As the two networks compete for the affections of tween girls, Ross has set his sights on a new and notoriously elusive audience: tween boys. He renamed Toon Disney as Disney XD, which launched in February with the action-adventure show "Aaron Stone," in which a video-game virtuoso leads a double life as a crime fighter. It also added "Zeke and Luther," in which two best friends try to become world-famous skateboarders. He believes that if Disney can fill the vessel with the right content, the boys will get on board.
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Rich Ross has a Mouse ear for 'tween' talent
The Disney Channel president has led TV's pursuit of the 9-to-14-year-old audience, creating wildly popular personalities as well as programs that have muscled their way into mainstream culture.
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"Everybody says they're just going to play games, and certain age groups are going to go on MySpace, and oh, they have school and their homework," said Ross of the skeptics.
"Is it going to be like Disney Channel a week later? Disney Channel is 12 years in the making. It took seven years before we got 'Lizzie.' It was nine years for 'High School Musical.' We're the overnight 12-year sensation."
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dawn.chmielewski @latimes.com
Times staff writer Rachel Abramowitz contributed to this article.
