Walt Disney has decided to enter the Russian market through its characters Mickey Mouse and others. As the economy expands in Russia the entertainment industry is surely seeing a demand to make inroads there.

The Walt Disney Company, through its subsidiary and affiliated companies, has been active in Russia for over 15 years. Disney is one of the leading international providers of television entertainment in Russia including hit series such as “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost”, which was Russia’s top US series of 2005. The long-running branded timeslot “DisneyClub” is broadcast six days a week on Channel 1 and showcases the best in Disney animation. Disney is one of the top international film distributors in Russia and one of the top video and DVD distributors. Disney works with local and international licensees to produce a wide range of branded merchandise which is distributed through leading Russian and western retail chains. Since 2002, Disney has been publishing, marketing and distributing a broad portfolio of educational and entertaining multi-platform videogames in Russia. Already, Disney is the market leader in the children’s games segment there.

Recent research by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook) revealed that the Russian entertainment and media industry was the fastest growing in Europe, with a value in 2004 of over $12.4 billion. Also, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the economic important of the Russian middle class has increased from 7% in 2001 to 37% in 2005.

As reported in The Moscow Times,

Her grandfather worked with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and she is waging a revolution of her own. Marina Jigalova-Ozkan, head of The Walt Disney Company CIS, is introducing Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters to Russia.

Jigalova-Ozkan learned the value of a good story from her early years. She was born into an elite family and spent several years living in Libya as a child. Her father was a foreign trade official, and her grandfather was a diplomat serving in postwar Berlin, Cuba, Burma and Yemen. Read More…

On Top in Toon Town

Xinhua news reports that Broadway musical comedy “42nd Street” will be performed in Beijing. Economic progress elevates the scope of entertainment and surely Chinese shows and Bollywood shows will also have a mainstream audience.

Broadway musical comedy “42nd Street” will kick off its eight shows in Beijing on Nov. 13, the fifth stop of its China tour. Its performance in four Chinese cities, especially China’s economic hub Shanghai, has been very successful, said the organizer Beijing Oriental Broadway International Theatre Management Co. Ltd, in a press release here Thursday.

Broadway show in China