How much media does Disney own? Let’s count: There’s ABC, ESPN, Lucasfilm (think Star Wars), A&E channels, Lifetime, History Channel, Marvel Entertainment, just to name some. But why stop there?
The Walt Disney Co. is purchasing Maker Studios, one of You Tube’s largest video producers and studios, for a half billion dollars at least. That number could reach as high as $950 million. It’s videos target Millennials,, those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, who can’t get enough of online entertainment. Maker videos have over 380 million subscribers worldwide. Their videos span over 55,000 channels. They collect over a combined 5.5 million views every month. Their backers include Time Warner Investments. This deal is expected to be done by the third fiscal quarter, or by June 2013.
On the surface, this looks like progress. It looks like two giants are coming together to reach out to a generation. But is it necessary?? I understand Disney is trying to reach out to teens and young adults, but can’t the media Disney already have do that? And if Maker Studios have Time Warner and other major investments backing them up, why do they need Disney? You see, my concern is that when a mega media corporation buying out a smaller medium, is that the quality of the content sometimes goes down. Look at what happen to BET when Viacom bought that cable channel out. Could this happen to Maker Studios?