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Competitive Analysis Considering the overall lines of business of the firm, it may be relatively difficult to perform competitive analysis on the basis of different lines of business. This is owing to the fact that Disney faces competition from different players in the market competing directly in different segments of the company’s business. For example, the overall competition in the studio entertainment and movies may be different as compared to the competition it may face in the theme park business.
Similarly, consumer products and internet and direct marketing segment of the business may face competition on entirely new grounds. What is therefore important to understand that in order to perform the competitive analysis of Walt Disney, it is critical to consider Walt Disney as a brand rather than analyzing the firm’s competition in different segments of the business? Three of the most important competitors of Disney include News Corporation , Time Warner Inc and NBC Universal Media Inc.
News Corporation is involved in different businesses including News, Movies and publishing. It operates the Fox News channel as well as the Fox Filmed entertainment thus competing on two different counts with Disney. It is important to note that New Corporation is also in the business of publishing and publishes world renowned magazine on the stock market with the name of The Wall Street Journal and the Times London. Apart from this, the News Corporation also owns and operates the book publishing giant of HarperCollins thus having presence in different segments of the same line of business.
Time Warner is the third largest media company in the world after Disney and New Corp and is considered as one of the giants in the industry after these firms. Time Warner is also in the business of television, films and publishing and has relatively reputable market recognition for presenting successful movies over the period of time. Time Warner also owns and operates the world famous Time and Fortune Magazines besides involved in the business of producing films and television shows and plays.
It is important to note that Time Warner also owns and operates two of the most successful TV channels in the world i.e. HBO and Cinemax. Time Warner Inc is relatively better placed in terms of competition with Walt Disney because it is also in the publishing business- the segment in which Disney has no presence thus leaving the field open for the firms like News Corp and Time Warner. NBCUniversal Media owns and operates the NBC television network besides operating Universal Studios for the feature films.
What sets apart the NBCUniversal Media from Disney is its ownership of different regional TV networks thus allowing to become more penetrated into the different regional markets. Disney has only expanded regionally through its theme parks rather than acquiring the regional television networks in different parts of the world. The above analysis suggest that Disney has distinct advantage in different segments of the business such theme parks however, it faces tough competition in the feature film and television network business from different players in the market.
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