Disney Takes Twice Failed MVNO Concept To Japan

from the going-in-the-wrong-direction? dept

Mon, Nov 12th 2007 9:53am — Mike Masnick

Having already failed spectacularly (twice!) to offer mobile phone service in the US, Disney has apparently decided that Japan is the perfect place to try out its MVNO option for the third time. It's going to use Softbank's mobile network and try to convince people it's worth totally changing mobile phone service providers because (wait for it...) its "famous characters" will be associated with the handsets, and Disney movies will be available for download. Has the company has learned nothing from its failures in the US? Obviously, Japan is a very different culture -- especially when it comes to mobile services -- but if the entire differentiator is Disney's characters and movies, why not partner with all of the mobile operators already dominant in Japan? Getting people to completely switch providers just so they can be associated with Mickey Mouse seems like a pretty flimsy business plan. Success stories in the mobile operator market in Japan have usually centered around offering a wide range of more useful applications or by providing cheaper, better services (or better phones). Fantasia downloads hardly seems likely to wow the Japanese market.

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Filed Under: japan, mvno
Companies: disney, softbank

7 Comments

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Joel Coehoorn, 12 Nov 2007 @ 10:51am

If this is going to work anywhere, Japan will be the place. Mind you I said, "If." Now if only Disney owned the "Hello Kitty" brand.
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Overcast, 12 Nov 2007 @ 10:57am

If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again!
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Pete, 12 Nov 2007 @ 11:03am

Hentai
If only Disney had the sense to stream some good porn to those phones they'd find a big market. How many Disney chicks would you like to see wrapped up in some good tentacle sex!? Drooolllll.... I'm already wishing they offered this with a phone.
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Keith, 12 Nov 2007 @ 1:34pm

Some of the GPS features of their last attempt in the States were "interesting". But the bottom line was they were a lot more for a family plan than most providers. I'll pay more if I get more, not because it has Disney stamped on it.

What Disney should have done was worked with Steve Jobs (their largest shareholder) to come up with a unique phone.... And then created a service around it.
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Matthew, 12 Nov 2007 @ 2:06pm

ok
We got warehouses full of this cheap Made-in-China plastic phone gear with those stupid cartoons we did back in the drugged-out 60s, and we can't unload them to the American public no matter what. Hey, wait a minute.....JAPAN! *wets pants*

-- Disney Sales Manager's theoretical thought process
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Nov 2007 @ 3:52pm

Softbank already is established
Softbank IS one of the biggest cell phone carriers in Japan. They took over the Vodafone operation about a year ago.

http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/
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Mike (profile), 12 Nov 2007 @ 4:12pm

Re: Softbank already is established
Softbank IS one of the biggest cell phone carriers in Japan. They took over the Vodafone operation about a year ago.

Yes, but they're not selling Disney content/apps for Softbank customers... they're doing it as an MVNO pitching Disney as if it were a mobile operator. Softbank's own success is meaningless here. After all, Disney's MVNO partners in the US were quite successful, but it didn't do a damn thing to help Disney.
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