The Walt Disney Company France

The Walt Disney Company France (French: La Société Walt Disney), formerly Buena Vista International France, is one of The Walt Disney Company's international divisions and also European divisions. It is headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France.

The Walt Disney Company France
FormerlyBuena Vista International France (1992-2007)
TypeSubsidiary of a public company
Disney France
IndustryMedia conglomerate
Founded1992 (1992); 31 years ago
Headquarters
Paris, France
Area served
France
Key people
Hélène Etzi (Country Manager and Head of Media)
ParentThe Walt Disney Company EMEA
(Disney Entertainment)
WebsiteThe Walt Disney Company France

The Walt Disney Company France is in charge of all Disney's brands and productions in France. The company also owns and operates French versions of Disney television channel and the Disneynature film unit. The Walt Disney Company France also co-produces content with other French media companies.

History

Gaumont Buena Vista International

Gaumont and Buena Vista International formed Gaumont Buena Vista International, their joint venture French distribution company, in 1992.[1] In March 1997 a Disney Channel is launched in France,[2] also serving Luxembourg and Switzerland.[3]

After the July 2001 purchase of Fox Family Worldwide, Disney also got a major ownership interest in Fox Kids Europe, which included Fox Kids in France. Fox Kids switched over to Jetix in August 2004.[4][5]

Toon Disney, Disney Channel +1, a timeshift channel, and a Playhouse Disney channel launched in 2002.[3][6] As of 30 June 2004, BVPD and Gaumont dissolved their French distribution joint venture, Gaumont Buena Vista International.[1]

Buena Vista International France

On September 4, 2007, Disney Cinemagic replaced Toon Disney.

On November 30, 2008 at 8:30 PM, Disney Cinemagic HD debuted in France broadcasting on CANALSAT from 6am to 1am daily,[7] making the channel the first "children and family HDTV channel in a French market".[8]

Jean-Francois Camilleri, head of the company, had the company acquire March of the Penguins for the French market. Buena Vista International France also managed to obtain a 20% ownership stake in the French version of the film. However, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution's bid to distribute the film in the US ultimately failed.[9] At the formation of the Disneynature film unit, Camilleri was placed in charge of the unit.[10]

Walt Disney Company France

In 2011, Disney Channel HD was launched and Disney Junior replaced the Playhouse channels.[3][6] Disney Cinemagic in France was replaced by Disney Cinema in May 2015.[11] In 2012, a Disneynature cable TV channel was launched in France. It is currently carried by France Telecom.[12]

Camilleri resigned his posts with Disney France in March 2019. While Helene Etzi was appointed to take over his responsibility as head of Disney's French operations, there was no word on who would helm Disneynature.[13]

Divisions
Cinema
  • Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures France (former Buena Vista International France), distribution unit.
  • Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment France (former Buena Vista Home Entertainment France), video distribution unit.
  • Disneynature, a film unit that produces documentary.
Television
  • Disney Channel, flagship channel, it launch on March 22, 1997.
  • Disney Channel +1, a +1 time shift channel. (The only time shift variant of Disney Channel still active since 2020).
  • Disney Junior, a channel aimed mainly at children 2–7 years old. It launched in 2011 replacing Playhouse Disney.
Streaming service
  • Disney Channel Pop Pick Play, a service dedicated to Disney Channel productions, include in some TV packages.
  • Disney English, an educational service include in some TV packages.
  • Holà Disney, an educational service include in some TV packages.
Video on demand service

Euro Disney S.A.S., Disney Store France and Disney+ are not part of The Walt Disney Company France.

Closed divisions
Cinema and animation
Press
  • Disney Hachette Presse, a magazine publisher co-own with Hachette Filipacchi Médias, closed in 2019. All publications are now published by Unique Heritage Media as part of a licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Company France.
Television
  • Toon Disney and Toon Disney +1, a channel launched in 2002 and closed in 2007, replaced by Disney Cinemagic.
  • Playhouse Disney, a preschool channel launched in 2002 and closed in 2011, replaced by Disney Junior.
  • ESPN Classic Sport, a sport channel launched in 2002 and closed in 2013.
  • Jetix, a channel launched in 2004 and closed in 2009, replaced by Disney XD.
  • Disney XD, a channel launched in 2009 and closed in 2020.
  • Disney Cinemagic and Disney Cinemagic +1, a cinema channel launched in 2007 and closed in 2015, replaced by Disney Cinema.
  • Disney Cinema, a cinema channel launched in 2015 as a replacement for Disney Cinemagic and closed in 2020, due to the launch of Disney+.

See also

References
  1. "Columbia TriStar forges Gaumont deal for France". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. "A Salute to Disney Channel: Disney Channel time line". Kidscreen.com. 1 April 1998. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  3. "Company: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY FRANCE SA". MAVISE. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  4. "Fox Kids Europe becomes Jetix to appeal to boys". Brand Republic. campaignlive.co.uk. 20 August 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  5. campaignlive.co.uk. (20 August 2004) Fox Kids Europe becomes Jetix to appeal to boys. Brand Republic.
  6. "TV Channel: Disney Junior". MAVISE Database. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  7. Merrett, Andrew (30 November 2007). "Disney Cinemagic HD launching in France tonight". Shiny Digital. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  8. Kim, Steven (2007). "Disney Cinemagic HD launches in France". AOL Inc. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  9. Carvajal, Doreen (28 September 2005). "Compared With Their Filmmakers, the Penguins Have It Easy". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  10. Eller, Claudia; Dawn C. Chmielewski (22 April 2008). "Disney gets back to nature". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  11. "New Disney channel launches in France". TBI Vision. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. "TV Channel: Disney Nature TV". MAVISE. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  13. Clarke, Stewart (26 March 2019). "Disney's French Chief Jean-Francois Camilleri Exiting, Helene Etzi Upped". Variety. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  14. "The Jungle Book 2 (2003) End Credits". YouTube. DisneyToon Studios. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  15. "市場視察報告書視" (PDF) (in Chinese). December 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  16. "ADHÉRER AU SNEP" (PDF). SNEP. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  17. Godfrey, Leigh (27 February 2002). "David Stainton Promoted To President, Walt Disney Television Animation". Animation World Network. AWN, Inc. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
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