The home of the famous mouse ears is growing wheels, rolling on skateboards and is into sports, rock music and superheroes.

Disney XD, which made its Asian debut on leading payoperator Astro Malaysia on September 15, is unabashedly boy-skewed. Disney says it’s for “kids aged 6 – 14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humour.”

“The channel boasts of many firsts,” says Natasha Malhotra, General Manager, Branded Media and Content, The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia (TWDC SEA). “Disney XD is the first international kids channel on Astro’s basic platform; the first kids channel to offer English, Bahasa Malaysia (Malay), Mandarin and Tamil from Day One (full voice dub, not subtitles, Malhotra assures us); and Disney’s first channel fully customised for a local feed.” Malhotra describes the channel as “boys-focused but girlsinclusive. It’s high energy, fun, plus the channel has sports (sports-related children’s programming), but we target parents as well – the whole family.”

Malhotra shows us a promo entitled Hometown Hero, where a girl is seen praising his brother. “As you see, it’s not just the boy, it’s about his sister as well,” she explains. Disney has pulled out all the stops by investing in an internal division based in Kuala Lumpur that will produces a string of on-air materials featuring local casts and voicers that would undoubtedly resonate with local audiences. We asked if this means localised on-air elements for each new carriage and Malhotra nods, acknowledging that in the face of competition, the extra expense is necessary.

“There are 23 channels providing kids programming across Asia so the competition is already there,” explains Malhotra. “We’re poised to be the number one destination for all things kids. What we also provide is a commitment to produce local content.

Supa Strikas, an animation series that Disney acquired from Animasia Studios in Malaysia, “bears the same XD attributes that promote teamwork and team spirit and is an example of locally relevant content with a local look and feel,” says Malhotra.

Malhotra shares that the XD brand has three attributes: “Accomplishment”, “Feeling Unstoppable” and “Getting to the next Level.” These are derived from a global research (including focus groups) which revealed that boys were in favour of a boy-dedicated channel.

Disney’s massive content library – notably the Marvel Entertainment catalogue that it acquired in 2009, bringing Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four to the house of the mouse ears – would give XD a huge advantage over its competitors in Asia. Malhotra says the inaugural XD programming slate would contain 60% Disney originals (including Marvel content), with the remaining being external acquisitions.

While there’s plenty of Marvel to “marvel” about, Malhotra is fully aware that that too, is not infinite and needs to be paced, in order to sustain the Marvel-branded block for years to come.

“We’re starting with a one-hour Marvel Universe Weekend on Saturdays and Sundays for now. Later, when we’ve had sufficient premieres of that content, we’d strip it across weekdays,” says Malhotra.

Family viewing is important to the Disney brand, so parents are also factored into the equation when scheduling dayparts.

“We tend to have lighter and younger fare in the morning, taking into account that the older kids are in school. This content becomes “heavier”, with Marvel as a key push, when children return, and then transiting into primetime when parents can watch alongside their children for all-round family viewing,” says Malhotra. The weekend strategy, apart from the Marvel Universe block, will also carry a movie block, leveraging on Disney Studios’ movie collection, with promises of recent box-office hits such as The Avengers and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest to make their way to XD.

Some titles to look forward to include the animated series Tron: Uprising (based on Tron Legacy and fronted by voice casts Elijah Wood and Mandy Moore). Spidey also swoops in with a first collaboration between Marvel and the global Disney team, entitled Ultimate Spiderman; and riding on the recent successes of the Iron Man franchise, XD will also premiere the series Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

Malhotra also emphasises that beyond sci-fi and superheroes, the channel needs to be fun, and distinctively Disney, which is why the perennial favourite Phineas and Ferb (and all that platypus mayhem) will find a new home on XD. This also makes sense, given that Disney in the U.S. has announced a Marvel “crossover” episode called Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, which will see SpiderMan and The Avengers visiting Danville in an episodic special.

Malaysia is the only Southeast Asian country that will carry XD in the initial launch, as the broadcaster is treading cautiously in an already crowded kids market. Malhotra tells us exclusively that the channel is eyeing future distribution in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

“Malaysia is an important and growing market with a large audience that has a huge appetite for great stories and characters. The unique strength and appeal of Disney XD combined with the distribution commitment of Astro, give us a great opportunity to capture the hearts of millions of viewers across the country,” said Robert Gilby, Managing Director, TWDC SEA at a recent press launch. XD will sit on Astro’s basic tier (while sister channels Disney and Disney Jr. remain add-on channels on the kids pack), which is a strategic move to give the channel direct access to Astro’s subscriber base of 3.1 million households.

“The market is already very crowded but that’s what we’ve always operated within. In Malaysia there are ten kids channels – five are local kids’ channels – but we are very certain in what we do,” adds Malhotra.

More competition looms on the kids’ horizon with a recent announcement of a new boys-skewed channel from the home of Cartoon Network. Turner’s “Toonami”, which is slated for an early 2013 launch, bears strong resemblance to XD in content and target demographic. It also boasts of the DC Comic catalogue which has been Marvel’s closest rival on television and in theatres. In addition, the channel promises a string of Japanese anime, which continue to fare well with Asian audiences.

“We believe that the Disney brand is strong, with a family focus and that will be a hit with both children and family alike,” assures Malhotra. When asked about cannibalisation within the Disney family, Malhotra’s response was positive as well. “We believe that each (Disney) channel targets a different age group, each with different interests and tastes,” says Malhotra. She also believes that XD, like sister channels Disney and Disney Jr., will have strong character-driven programming that will independently drive other lines of businesses.

“XD will be ad-supported from the get-go,” says Malhotra, when speaking about the potential revenue streams beyond channel subscriptions. This represents a departure from TWDC SEA’s previous business models – Disney Jr. remains commercial-free while flagship Disney channel started out commercial-free and only went commercial later in its shelf life.

The ability to own full rights to most of its content and with ties to Disney Studios, Malhotra feels, puts the company in a position to deliver content in ways many competing networks cannot. Focus groups also reveal the behaviour of younger kids who like to touch the TV screen, prompting the broadcaster that multiscreen delivery is important.

Astro On-The-Go, Astro’s “player” that supports multiple devices, is an example of the channel’s commitment to work with affiliates on distributing content. All three Disney channels are the only kids channels made available on On-The-Go currently. Malhotra says this will be Disney’s strategy for new territories moving forward.

“Kids want to take their TV everywhere,” says Malhotra. For now, the channel is building its Facebook and YouTube presence, and the ability to exploit a variety of Marvel rights will position the company for licensing opportunities on online, gaming, and merchandising platforms in the foreseeable future.

A strong programming slate and a willingness to listen to affiliate customers and audiences’ need are good ingredients for success, Malhotra says. She quotes Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks, “we’re a consumer first, a TV executive second. That’s the stand we take.”