Disney closes ABC1
Variety - Walt Disney Television is axing its femme-skewed U.K. daytime web ABC1.
Company topper John Hardie said the two-year-old net couldn�t generate enough advertising coin because it was available only during the day on Freeview, Blighty�s digital terrestrial platform.
�While ABC1 successfully found a strong audience in daytime, the inability to get access to a Freeview primetime spectrum together with our focus on the Disney brand led us to the conclusion that it was best to move on,� said Hardie, exec VP and managing director, Walt Disney Television, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
ABC1 will cease transmission in the next few weeks.
A Disney spokeswoman said no decision had been made on whether to sell ABC1�s Freeview slot or to launch another service. Space on Freeview is limited, and any sale is likely to prove lucrative.
