Disney’s Nicky Parkinson

December 2006

By Mansha Daswani

As it has in the rest of
the world, Disney Channel has carved a considerable niche for itself in the
Asia-Pacific region, with four dedicated feeds. As senior VP and managing
director of Walt Disney Television International (Asia Pacific), Nicky
Parkinson oversees the creative and commercial operations of Disney’s
businesses across the region, excluding Japan and Korea. This includes two
Playhouse Disney channels and the Jetix/Toon Disney network. Disney-branded
programming is currently available in 15 markets in 9 languages, reaching 380
million homes. In her efforts to expand the business, Parkinson—who
joined Disney’s Asian operations two years ago following a stint as managing
director of Nickelodeon U.K.—is now taking the hallmarks of the Disney
brand and infusing them with local sensibilities.

TV ASIA PACIFIC:
How are you looking to expand Disney’s channel business in Asia?

PARKINSON: As
far as Disney channels are concerned, we have pretty much rolled out channels
everywhere we can. There are a few other platforms in a few markets where we
can probably strengthen our penetration, but the priority for us is really
about how we can build and strengthen our content franchises. Multichannel TV
has shown that you can build a strong channel platform on the basis of a few
key franchises. They become brand defining for the channel. We’re trying to
think about how we can go beyond the linear channel experience, delivering
compelling and entertaining content across all kids’ platforms. That includes
free TV and digital media, but we’re also thinking about retail opportunities
as well. We’re redefining what we mean by network. It’s much more about a
360-degree experience.

TV ASIA PACIFIC:
Can you give me some examples of how you’re doing that?

PARKINSON: The best example is probably High School Musical. We’ve had the same success in Asia as we’ve had
in the rest of the world. Australia was the first international market where we
launched the movie and it became a test bed for how we could work with our
consumer-products division or with our music group and create a really strong
franchise. We’ve seen how High School Musical has gone gold or platinum—in some markets
double platinum—in record sales. It’s also enabling us to demonstrate how
we can take a global content format and begin to localize it. We rerecorded a
version of the song “Breaking Free” featuring three local artists—one was
from the Philippines, one from Malaysia and one from Singapore—using
Asian instrumentation as well. That will be a bonus feature on the release of
the CD and the DVD in those markets. In India we recorded all the songs in a
Bollywood style.

High School Musical addresses some of the core values that the Disney
Channel brand stands for—believe in yourself and follow your dreams—and
it proves the universal appeal of that basic concept. But it also shows that
you can raise the bar even further when you create some elements that make a
local connection.

TV ASIA PACIFIC:
What are you doing in terms of local productions?

PARKINSON: More and more. We have just launched our first
original series in India, Vicky aur Vetaal. The early indications are that Disney Channel’s [ratings have
increased since] the show launched. Our experience in India certainly has shown
that our global franchise shows like That’s So Raven actually do perform very well if you help people
by giving them a local entry point.

We have local productions
in every market. There’s a show called Quelli dell’Intervallo, which was developed in Italy. It’s a short-form
piece, which basically provides a slightly voyeuristic look at kids during
recess. It has a cast of continuing characters who come to this window and
discuss kid issues ranging from what are you going to wear to the local dance
to quite crazy slapstick. That is a concept that we’re executing across a
number of markets. We’ve been able to do that in Australia. We’re looking at a
version for Southeast Asia. We may even try and do something in China.

We are looking at local production
in China. We’ve got a number of projects at the moment. It is our intention to
try and work with some local animation houses to create local content. This is
about developing Chinese stories with a Chinese creative group, but also
providing some of the experience and insight from our teams in the U.S. We’d
like to help with things that we have become particularly proficient at, which
are perhaps less developed in some of these markets. Things like character
development and the narrative structure. In places like India and China we’d
like to blend those two experiences—the local culture with [the
expertise] that has been the trademark of kids’ television in the U.S. and the
U.K.

TV ASIA PACIFIC: How does Disney Channel aim to remain competitive
in markets like India, which has seen the launch of a slew of new kids’
channels?

PARKINSON: As we’ve seen in all the maturing markets, there is
plenty of room for growth. And the market has tended to be very focused on
animation—the key thing that Disney Channel is bringing into this region
is our live-action comedy. We are creating a new genre in this market; we’re
trying to build a new and slightly older audience, the 10- to 14-year-old kids,
who have traditionally been underserved here. This is how we’re really defining
ourselves in this region. That’s not to say that younger kids are not
important. But if you’re talking about the sweet-spot, brand-defining
[segment], it is that tween audience that is being addressed by the live-action
series. They’ve graduated from animation, they want that world expressed in a
slightly more three-dimensional way, and that is what we’re appealing to.

TV ASIA PACIFIC: How are you serving younger viewers?

PARKINSON: The
preschool arena has been a phenomenon for us. We’re building the learning
requirement into [our shows], which is a mandate for entry into the preschool
arena in the developed markets. It’s something new that we’re bringing to this
market—the emphasis on core learning and core curriculum. A great example
of that is what we’ve done with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We created a show that is based on some
socialization and mainly counting and basic math skills, but in the process we’ve
also redefined Mickey Mouse for a new generation.

TV ASIA PACIFIC: How are you doing with the rollout of Playhouse
Disney?

PARKINSON: There is some room for growth. Platforms look to
Playhouse Disney to help drive some of their premium strategies. We quite often
have it on a premium tier. Generally we’re fairly happy with that approach. In
Asia, where the pressure of learning and education is so intense, the demand
for content that enhances learning and makes it fun is very important.

TV ASIA PACIFIC: What are you doing on the new-media front?

PARKINSON: Trying to figure it out! We see the opportunity to
offer content that supports the linear channel. We are trying to figure the
right balance. In the mobile space, as 3G is evolving, but still has relatively
low penetration for our audience, to what extent is video relevant at this time?
The rollout of broadcast technology for mobile will fundamentally change the
paradigm. At the moment, [new media] is about personalization. We do see the
personalization piece as an opportunity to actually extend the relationship our
audience has with the core franchises. It’s about building on the core
television experience. From the U.S. we’re learning that on demand is
complementary to the linear channel. As our platform partners are ready to roll
out in their markets, we will certainly be with them and support them. We’ve
got relatively little in place, but we’ve got a lot of conversations going on
with a lot of people. Over the next six months, what you’ll see is we’ll roll
something out and three months later we’ll change it, as we learn about what
consumers are looking for in terms of content, pricing, payment models. We don’t
quite know at the moment. It’s a question of putting stuff out there and
figuring out what’s working. The key message, the global one that the company
puts across, is that if we can give consumers what they want, when they want
it, it should be an enhancing experience and a good business model for us.

TV ASIA PACIFIC:
What do you love most about your job?

PARKINSON: The experience of working in Asia has been
phenomenal. Getting to work with, and gain an appreciation of, other cultures.
The thing that has been so exciting is how similar, and yet how different, they
all are. We were talking about High School Musical—the global truth resonates everywhere, but
there are some wonderful local nuances that make it exciting and fascinating
and challenging. The experience has been a real privilege. I love the creative
process, and I think the content that Disney produces is just heartwarming.