Disney Channel’s Rich Ross to Give Keynote Speech at MIPCOM Jr.

PARIS, September 12: Rich
Ross, the president of Disney Channel Worldwide, will present a keynote address
on October 7 at MIPCOM Junior at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes.

Rich Ross, who has been
with The Walt Disney Company for 11 years, manages the company's global kids'
TV business, which is comprised of 67 channel feeds around the world. He is a
key member of the team behind High School Musical and its sequel High School Musical 2—the most watched basic cable telecasts of
all time and both part of the Disney Channel Original Movie franchise. Ross
will share the reasons behind the channel's phenomenal success during his
keynote speech.

Other key conferences
during the two-day MIPCOM Junior event include the Buyers' Summit, which will
bring together top programming executives from international broadcasters to
answer the fundamental question: what do buyers want? The Digital Kids! Panel
will look at the latest opportunities in cross-platform kids' entertainment and
social communities. Conference speakers include leading executives from such
companies as Warner Bros., BBC, Super RTL, Al Jazeera Children's Channel, ZDF,
Hasbro, Fisher Price and Jetix. The “Kick-off Session: Improve your Pitch"
will take place on October 6 and will offer personal guidance to perfect
pitching skills. Also on Saturday, in conjunction with the "India
Day" special country focus taking place at MIPCOM on October 8, MIPCOM
Junior will host a panel of high-level speakers from the Indian entertainment
industry who will discuss programming produced in India and broadcast in both
the domestic and international markets.

Leigh Anne Brodsky, the
president of Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products, will be president of
the jury at this year's MIPCOM Junior Licensing Challenge. A jury of experts,
predominantly toy manufacturers, agents and broadcasters, will evaluate a total
of five non-aired projects selected on the basis of their strong potential for
licensing and merchandising exploitation. This year a record 47 projects,
including 11 from the U.K., have been entered.