Walt Disney Studios unveiled on Tuesday a new online movie service, started with the help of Apple Inc.'s iTunes, called Disney Movies Anywhere. The service is designed to help customers more easily watch movies in digital form.
Customers will be able to play movies on iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches, and also through the Internet, according to Bloomberg. Users can link to iTunes and bring in films they've previously bought there to Disney Movies Anywhere Accounts.
UltraViolet, a digital movie storage and management system, may play an important role in Disney's new service, Dallas News reported. While UltraViolet has partnerships with digital movie retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart, it does not have a connection with iTunes, which has control of 60 percent of digital movie purchases.
Disney decided not to partner with Ultraviolet in the past for several reasons, including that the name of the digital system was confusing and that Disney's core consumer, families, would not accept cloud storage technology, according to Dallas News. However, Disney may decide to work with Ultraviolet, with the Digital Entertainment group reporting spending on digital purchases of movies and TV shows increased to $1.19 billion last year.
Drew Crum, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said he recommended buying Disney Stock due to the potential of Disney Movies Anywhere, Bloomberg reported.
"Disney Movies Anywhere could stabilize Disney's home-entertainment business, which has experienced lower results for five consecutive years," Crum said.
Mike Dunn, president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, discussed with Variety the role Ultraviolet will have with family-oriented entertainment, according to Dallas News.
"Once you start to get the family business going, you have mom involved," Dunn said. "That's historically been the critical gatekeeper and driver of major purchases for libraries."
Disney Movies Anywhere has the opportunity to help strengthen the market since stoke sales are starting to make new movies available for digital purchase two weeks before they are sold on Blue-ray and DVD discs, Dallas News reported.
The release of Disney Movies Anywhere occurs at the same time of the digital release of "Frozen," which has made over $980 million at the global box office, according to Dallas News. Disney will offer a digital copy of "The Incredibles" to those who use Disney Movies Anywhere and link to their iTunes account.
