LAS VEGAS (AP) — Theme park operator Six Flags Inc. is aiming to become an entertainment company with its own characters to entice thrill-seekers to its parks much like The Walt Disney Co., its chief executive said Tuesday.

Mark Shapiro, a former ESPN executive who took the helm of money-losing Six Flags in December 2005, made the comments in a keynote speech at the gathering of the National Association of Broadcasters.

He said Six Flags' previous strategy was based on its roller-coaster hardware, but now it would focus on building anticipation to its rides through stories and characters, while upgrading the attractions.

"Approaching Six Flags is like building Disney, backward," he said. "The focus and the root of all and everything we do is the storytelling itself."

The strategy was to "build the characters, build the story around it, build the emotion, the drama ... as opposed to just putting rides up on cement."

Since becoming chief executive, Shapiro said the New York-based company has invested $100 million in revamping its business model, including purchasing half of Dick Clark Productions Inc., producer of such events as the Golden Globes, last year.

The production company's archived footage will be used to promote the park and entertain guests while they wait in lines for rides and food, while providing a vehicle for advertisers.

Ad revenues and licensing deals abroad are expected to add $50 million in new revenue this season, he said.

"We have 25 million-plus (visitors) spending up to 10 hours a day in our parks every summer," Shapiro said. "That's a captive audience like no other."

Six Flags said its revenue in the fourth quarter of last year rose to $112 million from $104 million in the previous year, while its net loss shrank to $132 million from $195 million.

The company, which operates 21 parks in North America and Mexico, also plans to help develop a Six Flags theme park in Dubai.

On Tuesday, the company also announced it is canceling plans to build a $7 million "Dark Knight" indoor roller coaster at its Six Flags New England park.

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On the Net:

Six Flags Inc.: http://www.sixflags.com