Disney Invites Kids To the SVOD Party

BY SHIRLEY BRADY

ABC's bid for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics included a tie-in for the Disney Channel, which would have given kids entrée to the biggest regularly televised event on the planet.

Although that bid failed, the company is hoping the Disney brand will bring kids into another hot TV offering: VOD.

Or, more accurately, subscription video-on-demand. As Albert Cheng, VP of national accounts and distribution strategy for ABC Cable Networks Group, points out, the company isn't big on giving away its assets. And while free on-demand may promote emerging networks, the Disney brand needs no introduction.

That's what convinced Cablevision to sign on as the launch partner for Disney Channel On Demand, which it is now offering as an SVOD service for $4.95 per month to its iO Interactive Optimum digital cable subscribers.

Disney Channel On Demand has more in store besides the 25 hours monthly of titles including Rolie Polie Olie for preschoolers, older kids' faves such as Lizzie McGuire and The Proud Family and the channel's original movies. Some ideas ABC Cable is considering: themed programming, events related to one of the shows and promoting the linear network with related on-demand content.

Cablevision's sixth SVOD product joins HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Fox On Demand and Playboy, and complements iO's other kids on-demand content, says Kristin Dolan, Cablevision's SVP of digital product management.

?We see a lot of use in the kids programming in our Thirteen On Demand product, which is included with iO and has Clifford the Dog and Barney [from PBS],? she says. ?We also have a lot of kids a la carte films, both in new releases such as Harry Potter and in our library titles. Our kids movies, young adult movies, Christmas specials and family-oriented movies always do well with kids. That's why we're very enthusiastic about Disney Channel On Demand.?

This isn't Disney's first foray into VOD; it's testing a VOD datacasting service this fall with movies only, and Disney Channel (along with sister services SoapNet, Toon Disney and ABC Family) is distributed for VOD by TVN Entertainment.

The TVN deal enables Insight Communications to include Disney titles in its $9.99 Kids Unlimited SVOD offering of 70 kids titles a month from Sesame Workshop, Discovery Kids, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Backyard Safari.

Cablevision, however, can't create an SVOD package bundling all its kids titles. ?The PBS content is public television so we don't charge for it,? Dolan notes.