The House of Mouse has been around for more than 9 decades, and the company is currently under pressure as other media conglomerates look to disrupt its empire. However, Disney is bullish on South Asia as plans for its streaming business are underway.
"We have seen fairly seismic changes in technology over the last nine decades. This is one more milestone we have to work with. Our content is available on all platforms right now. By next year, we are going to be available within our own app, so we feel pretty good about how our storytelling transcends technology and is relevant for generations now and generations to come," Mahesh Samat, Disney's executive vice president and managing director for South Asia, told CNBC's Dan Murphy.
Earlier this year, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced the company's entry into steaming services. While not providing much information on the potential cost for consumers, Samat said that "localization comes in the content" and, in addition to the company's brands, Disney is looking at "what local content offers are possible."
When asked if companies like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google pose a major challenge to the new initiative, Samat said "it is a completely different business model," and Disney is focused on producing "great stories, characters and franchises" that "engage and entertain" consumers.
India, is one of the company's largest markets in South Asia, and the executive said he remains "very optimistic" even as the "whole digital landscape is changing."
He noted that the Marvel brand has grown "significantly" and Disney has "a couple of local brands that are also playing well with certain target groups."
