On January 8th, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Disney chief Robert A. Iger introduced the new Disney.com portal which has taken more than a year to redesign. After criticism of the Disney.com site that deemed it to be “amateurish and hard to navigate”, the New York Times reports that site improvements include better navigation, video and interactive features, as well as a sleek appearance.
Iger made the upgrade of Disney.com a top priority and has been pushing for Disney’s entrance into the digital realm of media. Still, Disney may face a challenge within this revamping, as experts and analysts have posed a question of who will actually run the Internet properties.
Other Disney sites include ESPN.com, ABC.com and Disney.com, which is run by the Disney Internet Group and a strong Seattle presence. The Disney Internet Group also looks after the online business within Disney’s film, television and theme park, but the conflict is rumored to rest with executives wanting more control over their respective online creations.
Media analyst Harold L. Vogel, states in the NYT piece, “It’s inevitable that each division will be in the Internet space, I don’t detect that Disney has resolved this. Someone is going to have to coordinate and, at the same time, not quash the creative side. I’m sure there will be political fights over this constantly. It will happen at every media company.” In 2005, Iger notably disbanded the strategic planning unit at Disney, allowing individual units more power.
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