mickey and Friends Disaster Preparedness Activity Book, which has been distributed to more than 300,000 youth nationwide. The book teaches kids and families how to prepare for and respond to a wide range of disasters and emergencies through interactive games and activities. The book is available to download in English and Spanish.
Disney also sponsored the creation of Monster Guard – the first mobile app created by the Red Cross designed specifically for kids. The app complements The Pillowcase Project, and is a game where children role-play as various monster characters and engage in interactive training episodes for hazards such as home fires, floods and hurricanes. Since the launch of the app inOctober 2014, there have been more than 50,000 downloads.
Other Disney contributions to the Red Cross include the donation of over 300,000 Mickey Mouse plush dolls distributed to kids during disaster-relief operations and hundreds of hours of volunteer service through the Disney VoluntEARS program.
Disney is also part of a group of leading companies that are members of the Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP). As an ADGP member, Disney helps to ensure the Red Cross is ready to immediately respond when a disaster strikes.
For information about The Pillowcase Project in your area, contact your local Red Cross chapter.
The Walt Disney Company Executives to Discuss Fiscal Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results via Webcast
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) will discuss fiscal full year and fourth quarter 2016 financial results via a live audio webcast beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. PST on Thursday, November 10, 2016.
Results will be released after the close of regular trading on November 10, 2016.
To listen to the webcast, point your browser to www.disney.com/investors. The webcast presentation will be archived.
5 Reasons Why Disney Is a Must-Have Stock
When Walt Disney first brought his drawings of a little mouse to movie life, the entertainment industry changed forever. The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) has been a hit machine for nearly a century. And while film studio profits remain a key element of this $150-billion juggernaut…
Fun Disney content is on its way to Netflix
Disney magic is coming to Netflix in September. As previously announced, the streaming giant is adding more Disney films to its library, starting this month.
Here’s a look at what to stream.
Why Disney is so much more than Mickey Mouse now
Skip Bayless is dead wrong about Disney.
The sports television host left ESPN this year amidst an exodus of expensive talent (see above video from May), and he joined Fox Sports 1, the same move former ESPN on-air talents Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock have made. In a new interview this week with the LA Times, Bayless discussed the move and suggested that he felt constricted at ESPN, which, if you ever watched his show “First Take,” is hard to believe.
Will BAMTech Become the Most Important Part of Bob Iger’s Legacy at Walt Disney Co?
Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) recently announced plans to invest $1 billion in the video and technology company BAMTech, which already powers the streaming services for the MLB, NHL, WWE, and even HBO.
3 Great Reasons to Buy Disney Stock Now
Walt Disney Co.(NYSE:DIS) stock has been as much of a delight to investors’ portfolios over the long term as its product offerings have been to people of all ages since its founding in 1923. It’s returned 222% over the 10-year period through Aug. 19, trouncing the broader market’s 108% return.
