{"id":2413316,"date":"2026-05-12T14:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T14:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2413316"},"modified":"2026-05-12T14:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T14:10:16","slug":"josh-damaro-and-the-one-app-to-rule-them-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/josh-damaro-and-the-one-app-to-rule-them-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh D’Amaro and the one app to rule them all"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week, Josh D\u2019Amaro faced investors for the first time as Walt Disney Co.\u2019s chief executive during the company\u2019s fiscal second-quarter earnings call.<\/p>\n

The call gave D\u2019Amaro a chance to lay out his long-term plan<\/a> for the Mouse House \u2014 one that focuses heavily on building an ecosystem around the Burbank media and entertainment giant\u2019s well-known franchises and new, original stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisney is uniquely positioned in the entertainment industry,\u201d D\u2019Amaro said during last Wednesday\u2019s call. \u201cNo other company reaches consumers to the same degree across both digital and physical environments. Our goal is to leverage that position to extend our reach, deepen engagement and generate greater value from our world-class intellectual property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s theme parks, of course, have long been a way for the company to bring its brand to consumers.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the company has increasingly integrated its movies into the parks \u2014 whether it\u2019s the recently opened World of Frozen land at Disneyland Paris, re-theming the Submarine Voyage ride to \u201cFinding Nemo\u201d at Anaheim\u2019s Disneyland or building a \u201cZootopia\u201d area in Shanghai Disneyland to capitalize on China\u2019s great affinity for the 2016 original<\/a> (and, it turns out, the 2025 sequel, which ended up grossing more than $651 million in China alone).<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s on track to continue its investment in its parks, particularly since D\u2019Amaro spent his entire career in that division.<\/p>\n

But in a slightly different twist, D\u2019Amaro also noted that he sees Disney+ \u201cplaying an increasingly central role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur parks, they\u2019re essentially the physical centerpiece of the company,\u201d he said. \u201cSimilarly, we\u2019re building Disney+ to serve as the immersive, interactive, digital centerpiece of the company. In the long term, what you\u2019ll see is those pieces of the company become increasingly connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

In D\u2019Amaro\u2019s vision, Disney+ won\u2019t just be a streaming platform for Disney movies and TV shows. It\u2019ll be a nexus, connecting the company\u2019s entertainment, sports, games and experiences in one place. The one app to rule them all, if you will (I know \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d is not Disney\u2019s intellectual property, but I couldn\u2019t resist).<\/p>\n

Already, Disney is integrating Hulu into Disney+, and the company is working on improving the user experience and increasingly personalizing the content people see there. It has also added Verts on Disney+ \u2014 short-form vertical videos of scenes from various Disney movies and shows \u2014 in an attempt to boost engagement and make checking Disney+ a regular habit by encouraging phone use.<\/p>\n

As far as games go, D\u2019Amaro said that if Disney+ is the \u201chub,\u201d then Epic Games is one of the spokes, as Disney\u2019s universe within \u201cFortnite\u201d gives the company exposure to younger audiences.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time Disney has homed in on a one-stop-shop for its fans.<\/p>\n

Back in 1983, Disney launched the Disney Channel on cable TV, which aired movies and shows from Disney\u2019s library and also broadcast new kids cartoons based on classic animated films. By the mid-2000s, the channel had started to cater to tweens with shows such as \u201cLizzie McGuire,\u201d which starred Hilary Duff, and proved that teen TV stars could drive spinoff movies, record deals and merchandise sales throughout the Disney ecosystem.<\/p>\n

In 2019, a similar idea was behind the launch of Disney+<\/a>. After initially losing billions of dollars, the service is now profitable, though former CEO Bob Iger did later cut back on the number of films and TV shows made specifically for streaming, noting that Disney needed to focus on quality over quantity.<\/p>\n

But given the recent performance of Disney\u2019s entertainment division, the renewed focus on Disney+ isn\u2019t a surprise. During this past quarter, the entertainment business drove the company\u2019s overall earnings. The streaming business, in particular, saw 13% growth in revenue year over year and 88% growth in operating income compared with the previous year\u2019s quarter. <\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s greatest asset is its dedicated fan base, and trying to gather them in one place and keep them engaged amid the myriad distractions would seem to be a sound plan. All the more so if Disney wants to compete against Netflix.<\/p>\n

Stuff We Wrote<\/h2>\n

Film shoots<\/h2>\n
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