Through the Wire

Disney CEO Robert Iger is not only the head of a company that uses the Internet to distribute its content to kids of all ages. He’s also a consumer.

Iger said at BusinessWeek’s “Media Summit” in New York last week that most of Disney’s senior management regularly surfs the Web and access social networking sites to keep on top of trends. And that includes the CEO himself.

Iger pointed to Club Penguin, a social networking and gaming site that Disney bought last year. Users play games to amass currency they can then use to furnish their personal “igloos” on the site.

“I’ve got some pretty cool stuff in my igloo,” Iger said at the conference. “I’ve got a wide-screen TV, a fireplace. I even have a basketball hoop in it.”

Iger added that he also has an account on Facebook.com, although he said he only has two “friends.”

The Disney CEO wasn’t soliciting anyone in the audience to “friend up” his site, though.

“I have a number of aliases,” Iger said. “I use them only for good. I think it’s important for executives to experience all of this. Some do so begrudgingly at first, but if you look at the senior management team at Disney they’re a pretty engaged lot as it relates to technology. And we spend a fair amount of time engaging with each other on new platforms because it’s a good way to get a feel of what the consumer is doing.”

Surf on, penguin Bob.

Last September, The Wire noted tennis pro Justin Gimelstob’s blatant TV tryout — interviewing pal Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open minutes after losing to Roddick in three sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, N.Y.

Taking the mike from USA Network’s on-court reporter, Michael Barkann, Gimelstob declared “I’m not just venturing into his business but I’m taking his job next year! Just kidding.”

Last Monday, the effusive Gimelstob — who retired after the Roddick match due to injuries — was back in New York City, again interviewing players on the court. This time, he was working for Tennis Channel, at sold-out Madison Square Garden for a charity match between retired pro Pete Sampras and current ace Roger Federer. Tennis Channel aired the event, as did MSG Plus locally; Federer won in three sets.

Gimelstob’s rah-rah approach is a bit rough but adds emotion to what can be a stolid sport. He caught Federer off guard at one point, walking over to interview him between sets instead of, as Federer expected, at match’s end. “He definitely has broadcast chops and he’s fun to watch,” Tennis Channel rep Eric Abner says.

Barkann’s gig seems safe as USA retains U.S. Open cable rights. That ends this year, though, and Tennis Channel could be in the mix in 2009. The United States Tennis Association, the tourney’s host, owns a piece of Tennis Channel.

A replay will be streamed on Tennischannel.com starting today (March 17).

With TV screens so cluttered by icons and promos and crawls, programmers are trying harder to identify themselves. They’re also refreshing their “sonic brands” — those soundscapes or ditties that may also serve to ID a channel, rendering it recognizable even as a viewer surfs through e-mail with their back to the screen or folds laundry.

Texas-based composer Stephen Arnold has been responsible for some such efforts, including for Headline News’s morning and evening blocks, ESPN 2’s weekend outdoor show blocks and the “fresh, indie-music-sounding” ID for Comcast’s CN8 regional network.

“You can’t hum graphics,” Arnold explained. “People don’t watch TV the way they used to. When we do projects, we try to create the 'John Hancock’ of music” — a bold signature that sticks in a viewer’s brain like chewing gum.

If you do it right, the music taps into the brain’s most basic memory senses, he said, stuck in your head like the “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese” jingle for Big Mac.

For samples of Arnold’s sonic branding for cable networks, please visit Multichannel.com.