Forecasting Global Performance for a Mickey Mouse Organization

Forecasting Global Performance for a Mickey Mouse Organization

The Walt Disney Company is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in four business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products. The media networks segment consists of the company's television (ABC, ESPN, and Discovery) and radio networks, cable/satellite and international broadcast operations, production and distribution of television programming, and Internet operations. The studio entertainment segment produces live-action and animated motion pictures, television animation programs, musical recordings and live stage plays. The consumer products segment licenses the company's characters and other intellectual property to manufacturers, retailers, show promoters and publishers.

Disney parks and resorts are at the cornerstone of a carefully integrated entertainment marketing strategy. Through the parks and resorts segment, Walt Disney owns and operates four destination resorts in the United States, Japan and France. In the United States, kids flock to Disneyland, California, and Walt Disney World, Florida--an immense entertainment center that includes the Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Disney-MGM Studios. During recent years, the company has extended its amusement park business to foreign soil with Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland, located just outside of Paris, France. Work is underway on a fifth resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, scheduled to open in late 2005 or early 2006. Disney's foreign operations provide an interesting example of the company's shrewd combination of marketing and financial skills. To conserve scarce capital resources, Disney was able to entice foreign investors to put up 100% of the financing required for both the Tokyo and Paris facilities. In turn, Disney is responsible for the design and management of both operations, retains an important equity interest, and enjoys significant royalties on...