Walt Disney Co. president and CEO Robert A. Iger goes by the book to bring mainland China its first-ever Disneyland. (Photo : Getty Images)
Disney changed its plans to follow Chinese ruling and gain acceptance for the first-ever Disneyland theme park in the mainland, which is now erected in Shanghai.
A report from Bloomberg recalled how Walt Disney Co.'s CEO Robert Iger initially declared that they would not be building a Disneyland in mainland China without airing Disney Channel shows and movies in the country first.
That obviously did not happen as China became more stringent on foreign content, particularly shows and movies that promote Western culture.
Setting Up Disney Channel
In 2005, then Disney President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger told the New York Times at the eve of the Hong Kong Disneyland's opening that they cannot put up a similar theme park in the mainland without "educating" the audience of their characters and stories first.
"In order for us to even consider a park there, we need to be sure we have access to television," he said at the time, adding that it is already difficult for them to succeed in delivering Disney shows to Chinese audiences because of the "restrictions" in the country.
He even noted that other countries where Disney Channel was set up in demanded that local productions be done and aired in the Mouse House's television airwaves, which were all made possible by Disney.
Also, there were instances like that of Hong Kong when the country required more control in terms of the theme park as the city's government holds 57 percent of stakes in Hong Kong Disneyland while the entertainment company owns the rest.
"We're more than willing to have a partner," he said when asked about setting up the channel in China, adding that they were in discussions in setting up Disney in the Asian giant.
Going by the Book
Obviously, most of company's plans for its China theme park did not occur as the Chinese regulators shut down what could have been the bridge to bringing Disney Channel to the country.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Chinese regulators suspended DisneyLife, the digital platform that provided the Mouse House an avenue to share their movies and clips via video streaming for five months, bringing Disney's partnership with Alibaba to an end in March.
Now, it seems like Disney has decided to overlook such act, even though earlier in June Iger emphasized the importance of having a Disney Channel in the mainland, in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
According to him, having Disney Channel would help "the Chinese public to be educated on our intellectual property and our storytelling, so they would understand enough and appreciate that enough to want to come to the park."
