Simon Reeve investigates the current problems at Disney. As the entertainment giant’s profits plummet, CEO Michael Eisner’s position is under threat with Roy Disney, who has always been closely involved with the business, campaigning to oust him. The programme interviews the Slesingers, who have been fighting with Disney over the lucrative merchandising rights for Winnie the Pooh. Simon Reeve also speaks to a Disneyand employee who believes cuts in maintenace staff could be putting the lives of customers at risk.
Simon Reeve looks at the history of the Bacardi family business, from their beginnings in Cuba, to their world domination: bacardi rum is now the biggest selling spirit in the world. He interviews various members of the family, including a Bacardi heiress who has been suing her mother for her inheritance for over a decade, the ex-Bacardi wife who needs thirty thousand dollars a month to live, and the forgotten Bacardis left behind in Cuba. He also investigates reports that Bacardi money has funded terrorism against Castro’s Cuba, and an allegation that a Bacardi boss offered the Mafia a hundred thousand dollars to get Castro.
Libby Potter travels around the world investigating the history of Nintendo and the company boss Hiroshi Yamauchi. She speaks to Yamauchi’s daughter and son-in-law in Hawaii about running Nintendo America in the boom years and in Japan she interviews Nintendo games developer Shigeru Miyamoto about Super Mario, Pokemon and Zelda, some of his most successful creations. Despite developing such popular titles, he is not wealthy and Potter asks him why he forfeited his right to game royalties. In addition, she uncovers evidence that Nintendo knew that sequences in the games could trigger epileptic fits. Unlike television, the video game industry the number or rate of flashing images in a game is not regulated. This documentary tests a number of Nintendo games and discovers that certain current releases would fail the guidelines set out by the Independent Television Commission.
Emeka Onono investigates the fortunes of Walmart. The world’s biggest retailer is both admired and hated, but while campaigners and pressure groups attempt to curtail its activities the company’s growth seems unstoppable
Documentary about the Guinness dynasty, which founded an Irish icon, exploring both the family’s and the beer’s background. The programme looks at how Guinness is selling Irishness to bar owners in America to promote its sales. It also investigates the Guinness curse, reveals how the family and the beer parted company and questions how a family that insists on its Irishness campaigned against Irish independence. Includes interviews with model Jasmine Guinness, The Earl of Iveagh, the head of the Guinness clan, and Rutger Hauer (who starred in a famous series of Guinness ads in the 90s).
Libby Potter examines the often controversial history of the cartel that has controlled diamond supplies for over a century. Featuring an interview with Nicky Oppenheimer, head of the De Beers family fortune Examines whether, with the advent of factory made genuine diamonds, De Beers can hold their place in the market