Criticism of The Walt Disney Company Ring" aired, Lisa de Moraes of "The Washington Post" suggested creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were using the Jonas Brothers in the thirteenth season debut as a means of improving the show's ratings; Comedy Central executives, however, insisted Jonas Brothers fans do not fit into "South Park"'s demographic of males aged from 18 to 49. The Walt Disney Company, the Disney Channel and the Mickey Mouse cartoon character are also prominently featured, and spoofed, in the episode; even when Mickey Mouse says callous things or physically assaults people, he follows up most statements with the character's trademark high-pitched "Ha
The Walt Disney Company compete with international multimedia conglomerates. Disney lost a $10.4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B.V. over Disney's failure to produce as contracted 13 half-hour "Marsupilami" cartoon shows. Instead, Disney felt other internal "hot properties" deserved the company's attention. Disney, which had taken control of the Anaheim Angels in 1996, purchased a majority stake in the team in 1998. That same year, Disney began a move into the internet field with the purchase of Starwave and 43 percent of Infoseek. In 1999, Disney purchased the remaining shares of Infoseek and launched the Go Network portal in January. Disney also