Cnn
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This is an epic – forgive the word game – the week for Comcast and the broader media business.
Epic Universe, the first new major theme park in the United States in more than 20 years, opens Thursday in Orlando, Florida. Fans should camp during the night before the official opening day.
Nbcuniversal de Comcast says that Epic is the “most technologically advanced theme park”. It cost about $ 7.7 billion and has taken over six years to build. Consequently, Comcast puts all its muscles of the company in the launch.
The epic universe “presents the incredible creativity, innovation and the operational excellence of our talented teams,” said CNN Mark Woodbury, president of universal destinations and experiences in CNN.
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This moment represents more than the new impressive roller coasters of a single company. These are media giants who meet the growing demand for live experiences, or that some analysts call “the economy of experience”.
“People want to immerse themselves in the characters and franchises and the content they love,” said the media analyst Rich Greenfield of Lightshed Partners.
Disney, the reigning theme park, recently announced an agreement to develop a new park and a new station in Abu Dhabi. He also doubles his fleet of cruise ships in the world.
Universal also has more to come. He developed a theme park in the United Kingdom, which should open in 2031. It also has smaller projects in preparation, such as a horror experience in Las Vegas and a children’s station in Frisco, Texas.
Some of the same companies that have participated in the so-called “streaming wars” are also locked in “Theme Park Wars”, observed Greenfield.
The two universal theme parks in Orlando have often been considered the “complement” for tourists who spend more time there in the four Disney parks.
Disney has, of course, paid special attention to its rival. In the past year, Disney has announced major extensions to its Florida parks, giving fans new reasons to return in the years to come.
The epic universe can start to modify these calculations. Woodbury predicted that Epic “will transform Universal Orlando Resort into a full week holiday destination which offers breathtaking experiences for the global public.”
Historically, Disney’s financial director Hugh Johnston told investors last year: “Other non -Disney parks in Florida (have) been positive for Disney reservations.”
When Greenfield was in Epic for an overview of this spring park, it was struck by the quantity of space for more expansion than Universal still has.
He suggested that the launch of this week is “the first step to make universal more destination compared to the complementary module”.
The four hours of NBC’s “Today” show were live from the EPIC universe on Wednesday morning to show the park to viewers, and all the main comcast leaders went to Orlando for the opening ceremony on Wednesday evening.
Universal parks promote NBC’s intellectual property, of course – Epic has a world “how to train your dragon” – but also presents partner media brands, like the Warry Potter wizard of Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN’s Parent) and Super Nintendo World from Nintendo.
In recent interviews, universal leaders have highlighted the driving systems without track of the new park, augmented reality features and high resolution projections. They say that Harry Potter and the Battle of the Ministry are the most impressive attraction of the company to date.
Universal and Disney have relied heavily on the parks to generate profits for a turbulent period elsewhere in the media industry.
Like the president of Comcast, Mike Cavanagh, said analysts last month, the activity of the theme park is unique because it “is, in the media, not at all exposed to the change of time on the screens from one place to another”.
After all, the parks are the opposite of “screen time” – they are where the characters in the screens seem to come to life.
