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Why Disney Is More Than Movies, and What Its Real Competitive Advantage Is

Companies and Brands You Know • Beginner Investing • 6 min

What this lesson is about

A single successful Disney character can generate revenue through a movie, a toy, a theme park ride, and a streaming series. The same intellectual property, monetized many different ways.

2 parts · a quick check after each · then the quiz

Part 1 of 2

Disney's, business, goes, far, beyond, movies., It, runs, theme, parks,, consumer, products,, media, networks,, and, streaming, services,, along, with, film, and, television, production., The, key, link, in, all, of, this, is, intellectual, property, (IP)., We're, talking, about, the, characters,, stories,, and, franchises, Disney, owns., They, don't, just, exist, separately;, they're, monetized, across, multiple, channels., A, single, hit, character, or, franchise, can, pull, in, money, through, a, movie,, merchandise, sales,, a, theme, park, ride,, and, a, streaming, series,, all, while, drawing, value, from, the, same, IP, in, various, ways, over, time.

Disney, has, grown, its, IP, library, significantly, through, major, acquisitions, like, Pixar,, Marvel,, and, Lucasfilm,, the, studio, behind, Star, Wars., Each, of, these, brings, a, treasure, trove, of, characters, and, stories, that, can, be, developed, across, Disney's, business, segments,, rather, than, just, as, standalone, films.

Network effectsEach new user makes it worth more to everyone already there.

Quick check

Beyond movies, what other major business segments does Disney operate?

Part 2 of 2

Insider, Angle:, This, ability, to, monetize, across, segments, is, Disney's, true, competitive, edge., It’s, not, about, a, single, movie's, box, office., Instead,, it’s, the, infrastructure, and, decades, of, IP, development, that, allow, a, franchise, to, earn, money, through, films,, merchandise,, parks,, and, streaming, all, at, once., That, mix, of, extensive, IP, and, the, means, to, monetize, it, widely, is, tough, for, competitors, to, match, quickly., Even, with, big, investments,, it, relies, on, years, of, established, relationships,, physical, infrastructure,, and, audience, trust, that, can't, be, bought, overnight.
Try, This:, Choose, a, well-known, Disney-owned, character, or, franchise,, like, Marvel, or, Star, Wars., Write, down, all, the, ways, you, think, Disney, makes, money, from, it., Think, about, films,, streaming,, merchandise,, theme, park, attractions,, and, anything, else, you, can, come, up, with.

Quick check

What does it mean for Disney to "monetize the same intellectual property across multiple channels"?

Quiz

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