Disney's Mickey Headed to Italian, French Wireless
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Mickey Mouse, the Lion King and other Walt Disney Co. characters will light up wireless phones buzzing with tunes from Disney films under deals announced on Tuesday by the US entertainment company and two European wireless companies. Anchored by a 3.1 million-subscriber base in Japan, its biggest market for mobile entertainment, Disney has deals to supply games, news and ring tones to wireless providers in 21 countries, with contracts in six more countries not yet announced. The latest pacts involve Disney's Internet group and France's Bouygues Telecom and Italy's Telecom Italia Mobile SpA. The French deal focuses on ring tones and graphics, while the Italian deal also includes games and other content. Disney is considering using wireless phones for marketing movies and other entertainment, but so far the potential audience is too small to justify it financially. The entire wireless business is very profitable, thanks largely to the deal with Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. Japanese wireless subscribers pay 100 yen to 300 yen per month, about $1 or $2, for different mobile packages.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Mickey Mouse, the Lion King and other Walt Disney Co. characters will light up wireless phones buzzing with tunes from Disney films under deals announced on Tuesday by the US entertainment company and two European wireless companies. Anchored by a 3.1 million-subscriber base in Japan, its biggest market for mobile entertainment, Disney has deals to supply games, news and ring tones to wireless providers in 21 countries, with contracts in six more countries not yet announced. The latest pacts involve Disney's Internet group and France's Bouygues Telecom and Italy's Telecom Italia Mobile SpA. The French deal focuses on ring tones and graphics, while the Italian deal also includes games and other content. Disney is considering using wireless phones for marketing movies and other entertainment, but so far the potential audience is too small to justify it financially. The entire wireless business is very profitable, thanks largely to the deal with Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. Japanese wireless subscribers pay 100 yen to 300 yen per month, about $1 or $2, for different mobile packages.