Disney Hangs Up On Cell Phone

Disney Hangs Up On Cell Phone

A year after shuttering its ESPN cellphone company, Walt Disney Co. said it is closing its Disney cellphone service.

Walt Disney launched Mobile ESPN and Disney Mobile last year as mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. Under that business model, the Burbank, Calif., company leased wireless spectrum from Sprint Nextel Corp. and sold its cellphone service directly to customers. But in the competitive U.S. cellphone market, Disney struggled in its fight against the major carriers.

Disney announced in September 2006 that it was closing Mobile ESPN, eight months after its debut. The company initially remained optimistic about its Disney-branded service, which sold phones featuring Disney content and services aimed at children and their parents. However, Disney failed to make headway with the big-box retailers and find outlets to sell its phones and related services.

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