Introduction
The Disney Corporation is a popular company in the entertainment industry. This report will briefly examine the history of the company and discuss its products and services. The financial position of the corporation in the last five years will also be briefly discussed. This paper aims at presenting a rough idea of what the Disney Corporation is.
A Brief History
Walter Disney has been reported as the founder of Disney. It is said he had dreamt of forming the company after making the film Alice’s wonderland. October 16, 1923 was the date when a contract between Walt and Winkler was entered into to release the Alice comedies and this date has been viewed as the official date when the Walt Disney Company began. It reported that Roy Disney was an equal partner in the company. The company was originally called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio but changed its name later to Walter Disney Studio. The company focussed on entertainment through the use of cartoons. The famous Mickey Mouse series were produced starting from 1928. The Mickey Mouse series included many other cartoons (Company History, n.d.).
The popularity of Mickey Mouse made it possible for the company to start a consumer product business. The first consumer product was a school children tablet. The paper tablet had a Mickey Mouse on it. Soon after this many more consumer products bore the Mickey Mouse on their labels. The first movie, snow white and the seven dwarfs, to be released by the company was in 1937. There were more movies released later. The company also ventured into TV series with one of its series, Disneyland, being on record as the longest TV series ever in history having run for 29 years (Company History, n.d.).
The Disney Park was constructed and opened in 1955. The park caused a huge excitement. Walt Disney passed away in 1966 and Roy Disney took over the management. The company started an educational subsidiary in 1969. The Walt Disney World was opened in 1971 and after which Roy Disney passed away. The EPCOT1 was opened in 1982. With Michael Eisner as the CEO and Frank Wells as the president the company expanded its products in the film industry. The Disneyland Resort Paris was opened in 1992. The company entered into the cruise line business in 1998. Robert Iger became the CEO of the company in 2005 (Company History, n.d.).
Products and Services
Basically the Disney Corporation engages in the entertainment industry. It has four business segments through which it offers its services: “media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products” (Company Overview, n.d., p. 1). The company also owns the Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films. The company is dedicated to the production of high quality motion pictures and music. The company through its many studios offer family entertainment. The company offers high class park and resort services. The company owns the Disneyland Park in California, Disney cruise line, vocational club resorts, and resort locations. It is worth noting that the resort services offered by the Disney Company are of a very high quality and leave the clients with great experience. The company has invested heavily in media networks which have been diversified. The company also owns the Disney interactive media group which is charged with the distribution of the company products. Disney consumer products also form a significant part of the products of the company (Company Overview, n.d.).
Financial Information
Disney Corporation is a large company which has grown immensely over time. The two tables below briefly show the revenue and net income for the company in the past five years.
Revenue
(The information on the table above as been extracted from: Disney, 2010; Disney, 2009; Disney, 2008; Disney, 2007 and Disney, 2006).
Generally the company has had increased revenue in the past five years with the exception of the year 2009 when its revenue fell below the previous year’s revenue. The studio entertainment has not done so well in raising revenue for the company.
Network
(The information on the table above as been extracted from: Disney, 2010; Disney, 2009; Disney, 2008; Disney, 2007 and Disney, 2006).
From the net income realised by the company in the past five years, as reflected in the above table, the company has not had a good financial position. The last two years have registered a drastic reduction in net income
References
Company History. (n.d.). Corporate Information; The Walt Disney Company. Web.
Company Overview. (n.d.). Corporate Information; The Walt Disney Company. Web.
Disney. (2006). Financial Highlights; The Walt Disney Company. Web.
Disney. (2007). Financial Highlights; The Walt Disney Company. Web.
Disney. (2008). Fact Book 2008; The Walt Disney Company. Web.
Disney. (2009). Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter; The Walter Disney Company. Web.
Disney. (2010). The Walt Disney Company Reports; The Walt Disney Company. Web.
Footnotes
- Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.